Hi, I am Jan,
I joined UNITECH with the 21/22 cohort as part of my Masters in Robotics, Systems, and Control at ETH Zurich. This May I finished with my Master’s Thesis in collaboration with the University of Oxford. Since May I am working part-time as a research assistant at ETH Zurich until I find an interesting full-time position in the industry.
What attracted you to apply to the UNITECH programme?
The UNITECH programme caught my attention with its appealing appearance at the infomarkt. Eventually, the pool of academic partners and the active community in the programme motivated me to apply.
What did you enjoy most about your experience in the UNITECH programme so far and how has the programme helped prepare you for the next steps in your career?
During the programme, I especially valued being part of an inclusive group immediately upon arrival. This made me feel welcome in the various novel/foreign places that UNITECH got me to and made the whole exchange and internship more fun.
Tell us more about your Academic Exchange
I had my academic exchange at Chalmers University of Technology. I enjoyed that we were a big UNITECH group at Chalmers that made it quite easy to find some fun activities to do together.
Where was your internship? Were there any challenges that you faced? How did you overcome them?
My internship was at Bühler. One challenge was to comprehensibly communicate my progress through different levels of management in multiple project reviews. Over time, I handled these reviews better and better thanks to continuously implementing feedback and distinguishing
between content, process and interaction (CPI).
What are some of the biggest lessons you have learned in your career so far?
It is okay to have a limited impact in the beginning.
What are some of the biggest trends you see in your industry, and how are you preparing for them?
Trends and the work environment are continuously changing. Be open-minded, purpose-driven and willing to learn and adapt.
What advice would you give to someone just starting out in your field?
Think\plan\act strategically. Take your time to think about what is important to you
and check what you can do to get there (if you aren’t already).