Aleksandr Sigaev, a master’s students of the Faculty of Instrument Engineering, Information Technologies and Electronics, Polytechnic Institute, PSU, who won the scholarship of the President of the Russian Federation to study abroad, is now doing a six-month internship in the Laser Centre of Hannover (LZH, Hannover, Germany). His scientific supervisor at PSU is I.A. Averin, Professor, Doctor of Engineering Sciences.

At the initial stage of his internship, within the walls of the Research Centre chemical laboratory, the master’s student is developing the method of obtaining lanthanum fluoride nanocrystals alloyed by neodymium ions (LaF3:Nd3+) and he is researching the properties of the obtained samples with highly technological equipment. Such kind of materials containing rare-earth metals have wide application in medicine, in producing components for optoelectronic devices, lasers due to their luminescent properties. In case of successful results, the next step will be obtaining the nanocrystals as parts of polymers.  

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 “The LZH staff were very friendly and admitted me to their team, helped to find a comfortable and cheap flat in Seelze, a district of Hannover, they even lent me a bicycle to ride around the city. They are always ready to give useful advice and provide support, including solution of household problems and completion of documents. The good attitude from the host organization as well as my summer and autumn preparation for the trip had a positive influence on my gradual, mild adaptation which only took me two weeks. It is very interesting to have real practice at the research centre, to understand the work of the organization on the whole and of its employees in particular, to see how they work on projects. Modern equipment, free access to information and opportunity to have discussions with colleagues motivate, allow me to experiment combining different methods and bringing to life the ideas based on my previous experience and knowledge. Another important and useful aspect of staying at LZH is gathering information, experience and facts about everything and everybody in the course of communication with people. This information concerns different areas: ranging from educational process in German universities, participation in international programmes, visa issues, to the choice of websites for booking flats, saving money when doing the purchase. The lands of Lower Saxony are permeated with history that’s why it is curious to get acquainted with the local towns. The semester student card gives an opportunity to travel free around the entire federal state and I am actively using this chance. I have already visited Wolfsburg, Braunschweig, Hamelin, Osnabrück, and Bodenwerder. My nearest plans are to attend language courses, to explore some more interesting places in Europe and to achieve good results in my practical work”,  - Aleksandr Sigaev shares his experiences.