Summer Interns of 2022: Lene B? wants to keep helping to save lives and tells us what her internship has been like.
First, tell us where and what you are studying. I am a student at the University of Stavanger (UiS) and I just finished a degree in Biological Chemistry and Biotechnology.
Why did you choose Laerdal for your internship? The reason for choosing my biochemistry degree was to achieve competency to help people through research. I really believe in making it easier to help people by advancing technology and knowledge to find cures or helpful devices. Knowledge should be accessible, understandable, and always advancing – especially in healthcare. Laerdal is a company which does this, making me love this opportunity even more. I get to work for a company that helps people save lives, how many can say that?
Describe three things you learned during your internship? My internship is primarily to manage the substance registry and check where every chemical is situated. Additionally, I check all documentation of chemicals that Laerdal has in Stavanger, if it is correct and if employees understand safe handling of chemicals. During my internship, I have learned a lot about documentation handling and quality assurance, and to do this by Laerdal standards, Norwegian law, but also follow the regulations of other legislations such as REACH.
Sustainability and health are a huge focus for Laerdal, so learning about this from a chemistry perspective has been interesting. I have been taught about substitution of chemicals, with focus on the health of the employees, but also focusing on sustainability – reducing the usage of different chemicals with the same usage instead of using one chemical for the same tasks by example.
The business part has been the most interesting part, I think. Since I have studied chemistry, I have not touched on document control, protocols, and procedures much. Surprisingly, it has been very exciting to learn about and to influence.
What have been some of your favorite moments from your time at Laerdal? I am a people person – so every moment where I have met different people from different departments in the building have been memorable. Learning everything about every process and seeing how passionate people are about the little things – all from the decoration of the dolls in the production, to document handling, to coding, to marketing. I really love how diverse this company is, both in people but also departments!
How did you challenge yourself??Was there a specific task that took you out of your comfort zone?
It would be to consult on chemistry matters in meetings about bettering procedures and safety handling. I have never really used my competency before in this extent. At the same, it was a good feeling to give advice on something I have an insight of.
Do you feel your time here has influenced your plans for the future in any way? I really want to stay in Laerdal and grow. The Master’s degree I am going to study is Environmental Engineering at UiS where I am going to learn about sustainability and environmental friendliness in production technologies and environmental management. What has influenced my degree, is to change specialties within the master; from Water Science and Technology to Offshore Environmental Technology. This change is because I want to learn much more about business and how to contribute more to Laerdal business-wise. The courses I would be interested in are; Business development and innovation: The firm perspective, and Operations and Maintenance Management.
Was there someone or something that really inspired you during your internship?
It is hard to pinpoint someone – since every person has made my internship a fun activity. Inspiration comes from the story of Laerdal itself, the mission to save one million lives every year, by 2030, and the origin of the Anne doll. I want to be helping save lives.