Thanks to the great program I participated in, I had the chance to learn about the latest Human Computer Interaction and Design techniques. In addition, during this time I was able to do an internship at the IT company GoFore from Finland. Finally, I was able to finish my master's degree with a unique project where I developed a training simulator for surgeons in a hospital near Paris. I will probably never forget those memories of standing in the operating room and watching the surgeons do their work.

But how did I get to do what I do?

My Bachelors

In my school years, I graduated from an "engineering high school" with majors in mechanical engineering and management.  IT was still new territory for us back then, and since I come from an area known for its mechanical engineering, I decided to study mechanical engineering and management in my bachelor's degree. In doing so, I was able to combine the best of both worlds - management and engineering.

Time at CERN

After half a year of Erasmus in France, I decided to apply to CERN in Switzerland. This would help me to further improve my French language and give me the chance to be close to one of the most advanced research facilities in the world.

With some luck I was taken and stayed there for a total of 16 months. My biggest luck was that after 6 months I changed teams and got the opportunity to design and build a digital tool for the engineering department. After interviews, observations, several rounds of prototyping and finally organizing the sprint meetings to get the tool into production, I knew that Digital Technologies and I fit together like bread and butter.

My Master Diplomas

To make the switch from mechanical engineering to computer science, I enrolled in an interdisciplinary master's program in Cognitive Systems and Interactive Media. This gave me many opportunities to get involved with a wide variety of things like Arduino, VR, psychology, and eventually even neuroscience. Of course, I didn't hesitate to take the chance to dive into neuroscience and write my master's thesis on EEG data coming directly from the brain.

After completing this one-year degree, I still lacked 30 credits to pursue a PhD position. Therefore, I decided to do another master's and get a second degree (actually a third, it's a double master's) in Human Computer Interaction and Design. I am very grateful to have received the Scholarship of Excellence, which gave me the opportunity to be financially secure while I studied for another two years in Madrid and Paris.

What I love about Product/ UX Design

Over the years, I've worn many hats and immersed myself in different cultures to see things from different angles. In product and UX design I have found a discipline where every project surprises and requires me to show empathy, constantly change hats, communicate and at the same time stay efficient and detailed like an engineer. Previous assumptions are always challenged, things can be tried and tested. You never stop learning, and that's what I love about this field.