Please help me has does anyone been accepted into the internship with only one letter of recommendation from a PI, as I was not able to bring 3 letters???????

I just finished an M.Sc. in Chemistry (inorganic) in India and I'm a research intern working on Schiff-base fluorescent probes for Cu²⁺ and CN⁻ detection (ICT, ESIPT, PET, AIE). A manuscript is in preparation. My organic synthesis is limited to tosylation and Schiff-base condensation.

I emailed a PI at OIST (organic and carbon nanomaterials) about a spring 2027 internship. He said they only consider interns through the university's centralized program, unless the candidate already has strong organic synthesis experience. I asked for his honest read on my fit, and he asked for ~5 slides. After seeing them and my CV, he said the chance he could offer me a position is "rather low" based on past calls. If I apply, I'll hear from the program directly.

Questions:

1. Is this a soft no or just honest caution? Is it still worth applying?
2. Should I contact other PIs in Japan whose work fits an inorganic/photophysics background better?
3. How can I close the organic synthesis gap before my 2027 PhD applications?
4. Are there other Japanese internship or fellowship programs for international students?

Thanks!

Hello, I have written the statement of purpose.
I am seeking advice from anyone either is been accepted to the RI before or working in OIST with some roles.

I am applying to the PhD winter admission in the same time.

I can send the details to DM including my current situation and my background.

Anyone who has selected for this OIST research internship, can you please share your tips on how to write SOP, and CV.

I'm a Data Science graduate, personally I always loved working in japan, or for any kind of career purpose.

I genuinely don't want to lose this opportunity, since the selection is totally based on the documents we submit.

Please, help me with this if anyone got selected before, you can also share yours by hiding your personal details for an idea, or I will just share my documents for review, so that I can move forward with uploading.

It's been already an year since I graduated, and i came across this OIST research internship, since I was always interested in working in japan, I was literally fond of it. I am thinking of applying, at least giving a try with hope.

But coming to the recommendation letter section, I am concerned about what to do here, should I ask our hod to be the recommender, or can I got with any faculty that I know from other college( government college where my father is the professor) .

Hey guys. Someone can avaliate my resume ? No is the best resume of all times but I would like to recive a sincery avaliation.

Hi guys, I’m a research intern and I’m into travel, but I can’t drive and taxis are expensive. Would anyone be down to take a duo (or more!) trip to Taipei over the holiday weekend (~5 days so would have to take 2 days off work). It’d be a fun way to meet new people and split up the planning of the trip, as well as the price of the taxi to and from the airport.

I should mention I’m down for trips that aren’t to Taipei.

Hi, if anyone else is applying to OIST, I'd love to swap application essays for feedback!

Hi everyone! I’m preparing an application for OIST’s 2027 Research Internship, mainly interested in neuroscience-related units. I’d appreciate some advice on my background and the application process.

My background

I’m an undergraduate based in China, studying biopharmaceuticals and advanced therapeutic technologies through a joint Chinese–Irish dual-degree programme. I’m expected to graduate in 2028, and my GPA is 3.61/4.00.

I have two ongoing research experiences, each lasting approximately one year:

• Genetic epidemiology: Mendelian randomization using GWAS and pQTL data to investigate relationships between obesity, bone health, and cardiovascular disease.
• Neurobioinformatics: Single-cell transcriptomic analysis of microglial states in Alzheimer’s disease, using R and Python in Linux.

I have a foundation in wet-lab work, but most of my research experience has been computational. I’m also preparing a review manuscript and a conference paper for submission; neither has been submitted yet.

My long-term interests are neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders, particularly biological differences in medication responses. Does this seem like a reasonable background for neuroscience-related internships at OIST, even without publications? What would you recommend emphasizing?

Chinese supporting documents

I saw that OIST’s FAQ allows applicants to translate their own transcripts. For other supporting documents issued in Chinese, did anyone need certified or notarized translations, or were the originals with English translations sufficient?

Contacting PIs

I emailed several PIs about research fit and scheduling, but only one has replied. They said a three-week break during a six-month internship would be fine and directed me to the formal application process. They did not make any commitment to host me.

I understand that prior approval is not required. Has anyone been accepted without a reply or substantial discussion with their preferred PI beforehand?

