Emma has been working at ENTER since January 2019. As an academic, she wanted to go into business instead of research and ENTER offered her the chance to gain experience with different clients on different projects.
"I studied Biomedical Engineering; a mix between chemical biology, tissue engineering and mechanics. It was either that or Aerospace Engineering," she says. Two very different things, but Biomedical Engineering became the choice because she is an active glider pilot in her spare time, tinkering with the planes herself. Laughing, "I also found the human body very interesting, in combination with technology, but it's hard to find a Saturday afternoon hobby in that."
"I like to see results from the technology I'm working on"
Emma Munnig Schmidt
Results
Then serious again: "I always resolved that I didn't want to do a PhD purely for the sake of doing a PhD. If I had found something that was a perfect fit, I would certainly have considered it, but I'm not chasing an academic career. I don't see myself doing another four years of research for the sake of research. I'm practical-minded and I'd like to see concrete results. That could be something very big, like a machine, or something small at the cellular level, or maybe even smaller. But I would like to see something that is ultimately intended for application. And if I can contribute to a better or cleaner world, that would be a bonus. I have that idealism in me."
Through ENTER, she first started working in a role at Bosch. She had a dynamic position there where she worked between the different layers. One moment with management and the next with operators. "The nice thing was, there was also production on site. You could see it, it was tangible."
Emma Munnig Schmidt
Technical
Emma worked on various projects at Bosch. For example, she independently picked up a problem analysis of a washing machine that was not functioning properly. "That was technically very interesting, but also exciting. And together with a team I worked on a new generation product and also on a new process. It was very diverse. The only thing I found unfortunate was that, as Project Leader, I was working on a level where I mainly had to keep an overview. But then when it became technical, I had to hand it off to the engineers and I found that very unfortunate."
"I'm practical-minded and I like to see concrete results. That could be something very big, like a machine, or something small at the cellular level, or maybe even smaller."
Emma Munnig Schmidt
Emma, who is currently looking for a new assignment via ENTER, is therefore mainly looking for work where she can put her technical capabilities to better use again. "As a Project Leader you often have to chase people and that's not really my thing. And I like to be closer to the technology. That could be in a laboratory, by the way, but for a client and not in academic form."
Individualistic team sport
Her colleagues at Bosch describe her as empathetic and nice to work with. "I also like to work in teams, but I also like to work on my own tasks for which I am responsible. That's why gliding suits me so well. You can't do it alone, on your own you don't get up. Once up, you're on your own and you have to come up with your own strategy to win the race. Actually it's an individualistic team sport and that suits me. It's the same in my work: I need people around me to sound off with, but I like to do the analysis myself."