The EACH graduates of 2019 – life after EACH

Over the summer of 2019, the third intake of EACH students successfully graduated from the programme (defence at UU, defence at AAU, defence at UCBL ).

Only a few months later the majority of the recent graduates – 13 out of 18 in total – have engaged themselves with new challenges and are pursuing their careers in either the world of work or academic field.

Below is a retrospective from some of our most recent graduates:

Diana Visanu (UU study-track), currently working at the R&D department of Camurus – a Swedish pharmaceutical company:

The EACH programme has been a wonderful learning experience all around and has provided me with all the necessary skills to kick-start my career. The selection of courses offers a very good balance between practical work and in-depth theory (the LC-MS course taught at the University of Tartu has been particularly useful for me), which provides graduates with an attractive and well-rounded candidate profile resulting in excellent employment prospects in the industry, as well as a great foundation to build upon should they choose to pursue a PhD. In my opinion, one of the great advantages of the EACH programme is the great variety of competences that it offers. As an EACH student, you get a very solid general analytical chemistry and metrology foundation at the University of Tartu and then, for your second year, you have the opportunity to choose between three excellent study tracks in three different countries based on your interests and career goals. The EACH programme has also given me invaluable opportunities to develop my soft skills, experience different cultures and make friends from all over the world.

I was able to find a job in R&D at Camurus, a rapidly growing Swedish pharmaceutical company, within 2 months of graduating from the EACH programme. I can say with confidence that the practical and theoretical skills acquired during my master’s studies have allowed me to successfully take on my current tasks in running bioanalytical and pharmaceutical analyses, as well as in method development and qualification.

Nikola Obradovic (AAU study-track), currently a PhD student at ETH Zürich, Switzerland:

Acknowledging it’s clever abbreviation, EACH, this master’s programme is more suited to be called UNIQUE. Unique in many ways. The EACH journey starts at the University of Tartu, a sanctum of knowledge since 1632. To this day, I consider this university to be one of the most student friendly educational institutions I’ve ever come across. The curriculum, which is constantly following the developments of analytical chemistry worldwide, is very involving and diverse. Through many independent and team-based assignments, which are taught by leading experts in the field and are often of case study type, the EACH student gets all the desired tools of the analytical chemistry craft that our modern world requires. And, by shifting the narrative from hardcore to a more socially involved science, this programme educates the future leaders in the field, with comprehensive professional networks. What is more, the second year of the EACH programme is dedicated to the student’s desired future “specialization”, pursued at three revered European universities. But, this is not to be confused with narrowing the scope of someone’s knowledge. On the contrary. It just boosts the EACH student’s grasp of an already diverse field of analytical techniques, from simple optical spectroscopy and electrochemistry, to more advanced techniques such as liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry and biosensors.

The hardest piece of evidence I can offer to support these claims is my own story. For my second EACH year, I decided to dig deep into the world of applied electrochemistry and electrochemical sensors at Åbo Akademi University. And, even before graduating from EACH, I was offered to do a PhD in the field of Redox Biogeochemistry at one of the most prestigious universities in the world – ETH Zürich. Today, I could not imagine my work without being fully operational in using different analytical techniques, which I greatly owe to the EACH programme.

Daniela Alejandra Pinto Perez (UCBL study-track), currently working as a Consulting Engineer at B-Hive engineering, France:

The EACH program was an amazing experience for me, as it broadened my horizon professionally and personally. The last two years I studied and worked with people from all over the world. This cultural diversity made me a more open-minded person, it broadened my point of view and improved my communication skills. It was very enriching traveling and meeting new people.

As part of this master I got specific knowledge of metrology, industrial analysis and quality systems. I developed several soft skills, like project and time management, creativity and problem solving; skills that I am sure will contribute to my professional growth. I also had the opportunity to learn French at university (basic level in Tartu, intermediate in Lyon); it was not easy in the beginning, but all the effort worth it.

All this helped me to get a job in France as Consulting Engineer at B-Hive engineering, and I am currently working in a project at Elanco, a pharmaceutical laboratory.

The study track of this program made me a versatile professional, allowing me to work in different areas, such as Analytical Service, Quality Control, Quality Assurance and production.

Daniel Papp (UU study-track), currently a PhD student at Lund University, Sweden:

EACH contributed to my career in two main ways. First, many doors opened for me, I have acquired a quite wide network across the world consisting of former classmates, project groupmates or teachers. This is a very big advantage when looking for positions. The other big contribution is equipping me with that specific knowledge which is usually left out from the curricula of “normal” analytical chemistry courses, for example, metrology aspects of chemical analysis. This is something that many people do not know, but is still highly demanded if we want to perform an analysis correctly.

We wish all the graduates of the EACH programme all the best!