Testimonial Nina Roothans
Employer: Nestlé Research in Switzerland
Function: Junior Research Assistant
Graduated: 2019
During my Integrated Masters Programme in Biological Engineering in Lisbon, I had the opportunity to enrol in an Erasmus exchange period. TU Delft was at the top of the list of the various choices that I had. In particular, the wide variety of the programme attracted me, together with its strong focus on applying acquired knowledge in practice. So, I was able to spend a whole year at TU Delft, following the 1st year of the MSc LST programme.
Although it was very busy and challenging, I learnt so much during this year. There was an incredible amount of work to be done, but it was amazing to learn about varied subjects such as process engineering, biochemical pathways, microbial communities and modelling. One of the strengths of the programme was its clear emphasis on challenging us and stimulating our critical thinking. Most courses included group assignments, which required a lot of time management, but enabled us to learn how to interact with people from different backgrounds. Also, the commitment of the teachers impressed me, as most of them were very happy to answer questions and to enter into discussions with their students.
Because I had such a great year in Delft, I decided to stay. The second year, with the Master thesis and industrial internship, was very different from the first, but certainly just as good and equally important for knowledge acquisition and skills development. Since we get to work in both academic and industrial settings, we get a clearer idea of what we want to do in the future. In my case, I am currently working at Nestlé Research in Switzerland as a Junior Research Assistant, but I will soon return to Delft for a PhD. In summary, the programme is very demanding but absolutely rewarding.