Branislav Viliam Hakala

Viliam was able to access state-of-the-art facilities and travel around the globe during his Master of Science by Research. After graduating in 2019, he moved to Germany to continue his postgraduate studies.

Name Branislav Viliam Hakala
Degree Master of Science by Research
Year of graduation 2019

Your Time at the University

I started my Master of Science by Research degree in September 2018 in a research group of Prof J Paul Attfield at School of Chemistry and at Centre for Science at Extreme Conditions. From the start, the learning curve was very steep but after a short while I became a proper member of the research group. I worked with a wonderful group of people who were extremely supportive and open to my ideas and ready to answer my (numerous) questions.

In my research, I was able to access state-of-the-art synchrotron and neutron facilities as well as in-house equipment at the University. Moreover, I was able to travel all around the globe and attend several international conferences and deepen and profit from a wide range of international contacts and collaborations we had.

Viliam Hakala

My experience at the University can be described as a 0th year of a doctoral programme. It allowed me to explore an entire field of chemistry and familiarise myself with “standard operating procedures” in the scientific community. I can hardly imagine a better step into the world of science than my degree programme.

Your Experiences Since Leaving the University

After my graduation I took a position of a doctoral candidate at Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH in Germany. I think that my degree from Edinburgh had prepared me for the challenges of the PhD life very well and ensured that I was able to adapt to the new job very quickly.

My research had prepared me for working under pressure and advanced my analytical skills. As I have always been a strong advocate for civil society, I started to engage in policy making on a national level and in an advisory capacity.  

At present, I am finishing my doctoral thesis and I am looking forward to new challenges in either academia or industry. Furthermore, in the upcoming years, I would like to deepen my engagement in civil matters and continue to serve a democratic modern society.

Alumni Wisdom

Stay curious. Be persistent. If you want anything just ask – the worst thing that can happen is that you will be told “No”. And the most important – take care of yourselves.

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