Alumni all over the world

Working life Alumni All Over the World

In this article, four alumni of Intermate talk about their experiences living abroad. How did they end up there and what is it like working abroad? Maybe their stories can inspire you to do the same Text & Images: Mirjam van Esch, Alain Starke, Mara van Welle and Azel Zeijen

Axel Zeijen (Switzerland) Hi, I am Axel Zeijen, living in Zürich, where I am current-ly finishing up my PhD at ETH Zürich. It is a very international city, so I did not experience much of a culture shock. The biggest difference in my daily life is that I meet and work with people from all over the world, and this has become completely natural.

During my studies in Eindhoven, going abroad was mandatory for us, so everyone at Intermate either had plans to go or stories to tell. It was never a question of whether to move abroad, but rather where you wanted to go. You could say my exchange semester got a bit out of hand. I liked the university and the city (and fell in love!), so I kept searching for reasons to come back.

Going abroad makes you, in my opinion, more open-minded. It also made me realize how much I care about the quality of life where I live. I might just come back to the Netherlands, as the quality of life is really good there! I once met an expat who started to complain about how the Netherlands is a country of mediocrity. He probably did not mean it this way, but I would say it is a compliment! Mara van Welie (Germany) Hello, my name is Mara van Welie and I currently live in Bremen, the Northwest region of Germany. As you would expect, I drink beer and eat bratwurst all day... and also work on business model development for a European research project on Smart Grids. My time at TU/e has helped me to become a globetrotter: I really enjoyed my semesters abroad (in Rwanda and Norway) and the international environment in Eindhoven. So, after obtaining my MSc, I did not hesitate to seize an opportunity to move to Switzerland for a PhD job, especially because it involved research time in Kenya.

I never intended to live abroad, but I just took the opportunities that came my way. Moreover, Germany is not all that different from the Netherlands, even though I have been quite aware of the influence of my Dutch upbringing on my day-to-day work

Of all the places I have been to, Norway was the loveliest one. I also would not mind getting back there in five years from now, even though it is quite cold. If an opportunity ever crosses you path to do something similar, seize it.

“I never intended to live abroad”

Working life Alain Starke (Norway) I am Alain Starke. I am supposed to be in Bergen at the moment, a city on the west side of Norway, because I work at the University of Bergen. However, I am now quarantined in my hometown Eindhoven. My wife does not complain about that, since we had been living apart for half a year. For my work, I investigate how citizens make their food choices and how they can be presented personalized advice through so-called ‘food recommender systems.’

I am not a globetrotter like others in this magazine. I was born and raised in Eindhoven, and actually like the city enough to stick around and even chose to study here. I have a big heart for Switzerland and lived in lakeside Lausanne for half a year. The biggest difference I experienced while living abroad is that you mostly run into other people who are not native to the region, and that you hang around with other ‘globetrotters.’ And, of course, no ‘kringverjaardagen.’

I think I will be back in Eindhoven in approximatly five years. Although you can never know the future for sure, my research on recommender systems has told me that historical data can be quite accurate to predict the future. We will see what the future brings. Mirjam van Esch (USA) Hi! My name is Mirjam van Esch. I am currently living in San Franciso with my husband (who is Portuguese), working as a UX researcher for Youtube. My studies helped me to become a globetrotter. Meeting tons of international students and learning about their backgrounds certainly helped to foster the desire to keep exploring the world. I found living in different countries always fascinating, which got me even more interested in getting first-hand experiences of living and building a career abroad.

From my first time studying abroad, at the age of 15, I discovered that by living in a place, you get to know the country in a way you would not from just visiting on holiday. It also opens up career opportunities, especially in the IT industry, which ultimately brought me to San Francisco.

One of the biggest challenges as a globetrotter is that you tend to befriend other globetrotters, which means that while I am moving from country to country, so do my friends. Although it is great to get to visit friends all around the world, it does make it more challenging to foster and keep these friendships close. Also, if anyone is ever around San Francisco feel free to reach out. I am happy to show you bars and otherplaces.