 Good afternoon, Pamela. Thank you for joining. I would like to start this interview by asking you to tell us a little bit more about your current job, the organization that you're working in, and if you can describe what's like the activities that you're doing. Okay. Hey, Anna. Thanks for the invite. Well, at the moment, I am working for the TU DELF in the Water Management Department for the Sanitary Engineering Section. I am finalizing my work as a PhD researcher, so I was working in a Marie Curie project for wastewater treatment for research recovery. The program is the Super W program, and right now, also, I am doing the transition to a postdoctoral position in the same department. And basically, my research was a lot of experimental work, as you can imagine, because I was working in the water lab. And also what it involves, it's a little bit of a student supervision, you have to, well, a scientific, you have to write scientific papers. And now, postdoctoral position besides of that, and starting your own small line of research, there will be also the writing of research proposals and grants. Okay. And now a bit of a different question. Why did you decide to enroll in our IMETE program? Well, when I was still finalized, well, I finished already my bachelor's in Ecuador. I am originally from Ecuador. So then I was working for a little bit for the Ministry of Environment, but I was looking still for another opportunity to actually improve my current knowledge and also expand a little bit my view in certain environmental areas. So that's why I didn't want to have something really already very focused either in air quality or water treatment. I wanted to explore something a little bit broader. But then later, I tried to focus my area of expertise, but for the Masters, I wasn't really looking for something very specific. That's why the core of the academic core of the IMETE program looked really appealing to me and also the experience of going abroad and living in three different countries. That one was also sounded very exciting at the moment. Because what was your background as a bachelor? I am an environmental engineer as a background and I have a minor degree in chemical engineering. Okay. And then that's how you went into it. Exactly. And what was your experience with the course and what did you like the most? Well, I think all in all, it was a satisfactory experience. I think I like it. It was challenging, the fact that you have to live in three different countries and basically in each country start all over again. But I think that was actually what made it worth it, that it was an extra challenge besides the academic challenge that the Masters program already implies. These small little things make it really make you more resilient to different changes and conditions so that you are already adapted. So I think all in all was a good experience and besides the people that you are able to know they're not only your classmates but also the lecturers. It's an amazing opportunity that you get around with people that are topping their fields. So I found it like a very nice experience. And how was your experience living in these three countries in Europe? Well, it was very different in the three of them at first. Also, the fact that you are living very far away from home was at the beginning very shocking. But the good thing is actually that you are not the only one doing that. All your classmates are more or less experiencing the same. So they are kind of like a small family that is moving around Europe. And I think actually that's what made it at the end doable because doing it by yourself all alone, I think it's more tricky. But I think it's also like a very good for your growth as a human being to become more independent and also not really attached to your personal belongings, for example. Because it's impossible to try to travel around Europe with two big suitcases of 24 kilos or something like that. It's like you have to really get things, just like leave things in every place and start all over. But then you start just becoming like more flexible and you have like less limitations with yourself. So I think it's tricky, but at the end it was a nice experience. An experience that only if you have done it, you really understand what it implies. And I think like we live in three very beautiful places, so in Delft, in Ghent and in Prague. So also like the cultural experience and that's something that I really, really value nowadays. What do you see yourself doing in the next few years? In the next few years. Well, I really want to stay in research but maybe moving towards more research and development. But something that is really triggering me now is to move this part of research but more towards the solutions for the problems in the developing countries. I mean, I have worked now for my PhD with a technology that it's, let's say, in terms of that it could be applicable for developing countries. I see it that still the cost efficiency is not, we're not really there. It's still at lab scale, but that was interesting for me to actually realize in that for the next couple of years I would like to also look for more creative and innovative solutions in the part of sanitation and wastewater treatment. But moving a little bit the focus more towards the situation in the developing countries. Because I mean in the developed countries, at least the sanitation situation is very good. But we're still in the developing countries, we're still not observing that. So that's something that I really want to try to focus my work in the upcoming years towards that. And so it was also to achieve a little bit of a different model of the sanitation systems in the developing countries. Not only you know that you have a solution that it works in a developed country when just move it there and try to make it work, but something more that