This website is being migrated. In case you don't find the information you are looking for, the old website can be found here. Thank you for reporting any anomalies to communication@ill.eu.

Internships work placements

A great chance to see what it's like, from the inside!

Eager to put into practice all you have recently learnt?

If you are interested in:

  • playing a role in the progress of science,
  • participating in ultra-modern technology projects,
  • working in an international environment,

in magnificent natural surroundings, we have a range of fascinating projects to offer, in line with your training.

You will be assisted throughout the placement by a personal tutor.

Because developing talents for the future matters to us, we offer trainees a number of benefits.

Trainee allowance
Its amount depends on the length of your placement and your level of qualification.

Working hours
Monday to Friday, from to 8 am to 4.30 pm (with a lunch break). Under ILL’s 35-hour week agreement, you will be entitled to compensatory leave ("RTT") calculated in proportion to your working hours.

Site restaurant
ILL subsidies midday meals. A three-course meal would typically cost you about €2.50.

Travel costs for your move to Grenoble
If you live and study outside the Grenoble area we will reimburse your travel costs at the start and end of your contract.

Works Council
During your training you will enjoy the same benefits as the rest of the ILL staff. You will be entitled to borrow from the book and DVD libraries for example, and from the DIY section of the Works Council... You will also be entitled to cheaper rates for cultural activities and over 30 different sports clubs.

Leave
After three months of work you will also be entitled to one day of paid leave per month (in addition to your RTT days).

Accommodation
We can provide you with a list of contacts if you need to find accommodation in the area.

Internship vacancies

If a placement corresponds to your profile and requirements, please email directly the placement supervisor (as soon as possible). Please enclose your CV and a covering letter, quoting the appropriate reference.

Determining Lipid compositions in Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis During Growth by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry - INTERNSHIP Ref. : BDCSMS_02

Model lipid bilayers, reconstituted by using bacterial polar lipid extracts, are reliable systems to investigate the physical properties of bacterial membranes, and can be used, for example, to aid the design of new antibiotics. Such natural polar mixtures in their labeled form are essential tools for neutron scattering studies of biological membranes; however, deuteration is known to perturb fatty acid metabolism and alter lipid biosynthetic pathways. Previous fatty acid analyses in Escherichia coli and Pichia pastoris have revealed significant changes within various lipid series under deuterated growth conditions, suggesting that deuterium incorporation directly impacts genes involved in lipid metabolism. Building on these observations, this project aims to investigate how deuteration, applied under different growth temperatures and across the growth curve of the gram positive bacteria 'Bacillus subtilis' and the gram negative bacteria 'Escherichia coli' affects changes in the global acyl chain compositions. The project would aim to optimize matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometric methods for rapid and direct analysis of a wide range of molecular compositions within all the purified phospholipid mixtures. The study of such complex lipid mixtures is important to recreate highly biologically relevant bacterial membrane models for studies aimed at understanding the biological function of bacterial membranes.

Activities of the trainee:

  • growing bacterial cell cultures,
  • lipid extraction and purification ny Solid phase extraction and HPLC,
  • optimizing MALDI-TOF methods for determining lipid compositions

Level required: +4, +5 year university studies in Lipid Biochemistry

Language skill: As an international research centre, we are particularly keen to ensure that we also attract applicants from outside France. You must be able to communicate in English or in French.

Notes: This post is an internship with a maximum duration of 5 months.

Please send your application directly to the supervisor: Mr Krishna BATCHU, email : batchu@ill.fr

Preparation and Characterisation of Model Lung Surfactant Films at the Air–Water Interface - INTERNSHIP Ref. : LSS_06

