The students from the second intake of the EACH programme successfully defended their theses over the summer of 2018 (Please see here: defence at UU,  defence at AAU, and  defence at UCBL). We have carried out a small survey and found that out of the 17 fresh graduates, 15 already have by now found a new position!

Some of the graduates work in the professional/industrial field. The positions obtained range from a Senior Process Engineer in a Multinational company to chemists in a pharmaceutical companies, and a chemist at National Food Agency of Sweden to research assistant at a university. A number of graduates are continuing their academic career by pursuing a doctoral degree. The universities that our graduates have managed to obtain Ph.D. positions range from Canada to Finland.

Here is what some of the fresh graduates of the EACH programme say about their experience with the programme:

Alisija Prakapaite (UU study-track), currently working as an analytical scientist at AstraZeneca, a bio-pharmaceutical company in Sweden: I was that lucky person, who got accepted to EACH program in 2016. And by saying lucky – I mean it. EACH was not only a kick off point in my career, but it was a life changing experience.
The first year at Tartu gave me very good basics of analytical chemistry, uncertainty (Measurement uncertainty online course is an absolute must!) and chemometrics. During my second year at Uppsala University we had only one course at the time. But we were going deeply into theory and then putting our knowledge into the practice in our daily lab work with different instruments. It was a lot of work, but on the other hand – a lot of experience. So don’t get scared! This work pays off afterwards with all the acquired knowledge.
After this program, I can certainly say that I am confident in myself, as an analytical chemist, and in my skills. Now I am working in Gothenburg, Sweden, at AstraZeneca as an Analytical Scientist. Due to my experience from these studies, I could easily join the ongoing work.

Jay Pee Oña (AAU study-track), Ph.D. student at AAU, Finland: The EACH program has definitely provided a valuable boost to my academic career. The Tartu-Åbo study-track has introduced me to the world of electrochemistry, a field that has regained interest in recent years due to the development of fuel cells and point-of-care diagnostics, among many others. Right after graduation, I started my doctoral studies at Åbo Akademi University. The main topic of my research is biomass conversion for fuel and chemical production, where a significant part will involve electrocatalysis and online analysis of reaction products. Therefore, much of the skills and knowledge that I have obtained from the EACH program can be applied in my current work.
Aside from the technical expertise, EACH provides numerous opportunities to improve one’s soft skills, such as adaptability and teamwork, which are very important in a multicultural working environment.

Kalliroi Sdougkou (UU study-track), Ph.D. of Stockholm University, Sweden: The EACH programme was an overall amazing experience for me. I spent two wonderful years at two great universities, I travelled and made friends from all over the world. The programme is very well organized and it gives you all you need to enter the job-market. When I finished my master’s degree in Uppsala, I was glad to find myself capable of applying to quite a lot of positions for analytical chemists in Sweden. In the end I decided to pursue third cycle studies, something that I would probably not be prepared and confident to do without the EACH programme.

Marko Bertic, Ph.D student at Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany:
Immediately after arriving in France, I realized that all the classes I took in Tartu would be used in one way or another. In France all the lectures are OBLIGATORY and there were no midterm exams in general. Because of this, all the final exams were squeezed in one week (that’s right, approximately 1-2 exams per day). Second semester gave me a great opportunity to do a 6 months internship in French company in industry. For me this was the best part of choosing France as a second-year country. Furthermore, we were paid for this period (another positive of this study-track). Working in the company was again a challenge since not all the people there spoke English, so our French skills came to the fore one more time. This period of about 1 year made us integrate into the French society and I can say for sure we are all at least 20 % French now.
This programme opened many doors for me. I applied for couple of Ph.D. positions and in each interview first thing they asked me was to explain in detail what my master’s programme is about. It was very interesting and made me a very attractive choice.

Please, also see the blog post from Snežana about her time in the EACH programme.

We wish all the best to our graduates!