Ep. 038 - [Graduate Student Series] Applying to a Foreign University with Fiona Salim, Graduate Student at Wageningen University

Today’s guest is an old classmate back in the college days and I actually met her at a Chinese college club. Fiona Salim came from Indonesia, studied at San Luis Obispo, got an awesome job at Bakersfield, California, and now is in the Netherlands’ getting an advanced degree.

When I heard she was in another country, I had to ask her to be on the show.

And the information that you’ll get from this one is very valuable. Because Fiona applied to both United States and European schools, you’ll learn about the differences between a United States University Application versus a European one, and you’ll learn the very different atmosphere that revolves around this university.

Even if you’re not interested in applying to graduate school in another country, I highly recommend having an open mind and listening to what Fiona has to say. It’s well worth it.

Take your time in Europe you guys, next week, we’ll be flying back to the United States where we interview our final guest, who is from Greece.

If you enjoyed this episode, please, sign up on our email list at myfoodjobrocks.com, like us on facebook,  rate and review on itunes, and share with your friends. If you show interest in being interviewed, know someone who would be a great interviewer, or would like to join our team of volunteers, make sure to email us at podcast@myfoodjobrocks.com.

Key Takeaways

- How Fiona got into the food industry without a food science degree and got a really fun job because of it - Why Fiona chose Whennigen over Ohio State - Our discussion about process innovation - How work experience can “alter” your mindset in academia - Why you might need to look outside of the United States

Summary of Questions

Why Did you Decide to Go To Graduate School?: I’m impatient. I wanted to learn more about food to progress into the industry What aspects were important for researching graduate school?: Food and Health. Looking at the syllabus and curriculum Kansas State How is the application process?: Easier. You don’t need a GRE. But you need a VISA and you have to move. You don’t have to email your professors. You decide on your thesis your second year Best Advice about the application process: Emailing professors is still important, but you also have to be crystal clear about what you want. Leverage your network – Fiona leveraged her network to get into Winnepeg Funded: Unfortunately, Fiona is not funded. It costs $65,000 dollars for 2 years in the Netherlands but it’s $100,000 dollars in the United States if you’re out of state. Work Experience: People with no experience blame machinery and instruments rather than process Who Inspired you to get Into Food?: Food is more fun than healthcare Favorite Kitchen Item: Silicon Tip Kitchen Tongs Favorite Food: Tonkatsu Ramen Favorite is somewhere in San Francisco or Santa Clara Advice for going into graduate school: Don’t be discouraged and look beyond the United States If you were to tell your 18 year old self something: Don’t worry too much about grades. Live life. Make friends

What We Talk About

Wageningen Univeristy - Only focus: Healthy food Neatherlands IFT Website Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Biochemistry Nestle Research Bakersfield California Icyness Dr. Jimenez – Ohio State 3D Printing Netherlands made the lab grown meat burger Make a puree out of a carrot into a carrot (find link) Enzymes to create food Non-GMO Steak Korean Barbaque Beyond Meat

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