Back on Track

Over the past summer, I worked as an intern at the European Organisation for Nuclear Research (CERN), cradling the borders of France and Switzerland. I have been receiving a lot of messages about the application process and this post is an attempt to try and address some queries regarding the experience. 

I had filled out a highly detailed application form last October, wondering if I had a snowball's chance in hell to get selected into one of the most prestigious programs at possibly the most unique research collaboration on the face of the earth. After a few weeks of sleepless nights and a few weeks of particle-filled daydreams, I received the much-awaited email from CERN. It was a rejection email from the summer student program. It was a disappointing week as I tried to move on and apply for other internships. There was soon a ray of light shining through this darkness, in the form of an offer to undertake research at Stanford University and I jumped at the marvelous opportunity. As I finally completed my US Visa Application and acceptance of the Stanford offer, I received yet another email from CERN. This time, it wasn't a ding. I got into the CERN Openlab Program! The rest as they say, is history. I spoke with my potential advisor at CERN and the Professors at Stanford who were extremely supportive of my decision to accept the offer from CERN. A month later, I was sitting on the Y Bus traveling from Geneva Airport to my hotel in Saint-Genis-Pouilly, France. 

My internship at CERN has been an amazing learning experience not just in terms of the work but also in terms of people--each with a unique story to tell. These factors have contributed in no small part to the life-changing experience this has been. I arrived as a wide-eyed teenager, and leave as a wider-eyed teenager, with an insatiable curiosity to learn more. I would like to say I've matured and realized some of my goals in life. I wouldn't be very off the point, but what I'm trying to say is that CERN kindles that flame within everyone which cajoles you to push a little harder, ask more questions, and try to find a better solution to the problems you work on. It's not just about achieving life goals, it's about setting new ones for yourself. CERN doesn't expect your work to be about completing a given task but how you figured it out, and whether the solution can be extended to other problems. Because with an organisation of this scale, there are going to be multiple problems of a similar nature, with fine lines of separation. It's a personal decision whether you'd want to focus on a microscopic solution that can address a niche problem which may impact macroscopic issues intrinsically, or an inherently macroscopic solution that may stimulate the intuition to address challenges affecting segments of work in great depth. CERN afforded me the opportunity to choose my path in spite of being just one of many hundreds of summer students. Amazingly enough, I learnt over the course of the summer, this was a privilege extended to all members of CERN regardless of position or responsibilities. 

The credit for a fantabulous summer belongs in no small part with my supervisors, both of whom were the driving forces, constantly challenging me to research and review better practices and improve the models for my project--Anomaly Detection in Database Connections. Mr. Prasanth Kothuri and Mr. Daniel Lanza Garcia helped me figure out the research subjects that aligned with my interests and constantly supporting me in terms of resources and domain expertise. If Prashanth Sir was doubtful about the solution to my issues that were seemingly esoteric, he would encourage me to find others at CERN who possessed the domain-specific knowledge and even accompanied me to some seminars in order to seek the same understanding as I would and eventually figure out a solution together. It was really encouraging to find this kind of support being extended to a relative newbie in one of the most active and experienced groups at CERN. 

The problem I was working on involved detecting anomalous database connections in order to serve multiple purposes including but not limited to analysing and deriving insights from usage patterns, monitoring the number of connections, and ultimately database security. With no real benchmarks or training data in this field, we set out to find a solution and use various machine learning practices and models to apply unsupervised learning and arrive at a conclusive result. We managed to utilise an ensemble of different models that measured deviation based on differing metrics. Further, we cross-verified results and extracted common anomalies that were then flagged to be verified. Through my interactions with my peers within the same program, I realized a lot of us were working on the same problem with different forms of data. I was motivated to move beyond the scope of my project and build an intuitive system that could not only provide a common base to leverage these models, but also offer an intuitive interface for non-technical users, seeing as a lot of CERN staff include physicists that may not be familiar with cutting-edge computing practices. It was a start towards utilising the research that has gone into multiple Openlab projects into a single end-user application. 

On the personal front, this experience has taught me a lot about people and the way they look at the problem. I had always been reading about how it helps to have different perspectives towards the same problem and I often wondered what would make such a huge difference to any given problem. Meeting students literally from the other side of the globe has taught me that there is a lot of truth to that statement after all. I was lucky enough to have probably the best roommates I've ever had, notwithstanding the fact that these are the only roommates I've ever had. We have cooked, cleaned, driven, trekked, hitchhiked, played, and somersaulted off boats together. Openlab has really provided a unique platform that has resulted in friendships across continents and a network that encompasses most countries across the world. It leads to a sense of security--no matter where we go on after this experience, we will have friends nearby that we can count on in times of need or maybe just to blow off some steam over the weekends. 

I could rave about the past summer until the end of time because it's hard to out all my experiences into a single blog post but I figure I have to sum it up at some point so I would like to conclude with some quotes from one of the wiser role models in my life, Master Shifu from Kung-Fu Panda, as answers to some of the common questions people have been asking me about getting into CERN:

1. What is CERN looking for? What do I write on my application? How did you get into CERN? 

"Your real strength comes from being the best you you can be. Who are you? What are you good at? What makes you, you?" 

"There is no secret ingredient"

Write about yourself, your experiences, your projects, and trust the universe to align the rest of the factors. Maybe you get in, maybe you don't. All I can say is that you need to ensure you research every detail about CERN before applying because my motivation for applying was derived from the nature of work being undertaken within the specific department that ultimately accepted me. Keep trying until you make it, because honestly, if I did, you most definitely can. 

2. How was your experience at CERN? Is it really worth it? 

(in case the blog post wasn't clear enough) 

I would do it all over again, twelve times over. Because thirteen is just an unlucky number. 

3. Are the other programs similar? Is it worth undertaking other opportunities at CERN? 

"In order to make something special, you simply have to believe it is special" 

My perspective is rather biased because like I said, I've had an amazing summer. However there are periods where I've been told there's very little activity, when the climate isn't all that great, and there are hardly any people on the streets of Geneva. It's not ideal, but your work is undoubtedly going to remain challenging and interesting regardless of how it is outside the window. It's just that life becomes slightly slow. You must learn to adapt at some point, and this is a great place bustling with activities ranging from Zumba and Krav Maga to lunch hours with random people in order to get to know them better. It's such a diverse environment that you never going to be bored with so many different nationalities around! 

With that, I've reached the end of the tiny window that I've provided into my work and life at CERN. It has been an amazing eight weeks and I look forward to seeing more of this place in the near future!