My name is Matthias Probst
I come from Koblenz
and I am studying at the University of Karlsruhe (KIT)
I found out about CERN’s technical students program
via the mailing list of my university
And now here I am
At CERN I am testing the superconducting magnets
that will be installed in the future in the LHC
I am here as a student
so that is in effect a traineeship
but it doesn’t feel like one because you are fully integrated
and you are on the same level as anybody else
at least it feels that way
I am working with a lot of electrical engineers
but also with technicians
who know everything about the magnets
where to tighten which screw
or where to install the instruments
and with physicists
I am in fact working with people from all disciplines
It is definitely an advantage because you get in touch
with so many fields of expertise
and as the field of mechanical engineering
is very interdisciplinary
to get input from other fields is great
The magnets at CERN
or rather many of the magnets here
are made of superconducting materials
so that means that they are capable of
conducting electricity without resistance
The problem is that this property can be lost
and that is something we don't want to happen
This phenomenon is known as a “quench”
Those need to be localised and detected as fast as possible
and this is exactly what I am doing with various instruments
that I also develop further
The superconducting magnets that I am working on
are not really related to my studies
but I was looking for an internship
that is compulsory at my university
and the possibility to work in an scientific organisation
Because engineering is more than just building cars
it is also research
and for me it was very appealing
to get some experience abroad
and to experience new things
and for that CERN is perfect
It is not just the work that is very exciting 
and interests me a lot but it is the entire package
the many clubs at CERN
you can meet many young people
you can do many things in your spare time
CERN offers a lot
running clubs
ski club
you will have many things to do
It’s the whole package that is just right
