Nikola Zotev

Nikola came to Edinburgh with a desire to combine his passions for both computers and chemistry. Through the MChemPhys programme and his PhD, he honed his critical thinking skills and developed creativity in approaching complex problems.

Name Nikola Zotev
Degree MChemPhys Chemical Physics with Industrial Experience and PhD in Computational Chemistry
Year of graduation 2016 and 2020

Your Time at the University

I have spent 9 years at the School of Chemistry. I enrolled as an undergraduate chemistry student back in 2011 straight after high school. At this age I did not know a lot of things, but I did know that the University of Edinburgh is a prestigious institution, Edinburgh is a true cradle of science and technology, a place full of history, and that Scotland is a welcoming country.

I have always wanted to combine my passions for computers and chemistry. The University of Edinburgh offered me a flexible degree structure which allowed me to achieve just that. I spent my first two years taking courses in chemistry and informatics, and it was later when I finally settled on a more permanent track towards a degree in Chemical Physics. Ever since I made this choice, I have always been proud to be a part of this small but cohesive group of students. The undergraduate degree in Chemical Physics equipped me with superb critical thinking, problem-solving capacity, and ability to tackle hard-to-solve problems.

Nikola Zotev

The School was proactive in encouraging me to apply for funding for extracurricular research projects. In combination with my Industrial Placement year, they were a great asset to my CV. I can confidently say that my undergraduate degree gave me a competitive advantage in the job market.

During my final year as an undergraduate the School nominated me for the prestigious Carnegie Trust PhD Scholarship - an act of recognition that became the reason for continuing my studies at Edinburgh at a postgraduate level. As a PhD student in Computational Chemistry, I was involved in a cutting-edge multidisciplinary research field and I worked closely with experimentalists from Brown and Stanford universities. I also joined the School’s public engagement team, where I took an active part in the School’s effort to connect to the local communities and popularise science. This was really a lot of fun.

Your Experiences Since Leaving the University

The University has taught me a lot. One of the things I value the most is creativity and non-standard approach to complex problems. I believe these skills are highly-sought after in industry. Using my extensive experience in analysis of numerical data and using computer models to simulate real-life systems, after the end of my PhD I have started a job as a Simulation Analyst at Ocado Technology. While not related to chemistry, the skills I developed during my studies in Edinburgh have been a great asset to my current work.

Alumni Wisdom

The University of Edinburgh is truly a great place, it’s really up to you to make the best use of it. Be proactive, brave and ambitious and do not expect that you will be spoon-fed knowledge and experience. Try to find your own unique path through the University by doing the things you enjoy the most, whether that’s a particular direction of studies, extracurricular activities, scientific writing or sports. It will all pay off at the end.

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