From bioscience PhD to consulting: new hire Emilie

Our colleague Emilie joined us after a journey that took her from a bioscience engineering degree to a PhD. How does a researcher’s mindset translate into consulting? We sat down with her to find out.

Emilie begins by reflecting on her early studies and what drives her work. “I’ve always been drawn to maths and problem-solving in general,” she says. “I started out in bioscience engineering because it offered a broader scope than more specialised fields like chemistry, for instance. While I’m naturally curious and self-motivated, I also have a deeper personal motivation: figuring out how to improve sustainability in the world we live in.” This led her to pursue a master’s degree in human health engineering. “This degree is all about using technology and science to improve human health and well-being.”

While Emilie’s field is expanding, most career options still lead to industry-based engineering roles. “I’d always wanted to work with data and software, maybe developing algorithms that could make a real sustainable impact,” she explains. “When the chance came up to pursue a multidisciplinary PhD in collaboration with imec, I didn’t think twice.”

During her engineering PhD, Emilie picked up additional skills she knew would serve her well in her future career. “I had the freedom to work independently on my own research objectives and design my methodology, without being micromanaged,” she continues. “At the same time, I had to learn on the fly how to balance the expectations of very different stakeholders: medical doctors, engineers and patients, in my case. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but the constant dilemmas I faced pushed me to sharpen my decision-making abilities.”

“As a PhD researcher, I spent a lot of time working alone, and there was quite a bit of red tape to deal with too. I really thrive on collaboration, and I wanted to apply my skills in the real world across different domains. This made consulting a natural next step.”

Emilie first got to know the Addestino team at a PhD job fair in Leuven. “I had a great chat with Joyce from HR and several consultants who would eventually become my colleagues,” she recalls. “It quickly became clear that the team focused on hands-on, in-depth consulting projects, and that they had plenty of PhDs on their team – such as Nektar.” As the interviews progressed, the cultural fit became even more apparent. “I wanted to go beyond pure data crunching to explore Addestino’s core focus on business consulting. The distinction between their expert and consulting tracks was another factor that caught my attention.”

On her first day at work, Emilie already got started on a client assignment. “The team places a lot of trust in new hires and gives them real responsibility from day one,” she says. “I jumped straight into a data visualisation project in Power BI for one of our long-term clients, working alongside Viktor, who has a business engineering background. We had senior oversight, of course, but I could also draw on my own experience as a self-starter. That’s why PhD graduates tend to like it here so much: we’re used to learning independently, solving problems creatively and learning on the fly. Many of the skills transfer surprisingly well, like putting together presentations. That said, there’s a comprehensive training programme to help polish these skills; selling a new business model to a boardroom is completely different, but just as fun as delivering a PowerPoint at an academic conference. Luckily, I can always turn to my mentor Sander, who also came from academia, for practical tips that make the day-to-day easier.”

Just a few months into the role, Emilie is already on her second assignment. “Variety is the spice of life, and I’m enjoying the different business challenges that come my way. I’ve been really pleased with my projects so far, and HR knows I want to move further along the broader business consulting track. I also feel that my input is genuinely taken into account when new assignments are decided. Personally, I’m excited about getting involved in sustainability-related work, which connects back to my research focus. And of course I’d be happy to welcome more like-minded academics into the team!”