Matsvei Baklazhets

My name is Matsvei, and I am a 20-year-old bachelor in chemical engineering and chemistry student at TU/e. I am coming from Belarus, where, since my early school years, I have been interested in natural sciences and ended up deciding to pursue a career in chemistry and related sciences. After finishing school, I moved to Saint-Petersburg and entered Saint-Petersburg State University chemistry bachelor. Apart from my studies, I was working as a student assistant at the laser chemistry and laser material science laboratory. Among the projects I took part in was studying the possibility of using MOFs (metal-organic frameworks) of different compositions with the purpose of detecting heavy metal ions in water samples. Following the political situation change in Russia, I have decided to continue my education in the Netherlands, where I have entered the Eindhoven University of Technology. Enrolled in the Chemical Engineering and Chemistry program, I have continued studying theoretical aspects of that beautiful science but ran into the problem of a lack of hands-on experience. This, together with the typical short-budget situation characteristic of an international student, made me decide to look for chemistry-related job opportunities outside the university. Finding one would allow me to continue getting knowledge of practical aspects as well as broadening my experience of working in a team and my idea of how the industry works.

Prior to moving to the Netherlands I had studied for a year at the Saint-Petersburg State University where I worked as a student assistant at the laser chemistry and laser material science department laboratory. There I have gained experience of working with chemical glassware, preparing samples for and analyzing the results of various analytical techniques such as UV-VIS spectroscopy, IR, NMR, fluorescence spectroscopies, X-ray crystallography. As part of my 2nd year studies at TU/e I have learned about other analytical methods and corresponding software used, such as gas chromatography, liquid chromatography, gel-permeation chromatography, thin layer chromatography and column chromatography.  Throughout my study and work I have learned a lot about working in a team and laboratory safety and ethics and I can not wait to get back to work as part of your company. 

Saint - Petersburg State University (2021-2022)

Eindhoven University of Technology (2022 - now)