Nils Kalbfuss, PhD -Sustainability Consultant

Nils Kalbfuss, PhD - Sustainability consultant at Neosys AG

Where are you from and what is your educational background? Where did you study?

I am from Cologne in Germany. After having spent my civil service in a school in Togo, I decided to study Molecular Biotechnology (Bachelor’s and Master’s) at Technical University of Munich with exchange semesters in Taipei and Singapore. I then decided to pursue a PhD in molecular life science at EPFL.

Why did you decide to pursue the PhD/Post-doc journey?

During my Bachelor's and Master’s thesis, I spent a lot of time in the lab and had fun doing experiments as well as writing publications. I love having my own projects and dissecting issues intellectually. I have felt like a scientist already since I was in elementary school. Going on to pursue a PhD was just what I always dreamed of what I wanted to do. In contrast to my Bachelor's and Master's projects, I wanted to start a new scientific project from scratch – building up a new research question all the way to publishing it in a journal.

It is often said that the PhD is a marathon, not a sprint race. What are your thoughts about it?

I agree with that. This is not like a master’s thesis where you can dedicate all your time to quickly get results. It is also not like you are going to try to find answers to three questions and that’s it. Instead, you ask a question, and you try to find answers, but naturally, the next array of questions evolves and this goes on and on for 5 years. If you spent all your power on the first three questions, you might not have the power to continue for the rest. Recreation in between is very important. At the same time, this marathon of your PhD might have little sprints in between. During my research stays in the USA for example, I had to sprint because there was little time and a lot to be done.

When did you decide that you didn’t want to pursue an academic career? Was it before starting your PhD journey or during your PhD Studies (at the start, mid, at the end or after)?

I think it is funny, that in academia, everyone thinks, you have to go on with an academic career. When I think back to the start of my studies, I never thought that I wanted to become a professor and therefore pursue an academic career. I just wanted to spend time learning about a particular field. Not pursuing an academic career became an option when I realized that I needed to change country again (which I had done already multiple times in my life), to have a real chance for professorship. I thought this “rule” was complete nonsense – in particular, if you are in a relationship. However, I turned away from a purely academic career when I applied for positions.

Although I have a good publication record, the post-doc positions, my interests were, were in a different field. But apparently, the professors I applied to were not interested in my skillset. Again, I was frustrated by these responses as I always thought academia is there for tackling different issues from different perspectives.

Anyway, in the end, I was more successful with shifting to the topic I wanted to dedicate my time to, in industry and not in academia. Overall, I think in academia you need to be passionate about one particular topic. Of course, things evolve, and professorship is not boring as you have always new questions evolving and you stay up to date with science and technology to try to find answers to your next question.

I also realized that it is enough to read about topics of interest without having to know all the answers, I enjoy working on more interdisciplinary topics and trying to understand the world from a broader perspective – to the cost of course of maybe staying slightly more superficial.

When did you transition into industry?

After my PhD, I had a position as a post-doc in the same lab for ¾ of a year. After that transitionary post-doc, I was unemployed for three months. Then I started my work in the private sector.

What is a current position?

I am employed as a sustainability consultant for 80%. I am self-employed for 20%. There, I consult a project for writing a Horizon proposal about sustainable, regenerative agriculture.

Is your job related to what you have done during your PhD/Post-doc?

The topic is very different as my PhD was about cell biology. Nevertheless, in my free time, I was often involved with topics about climate change and environmental protection. My bachelor’s and master’s also had a focus on the adaptation of plants to different environmental stressors, including drought stress. Nevertheless, during my PhD I acquired very valuable skills that I now use in my job. For example, analyzing data with different programs, being able to develop the best strategies independently, presenting data, and entertainingly communicating data.

Which are the aspects that you like the most about your job?

I work on a topic which is in everyone’s mind. How do we get to a sustainable society? How do we reduce our emissions to combat climate change? I wanted to do something about it, and I am happy I can dedicate my time to this. In addition, it is very interdisciplinary. I need to understand science, engineering, business, and policy-making. In the end, I need to come up with feasible, practical solutions that can have an impact. I love this. My advantage in academia has always been that I wanted to learn about everything. However, if you get to the later stages of academia, you need to focus on one topic. I didn’t want to do that.

How has your work-life balance changed since moving to industry?

 I now have much more time to pursue my own private interests.

How did you adapt to the cultural and operational differences between academia and industry?

In my case, the cultural and operational differences are not very severe. In the company I work in, the culture is quite “academic”.

Were there any new skills or knowledge areas you had to develop for your role in the industry?

I got trained while being employed. I had to learn a lot about EU and Swiss legislation and environmental laws. In addition, I have to learn about the “rules” of how CO2 balances are made and how emissions are accounted.

How difficult was it, to gain the required knowledge when you first started your job?

It needed time and I had to accept that I needed to learn again to become an expert. But it is all doable. Being open to new learning is something I also learned during my PhD.

What was your experience concerning the transition into industry? What were some of the challenges you faced during your transition?

I think I was lucky that I got the position quite quickly. Nevertheless, I also applied to many different positions – and while in the application process, I realized that some positions were not made for me. The whole process of finding what I wanted to do took around 1 year and, in the end, the available positions had a huge stake/impact on what I decided on.

What helped you before the transition?

Being engaged in NGOs or student groups for topics I am passionate about helped a lot in finding the position. I think being conscious about your passion is most useful. Of course, this is not always easy.

According to you which are the personal/soft skills that are mostly needed to undergo a successful transition into industry? Or in your case what helped you during your transition into industry?

Communicating complex data in presentations and in personal conversations; understanding complex science; being able to deal with data and analyzing data.

 What advice made a difference in your professional development?

Always follow what you are passionate about.

What aspects of your academic studies helped you during your transition in industry?

I think all of it.

It is also said that networking plays an important role in transitioning into industry. Was it the case for you?

Indeed, it was, but I was not aware of it. The hiring team knew about my publications and knew which lab I was from. This was a lucky coincidence, because as I said the topics were not really related.

Did you do one or multiple internship(s) in the private sector after your PhD studies or Postdoc before being hired for a more “permanent” job in this sector? If yes, was it via the unemployment program?

No, but I was about to start a BNF also in the field of sustainability.

Which advice would you give to PhDs and postdocs who are willing to look for opportunities outside academia/in industry?

Finding the right position is a process. It might take years until you find it. However, never forget what you are passionate about. Your passions might change over the years and there is nothing wrong about it. And be reasonable about salary expectations.

If you could go back, would you change anything about your career path?

Not at all!

What can I wish you for the next coming years?

Wish me lots of customers who are willing to go for change to make their businesses more sustainable.

Nils’ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nilskalbfuss/