"Motivated by bridging the gap between classical academic research and real industry practice"

Dmitrii Deev, from the JSI (Ljubljana, Slovenia) spent half a month on a research exchange at KEPLER Ldt. (Burgos, Spain)

1. What’s your name and where are you from?

My name is Dmitrii Deev and I am originally from Saratov, a city on the Volga River in Russia. Nowadays I am living in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

2. Which organization do you work for, and where did you do your secondment?

I work at Jožef Stefan Institute as a PhD fellow in the Colloid Biology group of the Department of Environmental Sciences. I did my secondment at KEPLER Ingeniería y Ecogestión, an engineering company specialized in environmental and renewable energy sectors.

About your experience:

3. What motivated you to take part in this exchange?

I was motivated by the idea of bridging the gap between classical academic research and real industry practice. There is often a critical disconnect between these two environments. A lot of promising research gets stuck at the upscaling stage, so here I had a rare opportunity to get access to the "internal kitchen" of how bioremediation technologies are actually implemented in practice. 

4. How would you describe your secondment experience in one sentence?

It was a journey full of discussions and new ideas that enriched my thinking and motivated me to design new experiments!

5. What project or task did you enjoy the most during your stay? // Did you learn anything new or unexpected? What was it?

What I enjoyed most was getting familiar with techniques and equipment I had never worked with before. Especially working with the cell sorting machine - this was truly an experience like driving a Formula 1 car!

6. What surprised you most about working in a different country or with a new team?

I was surprised by the open-mindedness of people from Spain in general and from KEPLER in particular. They were eager not only to share their knowledge (which I honestly did not expect from a private sector company) but also genuinely open to new ideas. I felt very comfortable discussing concepts and proposing different approaches

Life outside work:

7. What did you like the most about the place where you stayed?

Hard to say because everything was so good in Burgos! It is a very cozy city with a warm atmosphere (despite the winter cold and rain) that combines both modern and medieval architecture. I especially liked how compact the city is – I could reach anywhere I needed in maximum 20 minutes by foot.

8. Do you have a fun or memorable story from your secondment?

My secondment was right before Christmas time, so the Christmas party became one big warm memory from this visit.

Looking ahead:

9. How do you think this experience will help you in your work or career?

The lessons I learned will definitely improve my professional life in several ways. First, I brought back a lot of knowledge about alternative methods and techniques that we can apply in our lab. Second, my future communication with partners and collaborators from industry will be much better because I now have hands-on insights into the real challenges and practical tricks of implementing R&D in green technologies.

10. What advice would you give to someone about to do a similar exchange?

Be curious and don't be shy about asking questions, even if they seem too simple or too smart. Also, plan your actions not only for the current visit but for all future collaborations - think long-term!