During their internships, the students of the program went to more than 120 cities in 26 countries around the world: United States, Canada, Japan, South Africa, Chile, Italy, Sweden, United Kingdom, Spain, etc.
They went to more than 250 laboratories covering the entire Rhône-Alpes region (Physics and Chemistry Laboratories of ENS Lyon, CRMN, CRAL, ILM, IP2I, Grenoble Alpes University, etc.), but also all over France (CEA, CERN, Néel Institute, École Polytechnique, ESPCI,...) as well as to the most prestigious universities/Institutes in the world: MIT, Berkeley, Princeton, Oxford, Cambridge, Imperial College, Max Planck Institute, EPFL, ETH Zurich, etc.
Each year, an internship is mandatory. The length of the internship increases as the course progresses: 8 weeks in L3, 12 weeks in M1 and 4 to 6 months in M2 Research. This allows the student to be progressively confronted with different fields of research in order to be able to choose a field of specialization. It is also an opportunity to deepen one's knowledge through contact with researchers already in the field.
Internships can be carried out in France or abroad, and can also be carried out in an industrial or academic setting. For those wishing to do their internship abroad, the International Office provides support for all technical and administrative details. It also awards various grants (Erasmus, ExploRA'sup, ENS Mobility grant) to facilitate access to training abroad.
Students can come up with their own internship project or use a list of internship proposals - available on the Portail des Études. The person in charge of internships (L3, Chemistry M1, Physics M1, M2) is then a key player who helps discuss the choice of the internship project (location, laboratory, scientific life, etc.). He/she also ensures that all the technical and administrative details are taken care of in order to carry out the internship in good conditions (establishment of an internship agreement, visas for foreign countries, administrative deadlines).