really takes into account the requirements of the site where you want to place it. I think that the next question is a bit related to what you were explaining now and I would just invite you then to elaborate a little bit more. And the question is what is a cause idea or project you believe in or would like to pursue. Yeah, well I think I want to go in a little bit one step ahead. But as I said, I think it's very important and at least from my experience that I have had at the moment, doing research in a, let's say, not really resource constrained environment, where you have the things that you need and you really don't face too many limitations in terms of technologies and monitoring of the process that is being carried out in the lab. But when you actually move to a developing country, actually from the some of the situations that I have experienced myself in Ecuador, I know that we don't work under those conditions. We indeed face limitations in terms of resources, in terms of knowledge, you name it. So that's why I after my experience doing this, doing this research, I want to continue in the field of an Arabic digestion and also with water treatment. But I would really like to focus more towards technologies that can be implemented in the in the developing countries, and also that we can move from only achieving the target of sanitation, but actually going towards the recovery of resources, but actually resources that are valuable for maybe agriculture, or that can have more immediate use, and that actually have an added value for these local economies. So it's not just like trying to make research recovery because of, but really considering which are the needs of the place, and then that the system is actually first achieving the sanitation needs. And then afterwards it could be it could be also very nice if you can actually recover something that is an added value for the for the local economy. So that's like something that we want to explore during this also during my postdoctoral research that I am going to be working still with with some people from my current research team for the postdoctoral position. And so we will see how that one goes. So good luck with that. I hope it goes really well. It sounds a quite intense work and a nice project. Do you think that the knowledge you have gained from the IMETI program can help you to achieve it? Well, I think actually it has been until well from what I have gained so far there have been several steps and I have had several contributions. I have the contribution from from my bachelor's. So thanks to that I know some of the fundamentals of course those ones were actually solidified when I did the masters and also I got my like my mind also got a little bit more open in the available technologies that you can put into place because then you know like the the fundamentals from your bachelor's but the part of the technology sometimes you cannot make the link. Then in the masters I was able to do that. And now during the PhD was like kind of a very concentrated effort is that you needed to work in a particular technology and understand as much as you can of that one. And if possible I tried to propose a solution for a certain problem but did not at least get a considerably deep level of understanding. And so now it's like if you want to go one step farther in research is like yeah based on all the steps that you have done before. So what are you going to do next. So it's do you collect a little bit of all your past experience. And of course they cannot deny that they they met a program has has a significant influence in the in the decisions and also it has made its contribution to it. And what advice would you give to our students or anyone who's interested in applying for they met the program. Which advice. Well I think actually the best advice that I can give. If I would be asked to give an advice will be to really make the most of the experience is like it's an opportunity that not everybody has. So if you are you are selected or you go with a scholarship. It's really and it's really a great opportunity. So try to make the most. Don't don't be afraid of ask as many questions as you have. Don't be afraid to talk to the people and try to get to know getting to contact with as many people as you can. Not only from your batch but also with the with the professors with other people around because you don't know when the next opportunity is going to be like in my case I am very grateful because the moment that I needed a recommendation letter for my PhD. I was able to actually ask to one of my lecturers lecturers from the meta program. And she gave me and actually that opened the door for me for having this opportunity of doing this PhD project. So that's that's something that I would like to say. When you have a moment also speak up show your talent. If you are there is because you deserve it. So then actually don't don't start putting too much into your mind like too much pressure against yourself because it doesn't go to that is not going to show your real you. So in any opportunity that you can actually try to a try to be yourself but a make them make the most of the of the opportunity that you that you are having. It's it's a really I think it's a really nice program and you are actually you are meeting a lot of people you're meeting a lot of places. So these actually really opens your opens your mind. So if you are able to join the program. Do it but also a try to make the most of the most of it because it's a very selected group that ended up doing the a doing this program. So make the most made the most of the of the opportunity that this is being given to you. So with this super insightful note we're going to finish this interview. Thank you for your time and for joining us. Thank you Anna for the for the interview and good luck with the new recruitment. Thank you.