Speakers
Zina Alfahl
Dr Łukasz Wajda
Dr Yinka Somorin
Panel Discussion
Moving abroad to further your career or for postgraduate study can often seem like a no-brainer. You experience a different country and culture, meet new people and perhaps even learn a new language.
However, it is not a decision to be taken lightly and for anybody thinking about moving to a new country (or for those recently moved), come and join our panel as they share their stories, give insightful tips and answer your questions on making what could turn out to be the biggest decision of your life.
Zina obtained her BSc (Hons) in Pharmacy from Al Ain University, United Arab Emirates in September 2018 before moving with her husband and son to the UK to start a PhD. During her journey, she had the opportunity to work as a teaching assistant to undergraduate students and to work part time as a clinical trial coordinator for SARS-CoV-2 vaccine (Novavax) at Northern Ireland Clinical Research Facility. In 2019, she was awarded the Associate Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA) award and is acting as a student ambassador and postgraduate chair at Queen’s University Belfast.
:
https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/zina-alfahl
:
@AlfahlZina
Łukasz completed his MSc and made an early switch from academia to industry, moving from Poland to the UK and worked in the food safety sector. After two years learning some vital vocational skills, he was then encouraged to resume a research journey and was awarded a scholarship to start his PhD at the University of Greenwich. Unhappy, he withdrew from that programme and moved back to Poland where he completed his PhD research in 2018 with a thesis titled Identification of fungi dominant in apple and assessing the possibility of their inhibition by adding Arthrospira platensis to apple juices. Shortly after his final viva he started working in the biotech industry.
Yinka is a Research Fellow at Queen’s University Belfast and obtained his BSc from Olabisi Onabanjo University Nigeria and his MSc from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria. He was a visiting scientist at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Italy, in 2010 before obtaining a scholarship for his PhD at the National University of Ireland, Galway in 2012. After his PhD, he moved to England in 2017 and worked as a Visiting Lecturer in Medical Microbiology at the University of Bedfordshire and R&D Scientist at Mast Group.
:
https://pure.qub.ac.uk/en/persons/yinka-somorin
:
@micro_YMS
Patricia Minnis is the Recruitment and Events officer for the Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Sciences at Queen’s University, Belfast. Patricia promotes student recruitment for the faculty in both domestic and international markets. Patricia coordinates recruitment events and managing contact with prospective students and their families, agents and/or careers advisers.