- What was your role during the internship? (Key responsibilities and tasks…)
- How did the internship help you grow professionally and personally? (Lessons learnt…)
- Did you face any challenges during your internship? (If so, how did you overcome them?
- How did your supervisor/the departments work environment contribute to your experience?
- Did you have opportunities to network with other professionals in the industry?
- How has this internship influenced your career goals or future plans?
- What advice would you give to future interns applying for this program?
In the summer of 2025, I completed a PESS internship in a very novel field of research. After spending 4 years immersed in the physiology, psychology, and biomechanics of exercise as part of my degree in sport and exercise sciences, I thought it would be a good broadening exercise to go for an internship in an area I know little about. Given that I had previously completed a PESS internship in physiology, which I hoped to pursue for my career (at the time…), I wanted to do something niche, and fun! Though I thought little of my decision at the time, it has led me down an exciting path and has affected my life forever!
My internship was on a project titled ‘The effect of neurostimulation on skill acquisition in sim racing’ under the supervision of Dr. Adam Toth and Prof. Mark Campbell. This project aimed to determine if stimulating the motor cortex region of the brain with small electrical currents had an effect on skill learning in a simulated racing game. My main responsibilities were participant recruitment, participant testing, and data collection and analysis. I had much help from research assistants and PhD students at LERO and always had a door to knock on when I encountered issues. Though we faced several challenges, such as difficulty with participant recruitment, technical difficulties with the neurostimulation equipment, unexpected data losses, and much more, with the help of the team I was able to successfully gather data from 15 participants and conduct some preliminary outlier analysis over the course of my 8 weeks in the lab.
I built a good relationship with my supervisors and everyone in the lab and realised that I actually enjoyed this field of research more than others I had previously explored. By September, I found myself accepting a PhD position in a similar research area, the biomechanics of sim racing, and settling into a new routine full-time at the lab. My advice to any prospective PESS interns is to explore every field possible whilst you have the opportunity to. Though you may feel fully committed to one pathway, as I previously did, only good can come from trying new things. A PESS internship serves as a gateway to your future academic and career pursuits, and a time to gain new skills and confidence in your research abilities.
Aisling McElligott
PhD Student at LERO Esports Research Lab
Department of Physical Education and Sports Sciences
Contact: mcelligott.aisling@ul.ie
LinkedIn: Aisling NicUilleagóid
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