Internship Seed Physiology - BASF | Nunhems - Haelen/Nunhem

Your Job

Healthy, high-performing seeds are the foundation of successful crop production. During this internship, you will contribute to research that helps us better understand seed quality and improve seed performance under different environmental and storage conditions.

You will combine practical experiments with data analysis and scientific thinking. The exact scope of your internship will be tailored to your educational background, interests, and our ongoing research projects.

In this role, you will:

• Design, perform, and evaluate experiments focused on germination, seed vigor, and seedling establishment.


• Study how seeds respond to environmental factors such as temperature, moisture, and other stress conditions.


• Contribute to research on seed dormancy, maturation, ageing, longevity, and storage.


• Investigate physiological characteristics that influence seed quality, uniformity, and field emergence.


• Use imaging, phenotyping, and data-analysis tools to measure germination and seedling performance.


• Help develop, optimize, and validate test methods and experimental approaches.


• Analyze and interpret experimental data, including connections between laboratory results and seed performance.


• Document your methods and findings and share your insights during team meetings, scientific discussions, and presentations.

Your Team

You will join our Seed Physiology team, where researchers and technical specialists work together to better understand and improve seed performance.

You will receive guidance from experienced colleagues while also having the freedom to take ownership of your own internship project. The team works in an international and collaborative research environment where scientific curiosity, knowledge sharing, and practical application come together.

Your work will contribute to ongoing research and provide valuable insights into challenges such as germination, seed vigor, longevity, stress tolerance, and crop establishment.

Your Profile

What knowledge and experience make you successful in this role?

• You are currently pursuing a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Plant Sciences, Seed Science, Plant Physiology, Biology, Biotechnology, Agronomy, Horticulture, Data Science for Life Sciences, or a related field.


• You have basic knowledge of plant physiology, seed biology, experimental design, or statistics.


• You are interested in seed quality, plant development, biological variation, and applied research.


• Experience with germination or vigor testing, plant phenotyping, image analysis, laboratory experiments, or statistical software is an advantage, but not required.


• You can communicate clearly and work effectively with others in an international environment.

How do you create impact beyond expertise?

Own it

• You take responsibility for your experiments, data, and documentation.


• You work accurately and pay attention to details without losing sight of the overall research objective.


• You communicate openly about your progress, questions, and results.

Drive it

• You are curious and proactive in exploring scientific questions.


• You identify challenges early and look for practical ways to move your research forward.


• You actively contribute ideas and participate in team discussions.

Excel in it

• You approach biological data with an analytical and critical mindset.


• You are eager to learn new research methods, tools, and ways of working.


• You use feedback to develop your skills and improve the quality of your work.


• You translate scientific findings into clear and meaningful conclusions.

What We Offer

• A challenging internship in an innovative and stimulating research environment.


• Hands-on experience with seed physiology methods, controlled-environment experiments, phenotyping tools, and data analysis.


• The opportunity to work on real-world seed-performance challenges.


• Guidance and mentoring from experienced researchers and technical specialists.


• The opportunity to present your findings and contribute to ongoing research projects.


• Experience within an international and collaborative scientific environment.


• An internship allowance in accordance with the applicable guidelines.

Interested in applying your scientific knowledge to practical challenges in seed performance? We look forward to hearing from you.