Graduates 2022 of AAU reflect on the EACH programme – Excellence in Analytical Chemistry

*Front row (from left): Naela, Raegan, Angelo and back row (from left): John Paulo, Majid, Bojidar*

The recent EACH graduates of the AAU study-track – Naela, Raegan, Angelo, Majid, Bojida, and John Paulo look back at their time in the EACH programme:

“Finishing a master’s degree is incredibly challenging. Moreso, when doing it in the midst of a pandemic.

The experience of the EACH 2020–2022 intakes, also known as the COVID batch, is completely distinct from that of the previous ones. Prior to the start of our studies, we had to deal with various obstacles and uncertainties. Most of us processed our visas and travel documents while navigating through tighter border controls, canceled flights, lockdowns, and quarantines. To get to the home university in Estonia, some of us even had to board a total of seven airplanes! However, amidst all these adversities, the people from EACH were there to assist and take us into consideration.

COVID-19 was certainly a mess, but the EACH program is not! Instead, the EACH program was resilient. They did their best to maintain order even in the face of chaos.

We can really tell that everyone involved in the program genuinely cared for us and wanted us to be successful. Feedback was always asked to continuously improve the quality of teaching. The study program was also very well-structured: our first year at the University of Tartu (UT), Estonia was spent strengthening our core competencies in analytical chemistry while our second year at Åbo Akademi University (ÅAU), Finland focused on our specialization, which is electrochemistry and sensors. In addition, we had a summer internship that provided us with valuable working experience in a real-world setting.

It has been a great privilege to work with and be mentored by scientific experts, do inspiring research work, explore new places, and meet such an amazing, smart, and kind group of people, especially our dear EACH friends. One of us also found true love in Tartu 😍. Truly, a life-changing journey!

*Naela, John Paulo, Raegan, Majid, Angelo, and Bojidar discovering Åbo/Turku*

Collectively, we agree that the EACH experience is definitely one of the best decisions we have ever made in our lives, both in a personal and professional sense. With EACH, we came out more mature, resolute, and competent. One indication of this is the fact that all six of us in the ÅAU-track were successful in securing PhD positions at various universities months before our graduation! This is something that we really take pride in, and we will always be grateful to EACH for making it possible.

From: Angelo Robiños (now a PhD student at Åbo Akademi University), Bojidar Mandjukov (now a PhD student at University of Tartu), John Paulo Samin (now a PhD student at University of Tartu), Majid Al-Waeel (now a PhD student at University of Turku), Naela Delmo (now a PhD student at University of Turku), and Raegan Chambers (now a PhD student at University of Tartu).”