InSight into careers of D-MATL graduates

The Insight event on October 17, 2024 featured presentations from four speakers in diverse positions, but all with a Master's degree in Materials obtained within the past 15 years. It was once more fascinating to see what paths are open for our Alumni. The messages this time were to keep an open mind, dare to explore options and stay curious, but also stay true to what matters to you personally. We thank the speakers for an insight into their personal stories and learnings!

The speakers were: 

• Lukas Bischoff, technical director at external page Haefeli Diamantwerkzeugfabrik AG
• Patrick Itten, self-employed external page photographer, graphics and web designer
• Noëmi Kaufmann, director for strategic partnerships at external page Community Climate Solutions
• Yannick Dähler, product engineer at external page SCHOTT Schweiz AG  

The second InSight Event in 2023 took place on October 17, 2023. The following four ETH Materials Alumni presented their companies and provided great input for the audience.

Speakers

• Marion Frey, external page Bcomp Ltd
• Roberto Emma, external page On Labs
• Michele Zahner, external page greenTEG
• Sybille Korrodi, external page leadership and management coaching

At our InSight career event on 19 May 2022, four ETH Materials Alumni introduced their company and talked about their career and daily professional life.

Overview of speakers:

• Julia Braun (external page ABB)
• Raphael Heeb (external page NematX)
• Dorothee Niederberger (external page Consultest)
• Pascal Schwendimann (external page Helmut Fischer)

The current times force us to keep physical distance and rethink networking activities. Still, ETH students continue their education, although in a distance-learning-format. They will graduate, among many towards the ultimate goal of solving pressing materials science challenges out there in the world.

On 7 May, over 40 participants convened virtually, the first-of-a-kind in the 11-years-history since the launch of the InSight format. Four ETH Materials Alumni, from near and far, shared insights into their professional development. They told their personal stories with great enthusiasm and dedication, leaving an impressed audience, being grateful about the Alumni's contributions.

Overview of speakers:

• André Röthlisberger, external page Biotronik
  
• Anna Peter, external page Atlas Copco
• Barbara Scherrer, external page KoinaSoft
• Christopher Schmitt, external page Seitenbau

"My life after ETH ... - or is there any?" At our networking event on 21 March 2019, four ETH Materials Alumni shared their very personal story after graduation. We have learned that 'being interested' is probably the best way to be prepared for a new professional challenge. And also, 'if something did not feel right' to take a moment to reflect on what to do next, as there is always something waiting out there. This can also mean to be persistent, as you might finally catch the job of your dreams after having submitted three applications while waiting for ten years.

This InSight was organised in the series of the 150^th Anniversary of ETH Alumni and signified the 10-year celebration after its launch by Sara Morgenthaler, ETH Materials Alumna and former business manager of MaP. We want to thank Sara for her enthusiasm and engagement throughout all these years – all that made this networking format so successful! And of course, we look forward to many more Alumni stories to hear in the next events to come.

Overview of speakers:

• Sylvie Ruch, external page Novartis
  
• Brandon Bürgler, external page European Space Agency (ESA)
  
• Rea Schegg, external page GF Machining Solutions
  
• Pascal Wettstein, external page Dentalpoint

At our InSight career event on 25 October 2018, four ETH Materials Alumni shared their professional experiences and insights after graduation.

Overview of speakers:

• Sandro Bigler, external page Reishauer AG
• Stefan Ellenbroek, external page Energie 360° AG
  
• Cathrein Limacher, external page RUAG Space
• Nicholas Grundy, external page Thermo-Calc Software
  

What is the job of a materials sciences graduate? Three ETH Materials Alumni gave their very personal response to this question at our InSight career event on 15 March 2018. They spoke about how it is to work in a start-up that is embedded in a bigger enterprise, driving the own ETH spin-off, or striking a new path beyond materials.

Overview of speakers:

• Nadine Peneder, external page WEIDMANN Fiber Technology
• Max Kory, external page BATTRION
• Rahel Zoller, external page SBB

At our InSight career event on 16 March 2017, four ETH Materials Alumni shared their professional experiences and insights after graduation. They spoke about their career paths and reflected on skills they have acquired during their studies at ETH which appear to be most valuable in their working life.

Overview of speakers:

• Florian Furrer, external page QUO AG
• Whitney Hartung, Altran
• Andrea Zemp, external page Oerlikon Surface Solutions
• Philipp Chen, external page McKinsey & Company

Studying Materials Science is exciting – and what comes next? At our last networking event on 6 October 2016, four Materials Alumni gave personal insights into their career paths after graduation from ETH.

Overview of speakers:

• Andreas Binkert, external page ZHAW School of Engineering
• Annette Altwegg, external page GE Power
• Michael Schinhammer, external page Qualitech
• Gian Cadisch, external page EMS Chemieexternal page

A degree in Materials Science offers graduates a multitude of different career paths in a variety of industry branches. At our InSight event on 3 March 2016, four of our Materials Alumni talked about their career paths and daily life in industry. Key to their everyday job commitment is the choice to work in interesting markets and on innovative projects, at positions where they can contribute to the success of their enterprises.

Overview of speakers:

After a PhD focused on thin film surface coatings, Samuele Tosatti founded external page SuSoS AG as a spin-off of ETH Zurich, specialized in the fields of surface modification, functionalisation and characterisation. Starting the enterprise in 2004 with an idea, a partner and a rich toolbox of technological solutions, SuSoS and its founders went through several learning cycles that sharpened their company profile to a successful enterprise of seven highly motivated team members working on high-performance solutions for their customers.

