2025-08-29: DAAD RISE Professional Research Internship Experience - Summer in Germany

By -

 

DAAD RISE Professional scholarship holders at RISE Professional conference in Kassel, Germany

This summer, I had the privilege of being selected for the RISE (Research Internships in Science and Engineering) Professional program organized by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). During the RISE Professional research internship, I worked at Petanux GmbH in Bonn, Germany, under the supervision of Prof. Mahdi Bohlouli.

DAAD RISE has two programs that offer summer research internships in Germany to students from the North America, Great Britain, and Ireland. RISE Germany program offers internships to undergraduate students at German universities and research institutions, while RISE Professional program offers internships to graduate students at German companies and research institutions with strong relations to the industry. This year, 246 North American, British, and Irish students applied for 122 internship positions and 70 scholarships were awarded for both programs. This summer, 40 graduate students took part in RISE Professional internships at companies across Germany.

Internship Experience at Petanux

Petanux GmbH is an artificial intelligence (AI) company located in Bonn, Germany. Petanux is specializing in providing innovative AI solutions to businesses across multiple sectors including healthcare, industry, and retail. Petanux’s products include proprietary AI platforms such as PetaGPT, PetaBot, Navidor, and DermVision. 

During my internship, I was a part of the AI team at Petanux and mainly contributed to their AI projects, PetaBot and PetaGPT. PetaBot is an AI chatbot platform that provides multilingual, automated customer support by collecting and analyzing content from organizational websites and documents to build a dynamic knowledge base. It delivers accurate, context-aware answers and continuously improves through learning from customer interactions. PetaGPT, a large language model (LLM)-based AI assistant tailored for enterprise knowledge management, is built to help organizations organize and access information intelligently and securely. Both of these AI platforms leverage Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG), which combines information retrieval with language generation to deliver accurate, context-specific answers. Organizations can upload documents or provide website content, which is integrated into the knowledge base for intelligent analysis rather than simple search. 

The documents uploaded into the knowledge base can be in PDF, DOCX, text, or audio file formats. My primary contribution was enhancing figure and table extraction support for the PetaGPT and PetaBot. I began by researching tools and techniques for parsing PDFs with a focus on extracting figures and tables along with their contextual information. After a thorough qualitative analysis, the MinerU PDF parser, based on YOLO, was selected for its accuracy in detecting figure and table objects. I then developed the MinerU parser as a microservice using Flask with Gunicorn, Python, Docker, and Swagger technologies. The deployed MinerU service receives PDF files via API, parses them using the MinerU Python SDK, uploads the extracted figures and tables as images into a MinIO object store, and returns the parsed content in the API response. I also implemented API endpoints to retrieve and delete figures and tables from the MinIO object store. I enhanced the PetaBot and PetaGPT AI assistants to process uploaded PDF documents by integrating the deployed MinerU microservice through its API endpoint.

Architecture of the internal MinerU microservice (based on Flask) which receives PDF files from PetaGPT and PetaBot, parses the PDF, uploads the extracted figures and tables to an object store, and returns the parsed content.

Additionally, I added features such as AI personality, expert model support, and inferring the language from the incoming prompt to the Petabot and PetaGPT. In order to get effective responses from the AI models for these features, I applied prompt engineering strategies—such as refining instructions, structuring inputs, and tailoring context. 

DAAD RISE Professional Conference 2025

One of the most memorable experiences of the RISE program was attending the RISE Professional Conference, organized by DAAD and held from July 31 - August 2, 2025 in Kassel, in the heart of Germany. During this event, RISE Professional scholarship holders came together to share both their research and personal experiences from internships across companies and research institutions throughout Germany. The conference offered a great space to connect with fellow interns, exchange ideas, and learn more about the academic and professional opportunities available in Germany.

During this conference, RISE interns had the opportunity to visit Fraunhofer Institute for Energy Economics and Energy System Technology (Fraunhofer IEE) in Kassel. Fraunhofer IEE is a German research institute that focuses on the transformation of energy systems for national and international needs. We had a guided visit of their Wind Measurement Lab and Medium Voltage Lab and learned about their research on advanced generator systems for wind energy. Following the visit to Fraunhofer IEE, we visited the University of Kassel and had a tour of the campus on Holländischen Platz, Kassel.

The highlight of the RISE Professional Conference was the memorable excursion in the beautiful city of Kassel, featuring a guided tour of the historic Löwenburg castle, exploring the stunning Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe, and the iconic Hercules monument. 

DAAD RISE Professional interns exploring Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe and visiting Hercules monument and Löwenburg castle in Kassel

Summer in Germany

Alongside my research internship, I had the opportunity to experience everyday life in Germany—from life in a university city to exploring the country’s rich history and cultural landmarks. This summer, I lived in Bonn, a charming city along the Rhine river best known as the birthplace of Beethoven. The city’s cultural heritage and welcoming environment made it a wonderful place to live. Traveling by train made it easy to venture beyond Bonn, and weekends often became opportunities to discover new places. In Germany, I visited major cities such as Berlin, Cologne, and Frankfurt, exploring local landmarks, museums, and historic neighborhoods. I also tried authentic German food, including currywurst, reibekuchen, and pretzels, which enriched my cultural experience. Beyond Germany, I traveled to neighboring countries including the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Belgium, each offering a unique cultural perspective. I visited iconic cities such as Amsterdam, Brussels, and Bruges, where I explored historic sites and enjoyed a variety of European cuisines. Overall, I greatly appreciated the chance to explore beautiful places, savor local foods, and walk along streets steeped in history.

Highlights from my summer in Germany and travels in Europe—exploring history, landmarks, and cuisines

Conclusion

This summer was an invaluable blend of professional development and exploring new places. Through my internship, I contributed to advancing key product features by developing a PDF parsing microservice with MinerU, integrating it into Petanux's AI assistants, and enhancing functionality with prompt engineering for improved model responses. These experiences strengthened my technical skills in API development, containerization, and applied AI. At the same time, living in Bonn and traveling across Germany and neighboring countries allowed me to immerse myself in European culture, history, and everyday life. Altogether, the internship not only expanded my technical expertise but also broadened my travel experience, making this summer a truly rewarding and transformative experience.

Acknowledgements

I would like to express my gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Sampath Jayarathna, for supporting my RISE internship application and for his guidance. My thanks also go to Dr. Patricia Schiaffini-Vedani from the Graduate School at ODU, for her support for this application. I am grateful to NIRDS Lab, WS-DL research group, and Computer Science department for their continued support.

I would like to acknowledge Annkristin Ermel and Michaela Gottschling for coordinating the RISE Professional program, organizing RISE Professional conference, and offering steadfast support throughout the summer. I am also thankful to DAAD and Petanux GmbH, for providing me this opportunity. I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Prof. Mahdi Bohlouli, the AI team lead, Milad Bohlouli, and my colleagues at Petanux GmbH for their invaluable guidance and support throughout the internship.

-- Yasasi Abeysinghe (@Yasasi_Abey)

Comments

Post a Comment