A truly international workplace: The Department of Molecular Biology
NEWS
Researchers and staff from 34 different countries work together at the Department of Molecular Biology. We met with some of them and asked what it is like to work in this international environment.
“We learn a lot from each other,” says Abeer El Wakil, Senior Post doctoral Fellow from France. She and her colleagues agree that it benefits their research to get together with people from all over the world. “People have different backgrounds and put different emphasis on things in their work. You get exposed to many different scientific approaches and perspectives,” adds Professor Victoria Shingler, who came to Umeå from England already 28 years ago. She has seen the town and university grow and develop into a place where different cultures meet.
This international environment is also perceived as helpful by the researchers when it comes to integrating and feeling at home in a new country. “The atmosphere at the department is very open-minded, which made me feel welcome here,” says group leader Yuri Schwartz, originally from Russia. Bulgarian PhD student Nikola Zlatkov Kolev finds the working climate multicultural and friendly. “People welcome your individuality,” he says.
Also on a personal level, the multicultural work environment can be enriching. Constance Enow from Cameroon, who came to Umeå as a master’s student in 2002 and was then offered a PhD position, had an international dinner with her research group, where everyone brought food from their home countries.
Not only the work atmosphere, but also the state of the art laboratories are praised by the researchers. “The large-scale research facilities are impressive,” says Anjana Madhushani, PhD student from Sri Lanka. The informal Swedish business culture, a good work-life-balance, and English as the common working language are other factors that make them experience their stay in Umeå as easy and comfortable.
Despite their mostly positive experiences, all of the interviewed researchers think that there is still room for improvement if Umeå University wants to become even more international. They miss translations of documents, and resources to help international visitors with job-related and practical questions when moving to Sweden. “To come here you need to do more than just apply, a lot of other things need to be taken care of. More translations would be really helpful,” says Indian Post doctoral Fellow Bhupender Singh.
Caption first Picture (from left to right): Bhupender Singh, Constance Enow, Yuri Schwartz, Victoria Shingler, Abeer El Wakil, Nikolai Zlatkov Kolev, Anjana Madhushani
Caption second picture: The pins on this map mark where all researchers and employees at the Department of Molecular Biology are from.