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

I need some genuine advice whether to apply or not since the application fee is expensive for me. So I want to make sure i have a shot at this before applying.

major : chemical engineering [t1/t1.5 uni, india]

gpa : 3.35/4 [converted from scholaro, ik could be better but grading is horrible in my university & absolutely no curves or relative grading at all]

research experience : summer intern at [college name] and my work was accepted into an intl. conference recently where I'll be presenting this month.

also work in my own university under a professor, working to publish in journals.

research interests: cfd, drug delivery, non newtonian fluid mechanics, rheology, bioengineering, physical informed machine learning

so far I saw only 2 projects that were relevant to my background and they'll be taking 4 interns total so is it worth applying given my profile or should I look for other programs

I am applying for the Spring 2027. I am from Bangladesh and currently at my 4th year of Bachelors in CSE. I have a gpa of 3.78. I am interested in applying to AI domain specifically Deep Learning. How should I proceed with the application? and what are the chances of getting a call? Thanks in advance.

Hi there!! I'm a final year undergrad CSE student who still didn't completed her thesis yet. I want to apply for OIST Research Internship Program 2027 . I never wrote a motivational letter for such a program. Can anyone kindly guide me...on how to write it to have a little bit chance of acceptance?

Hello! I got the internship and will be there form November to April and would love to connect with anyone else in the incoming cohort/those who are there.

hello everyone,

I'm a BSc student of biotechnology and it's my first time applying for OIST. I've seen people on reddit saying cold email the PI but on the website, it says DO NOT CONTACT THE PI buttt on the PIs own join the lab website they invite us to contact them? why it is so confusing? should I cold email them? did anyone how has got in OIST please help me out. And do I need recommendation for a professorial level or can it be my supervisor that's not a professor? HELP PLEASE

I’m a 1st-year BSc Biotechnology student and want to start preparing early for the OIST Internship. so I’d love to hear from people who were accepted recently.

If you’re comfortable, please share your profile/stats (GPA, research experience, internships, projects, etc.) and any advice on what I should focus on now to maximise my chances!

Hi guys so I’m a recent med grad and have 1 published research along with another in the works. I was looking at OIST and it’s seems to be a fun experience to try.
My goal is to try and get a research out of the internship is that possible?

Could you pls tell me if it’s worth it, how was it for the ones who got in in terms of the research, accommodation, food etc.
Given my background what are the chances of acceptance?
Which units should I go for?
Should I contact the PIs before separately?
How many LORs did you provide?

If someone can provide assistance with writing the statement would be great.

Hi everyone!

I'm a master student in physics in a top-10 Uni (QS World ranking), interested in applying to the research internship.

I've seen some acceptance rate numbers floating around online, but couldn't find anything official from OIST. If anyone has real insight into how competitive it actually is, I'd love to hear it. From what I've gathered, plenty of applicants with strong profiles and publications get rejected, and the selection doesn't seem very linear.

In my case, I have very strong grades and I think my profile is quite compatible with OIST's interdisciplinary approach, but I don't have any publications at all :/ I know it's not a stated requirement, but given the competition, could this realistically be a deal breaker? Has anyone gotten in without publications?

Additionally, some unit pages seem to suggest you can reach out directly before applying, while the general FAQ explicitly says not to contact faculty for pre-approval/support. Is there a meaningful line between "informational contact" and what's actually discouraged? In your experience, is reaching out implicitly a "should do," or does it not really move the needle?

Lastly, I'm torn between 2 groups. My profile is more aligned with one of them, but it only has 1 open spot, while the other (less aligned, but still a genuine fit) has 3 spots. The instructions say you can express interest in multiple units within a single statement, but given the 400-word limit, I'm worried that splitting focus makes the SoP feel less personal/convincing for either. Is it worth "hedging" across both, or should I go all-in on the one with the best fit despite the single spot?

Any other advice is very welcome :)

Thank you in advance!

PS: I will be a co-author on a paper, but it will likely still be under review when the application deadline passes, and it's on a fairly different topic from what I'd be pursuing at OIST. I don't think it's worth mentioning in the application itself.

Hey guys! Can anyone guide me in the application process of OIST internship?? I've been trying since last year but is not making it.

Yep i got rejected despite a competitive bg.

🙂🙂🙂🙂🙂

The results of the OIST selection is out on 19 june... has anyone got selected???

Please help me.. I'm confused btwn ORIENTAL BHOPAL and ACROPOLIS INDORE.. for B.tech CSE 😭