Andreas Obers

Alumnus

Andreas Obers

Position

PhD Student

Institution

Peter Doherty Institute

(Melbourne, Australia)

Graduated

2016

Faculty

Life Sciences

Degree

Bioengineering (B.Sc.)

Date of the interview 

March 2020 

 

Why did you decide to study Bioengineering at Rhine-Waal University?

During secondary school, I was mainly interested in natural science subjects and thus wanted to pursue a career related to natural sciences. The study programme Bioengineering suited my personal interests at that time and in addition is entirely taught in English, which was my second priority, as I am internationally focussed. Besides that, the 6-month internship (preferably abroad) before the bachelor’s thesis was an attractive option to explore research in another country.

After graduating in 2016, you started working at MLM medical labs in Mönchengladbach, Germany. What did your job there entail?

My main tasks were to publish the results I collected for my bachelor thesis. Besides writing the manuscript, I also worked as a student assistant in the kit building department, which provides customized kits for clinical trials.

You continued with your education with a master’s degree in Biology-Biotechnology at the University of Copenhagen, Denmark. What motivated you to pursue this degree?

I wanted to pursue a master’s degree at a traditional university and outside of Germany. Another important factor in my decision was the programme setup. Here, the master’s programme included a thesis project of one year, which is optimal for doing projects in industry as compared to shorter 6-month thesis projects. Besides that, the quality of research was good and I could substitute curriculum subjects with research projects outside of the university as well.

You have just started your Ph.D. in Melbourne, Australia. Can you tell us more about your field of research?

My research field now is to study a subset of memory T-cells and their transcriptional regulation in health and disease. As I have just started, the project will be built up over the next months guided by the outcomes of my experiments.

Do you have any advice for current and prospective Bioengineering students?

Be aware of which topics inspire you and which don’t. Look inside yourself for answers and use these to guide your decisions, rather than hoping to find immediate and clear answers elsewhere.

How do you view your time as a student at Rhine-Waal University in retrospect?

The student life was fantastic. I enjoyed my time a lot because the course was rather small and the connections among students and also to professors was very close. These connections led to long-term friendships with both students and professors.

Last but not least: will you stay abroad after finished your Ph.D. or will you return to Germany?

I cannot say for sure as it depends on my professional as well as personal plans, but for now I enjoy living abroad and exploring different countries and cultures. The experience of integrating into a new country is so valuable to have.