Which aspects of your work/function do you appreciate the most?

I appreciate mostly having challenges and the freedom to develop the ideas I get for solving them, these being research questions or simply how to deal with complaining partners. I also appreciate being part of an international team and getting to know the way people around the world think.

What do you consider as the most important impacts of your work?

I believe I make things easier for my team, and I use my experience to build better research projects. Better research projects means for me having results that have positive impact on people (health, education, our planet).

Do you think appreciation is important at work? And in which form?

Yes, I think appreciation is very important at work. For me it is enough to hear a good word, a sincere thank you. I do not like much bonuses or other privileges, because it feels to me they cause envy.

What aspects of your workplace do you perceive as supportive in order to be motivated?

As said before, working with an international team, having good colleagues who care for each other, having people who seem happy to see me. Since the last time I was at the University (2017), there has been a great effort to provide support for people who write and manage projects, so I am very motivated to do project work. I am also very proud of some of the work we do in our University, we have bright people and eager minds and I really like working with them. I also like the young people we have studying, and I can wait to get to teach them something next year.

What would your ideal workday look like?

It would start with coffee and a chat with colleagues, then I could have some hours of intense working to fulfill some tasks, then lunch with colleagues, some meetings in the afternoon (with agenda, and action points at the end so we trully get some value from spending our times in a meeting) and a drink or coffee after work just before heading home.

How would you define scientific excellence? What is Scientific Excellence for you?

Scientific excellence follows when someone is asking questions till the end, till there are no more questions to ask, finding answers based on evidence, sharing them with the scientific community, so they are open to review, and evaluating the real impact of the results have. The way this person ‘s mind works out through this process is scientific excellence.