Géraldine Baekelandt

"My three personality types are: Influencer, Innovator and Manager. These work quite well with me as a person, as well as with my job. As an applications specialist, I need to find the applications of a cool new technology. In order to do this, you need to be an innovator and influencer. You have to talk to people, listen to people and be able to hold scientific conversations. Part of this is being able to take their opinions and expertise into account, and use that to further innovate the cool new tech. In order to do this, you need to be able to manage the group that will change the cool new tech for it to be easier to use and more useful for the customers. I'm the intermediary between the full research scientists, and the customers and business end of the business."

"IRUBIS is a spin out from the Technical University of Munich, and we use Mid Infrared Spectroscopy and a new type of crystal called an ATR crystal, to look at biological processes. My job is to see how we can use this for looking a new quality control in the pharmaceutical industry, what we can do with the instrument, what parameters are most important to the customers, and the market surrounding the instrument. I enjoy that I can do both science and also do marketing and business aspects of the job too - this makes it a lot more suitable for someone who doesn't only want to be in the lab all the time! Starting salaries are between £35,000 - £ 40,000 a year. Rises quite quickly depending on qualifications. I've since moved to Germany and salaries are higher, around 50,000EUR starting salary. "

"I very much liked school, so went from one degree to another, ending up with a PhD. After my masters, I still felt there was so much to learn, so I did a PhD. I was lucky to have received a full scholarship from AstraZeneca for my PhD, so it was treated a little like a first research job. However, I love so many things, and a PhD gave me the flexibility to do lots of teaching and outreach on the side, as well as starting a female led comedy club and working with the Stemettes, and giving lectures on Nanoscience at Cambridge. It wasn't until I finished my PhD that I felt I had learned as much as I could from my degrees and outreach, and it was time to put that into practical applications in a real world job. The role that I'm currently in is my second job after my PhD (8+ years of higher education), and it's almost exactly what I wanted to do. "

"I am an avid runner, ultra runner and triathlete! I love exercise, which really helps me de-stress. Whether it's running or being in the gym, it really does allow me to relax. I also like doing teaching, which I continue as I love explaining all things nano related to anyone who will listen! I grew up all over the world for my dad's job, so travel is also something that plays a large part in my life. Luckily, my job allows me to travel to clients a lot, and present at international conferences. "

"In a typical day, we start up with a quick summation of what everyone is doing that day. I have no day that is the same, which is one of the reasons I love my job! Usually, I'll be reading a few papers on how our technology can be used in different areas, putting together a market plan, and reaching out to people who we think we can help with our technology. Much of what I do is looking into applications and then seeing if it works! So I'll sometimes be in the lab with the lab assistant, and we will discuss the best way to preform some tests and get as much data as possible. This will then be used to show customers what we're doing, and how great the instrument is. The outcome is, as a start up, to sell some of our instruments to buyers! We do this through collaboration and showing them how great the data is that we can produce. "

"BSc (Hons) Chemistry (University of Liverpool), MSc Nanotechnology for Regenerative Medicine (UCL) , MRes Sensor Technologies and Applications, PhD Nanoscience (Cambridge University)."