​Barbora Minichová enjoys her last days at KAUST before going back to her home country Slovakia. She is currently a Visiting Student at AMPM Center and worked seven months in Prof. Niveen Khashab's research group.

Barbora is impressed with KAUST facilities and opportunities that researchers have to work and implement their ideas in the laboratory.

"I am happy to be part of a significant and multidisciplinary group. In Slovakia, we had a friendly environment, but we all worked on the same project. Here, we work in several different research areas with people of different backgrounds, so we learn many things from each other", she says.

She has been collaborating with Dr. Basem Moosa, Research Scientist at Smart Hybrid Materials (SHMs) Laboratory, in the study of macromolecular chemistry for gas separation. After seven months of intense work, Barbora is satisfied with the job done and hopes to see her results published soon.

She notes the internship has made an impact on her.  She says she feels more confident and has learned to communicate science and its results more effectively.

"I thank Prof. Niveen for this amazing opportunity. I never imagined that I would become part of something like this. When I watched L'Oréal-UNESCO for Women in Science video, I was amazed at what she had accomplished. And it is also remarkable how KAUST was built from scratch in such a short time", she notes.

Her stay has meant more than academic learning.

"Living in KAUST is very easy; you can do sports, travel and meet people from all around the world and hear all languages. I met nice people and I learned about different cultures. It is an amazing experience!", she outlines.

Barbora earned her Bachelor and Master Degree at the Department of Chemistry in the Slovak University of Technology in 2015 and 2017 respectively. Now, she is looking for new job opportunities in mechanical engineering science.

If you are interested in working with AMPM Center faculty on a short-term project contact the relevant professor directly. Also look at KAUST Visiting Student Research Program (VSRP).