Name: Bipashyee Ghosh
Place of Birth: Kolkata, India
Date of Birth: October 11, 1990
At TU/e: I came to TU/e in September 2012 and stayed for two years for my masters in Innovation Sciences at the Department of Industrial Engineering and Innovation sciences. I graduated in August 2014.
Current position: PhD researcher at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex in the UK.

What are you doing now?
I am currently pursuing my PhD at the Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU) at the University of Sussex in the UK. This doctoral study is in the broad field of Science and Technology Policy and I am interested in studying Sustainability Transitions in the context of developing countries. I’ve also been appointed as a Graduate Teaching Assistant in this institute for a period of three years. I became passionate about doing academic research in this field, during the course of my masters. I intend to stay in this field and see myself as an independent researcher and academic in the future. 

How did you find this job?
I applied for several PhD positions in the UK as well as in the Netherlands. It was challenging to start looking for vacancies and positions and I started by merely looking at online adverts by the universities. My professors at TU/e also helped me with finding suitable positions by forwarding relevant opportunities and encouraging me to apply for those positions. It was also hard to write an initial research proposal for the applications, but my professors also supported me in that process by giving feedback on initial drafts of the proposal. Given my good experiences of living in the Netherlands, I would have loved to stay in the Netherlands. However, I didn't find enough opportunities at Dutch universities while I was looking for one. Moreover, I’ve always wanted to live in the UK and I found a couple of good opportunities here. One of those worked out for me and here I am today, at SPRU.

How do you reflect on your time at TU/e?
Tu/e was my first choice to pursue my master’s because the program of Innovation Sciences itself intrigued me. I really liked the fact that the course was multidisciplinary and provided a broad perspective, and the course structure and topics covered were quite unique in nature. Over and above this, I was really excited to be able to live in the Netherlands. I really enjoyed to live and travel in this country, study at a Dutch university, get to know Dutch people, culture, food, and festivities. One thing that I loved most and will always miss is the warm, friendly, charming and welcoming nature of the Dutch. Without a doubt, my two years in the Netherlands have been one of the best times of my life.  

What advice would you give current students?
I always believed that whatever it takes, you should always follow your heart when it comes to choosing career options. No matter how hard it might seem to get that job you like, it always pays off to stay focused and to believe in yourself, and know you are capable of doing something that you really want to do.