Luana Cavalli Sahli obtained her materials science degree in 2002 and spoke about the challenge to find a job during a time of economic crisis. She launched her career with the prestigious ESA (European Space Agency) traineeship, where she developed test methods to determine galvanic corrosion in space conditions. Afterwards, she joined Alcoa as application engineer for aerospace and defence and later external page Airex / 3A Composites as solution engineer for core materials where she appreciates to work closely with customers towards solutions for specific applications.

Looking back on his career path, David Sager states “the scope changes, but the complexity stays”. After a PhD in high-temperature superconductors in 2004, he worked as project leader at Hilti and later as product manager at Geberit. Currently, he is responsible for market development and marketing for sealing and bonding at external page Sika, where he is supporting and guiding the local sales organizations to grow in sealant and adhesive business. With each position throughout his career the number of people involved and impact of decisions raised and he advised especially the technical graduates not to forget about company politics and the time required to bring new technologies to the market.

Fabian Fischer graduated from ETH in 2010 and demonstrated the benefit of an industrial master thesis allowing the graduate as well as the company to get to know each other, which, as a consequence, may facilitate the start of a career. Since his master thesis at external page ABB Semiconductors, Fabian has grown his experience in three positions as process engineer, product engineer and eventually as R&D project manager. He now works on the development of new power semiconductor module platforms and appreciates the opportunities at his workplace to take up different challenges in a pleasant working environment.

A degree in Materials Science from ETH Zurich is a starting point for a multitude of career paths in different fields and for various positions. In the InSight event of 12 March 2015, four of our graduates spoke about their career choices and the underlying driving forces. The basic knowledge they acquired during their studies helps them to understand, control and develop the materials and processes they are working with each day. Working in a global setting, cross-functional teams and complex environments where they have to fulfil different requirements, however still keeps them learning constantly.

Overview of speakers:

Francesco Albertini did an internship at swissnex Boston after his graduation and then started to work for Altran Switzerland. Meanwhile he is a senior scientist with external page Cilag AG (Schaffhausen), a subsidiary of external page Johnson & Johnson, which is operating in the field of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. His main task is the development and validation of test methods for testing medical devices and combination products (drug and devices combined). In the highly regulated pharmaceutical environment the test method validation is an essential step for guaranteeing the quality of a product.

After a PhD in polymer technology focusing on high-performance composites for industrial applications, Jérôme Lefèvre joined Quadrant Plastic Composites in Canada. Working in the R&D during the economy crisis was a challenge, which he took as an opportunity to develop and produce low-cost green composites as a replacement for wood in automobile caravans. Back in Switzerland, he became head of R&D at external page Ammeraal Beltech AG (Jona), known for process and conveyer belting, where key for success is to find the best performance for a particular application.

Valérie Flück started with an internship at Contraves AG after her graduation to gain first experience in industry. With a background in ceramics and polymers it was all but obvious to move to the metal field, but the possibilities and very well equipped laboratories at external page Rolex convinced her to join its R&D department. The site in Biel focuses on the movements of the watches and her work is mainly concerned with the analysis and characterization of materials. She enjoys the contact to a variety of professions from technicians, scientists to suppliers and technical institutes.

The prestigious ESA (European Space Agency) traineeship was the first career step of Boris Iwanovsky after his graduation, where he was involved in the MEDET project for which he analysed samples and data of in-flight experiments. After traveling around the world for one year, he joined external page Ruag Space. As a materials engineer he not only contributes with technical know-how to the success of the project teams, but he is also concerned with internal quality processes, process audits with material and service suppliers and R&D activities across the company.

A degree in Materials Science allows you to choose from a very broad range of career paths. Our last event on 9 October 2014 provided an insight into what's possible. The four presentations revealed that despite the very different fields of application, be it banking, the constructing industry or precision instruments, communication is key to the daily business of all our speakers and that our graduates tend to work at the interface, often between production, engineering or development and marketing, sales or supplier.

Overview of speakers:

Luca Büchi studied Materials Science as a continued education after having done an apprenticeship as a polymechanic at external page Mettler Toledo, a leading global manufacturer and marketer of precision instruments and services for use in laboratories and manufacturing. He rejoined the company again after his studies, where he is now global QAR (quality assurance representative) for balances and moisture analyzers.

After spending a lot of time in the clean room during her Master thesis, Annika Baier wanted to work with something a little bigger. That's why she joined external page Sika a global speciality chemicals company that supplies construction markets and the manufacturing industry. As a product engineer for structural adhesives and strengthening she is the contact point for all questions related to her products, be it their specifications, testing or marketing.

Robert Bielecki hails from Poland and did both his MSc and his PhD at ETH Zurich. Looking for a new challenge in a completely different area afterwards, he joined external page Solution Providers Management Consulting (renamed to Synpulse, 01.01.2015), a globally active management consulting company in the financial services market, where he now helps to improve processes in banking.

After his studies, Bartjan den Hartogh co-founded and established the spin-off company Nanotion. When this company was sold off to a global player, he moved on to work for external page FemtoTools, a Swiss high-tech company for ultra high-precision instruments for mechanical testing and robotic handling in the micro- and nanodomains, where he is now head of sales.