Lung surfactant is a lipid/protein complex that coats the respiratory air/liquid interface at the alveoli, minimising the surface tension and thus allowing breathing mechanics. As the alveoli are continuously subjected to area extension and reduction as a consequence of breathing cycles, this material needs to be able not only to adsorb rapidly and efficiently to the air/liquid interface, but to spread when the surface increases (during inspiration) and desorb when surface decreases (during expiration) leaving only a DPPC-rich interfacial monolayer with minimum surface tension. This dynamism of the films is acquired thanks to the hydrophobic surfactant proteins SP-B and SP-C that keep the material that has been excluded from the interface connected to the interfacial monolayer in the form of multilayer surfactant reservoirs to be ready for the next cycle.The student assigned to this project will prepare various types of films that mimic lung surfactant at the air/water interface. These systems will range from formulations containing the hydrophobic proteins SP-B and SP-C to lipid monolayers combined with polypeptides, with the aim of exploring the nucleation of reservoirs by molecules other than SP-B, which has been shown to be essential for proper lung surfactant function.A Langmuir trough coupled with ellipsometry will be used to characterise the response of these films during compression/expansion cycles. This approach will allow assessment of whether material is expelled from the monolayer during film collapse or whether three-dimensional structures are formed, the latter being an indicator of proper lung surfactant functionality. When possible, the in-plane organisation of the films will also be examined using Brewster angle microscopy (BAM).

Activities of the trainee:

  • Preparation of lipid, proteins and polypeptide solutions
  • Preparation of lipid, lipid/protein and lipid/peptide monolayers and characterisation of their surface pressure response during compression/expansion cycles
  • Use of ellipsometry to assess changes in the interfacial amount of material
  • Participate in neutron reflectometry experiments on FIGARO
  • Analysis and interpretation of the results

Level required: 5 year university studies in Physics, Chemistry, Biology

Language skill: As an international research centre, we are particularly keen to ensure that we also attract applicants from outside France. You must be able to communicate in English or in French.

Notes: This post is an internship with a maximum duration of 6 months.

Please send your application directly to the supervisor:J CARRASCOSA TEJEDOR, email : carrascosa-tejedor@ill.fr

Hybrid Lipid Nanoparticles for Sensor Application - INTERNSHIP Ref. : LSS_09

Lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) with an internally structured cubic or lamellar core organization represent ideal platforms for encapsulating oleic acid-stabilized magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), yielding hybrid nanosystems with enhanced multifunctional capabilities. The application of an alternating magnetic field induces localized hyperthermia, which drives reversible lipid phase transitions between more ordered and disordered core architectures with a tunable structural response that can be exploited to trigger controlled drug release on demand. Initial characterizations, such as DLS, QCM-D, and ellipsometry, will be done to confirm the quality of the samples. Microstructural changes will be unraveled using a combination of advanced scattering methods (small-angle and reflectometry) to correlate them with their potential macroscopic responses. Beyond drug delivery, these hybrid LNPs–MNPs systems hold significant promise in biosensing applications.

Activities of the trainee: The trainee will incorporate MNPs into LNPs and perform characterization of the hybrid LNPs-MNPS system by means of X-ray reflectivity, DLS, QCM-D, ellipsometry, SANS and neutron reflectometry (polarized and unpolarized).

Level required: +3, +4, +5 year university studies in Chemistry, Physics, Material Science

Language skill: as an international research centre, we are particularly keen to ensure that we also attract applicants from outside France. You must be able to communicate in English or in French.

Notes: this post is an internship with a maximum duration of 2 months.

Please send your application directly to the supervisor: S AYSCOUGH, email : ayscough@ill.fr

Creation of the ILL Sustainable Development Roadmap - INTERNSHIP Ref. : SMAE_02

As part of the Institute’s environmental policy, we are seeking an intern to develop the Institute’s sustainable development roadmap. This will be a project-based assignment carried out in collaboration with an internal working group and senior management.

Activities of the trainee

Definition of the objectives of the sustainable development roadmapIdentification of relevant indicatorsDevelopment of targets and objectivesCreation of a presentation documentFacilitation of the working groupCollaboration with the communication department

Level required+3, +4, +5 year university studies in Sustainable Development – Risk Prevention

Language skill: as an international research centre, we are particularly keen to ensure that we also attract applicants from outside France. You must be able to communicate in English or in French.

Notes: this post is an internship with a maximum duration of 6 months.

Please send your application directly to the supervisor:Christophe MOUNIER, email : mounier@ill.fr

No position available