KATEŘINA SLADKÁ Role: technologist Area: chemical engineering Employer: LB Minerals; former: ALS, Klokner Instritute of CTU What can I help my mentee with? outline the differences between working in academia and the private sector how to find what I enjoy in scientific work how to travel abroad while studying    LinkedIn profil

Since high school, Kateřina has been interested in chemistry and mathematics, so she applied to study at the University of Science and Technology, majoring in Analytical Chemistry. She quickly realised that she was more interested in chemical engineering calculations and technology rather than laboratory measurements and pipetting, so she chose to pursue a Master's degree in this field. As part of her studies she travelled twice, the first trip was a study stay in Nuremberg and the second was a work placement at a Croatian university.

While still studying, she tried her hand at part-time work as a researcher for the Klokner Institute, where she was mainly involved in infrared spectrometry. After obtaining her engineering degree, she also applied for a PhD thanks to this work, but soon decided to leave her studies, as she was drawn towards a technological position rather than a research position.

Currently, Kateřina works as a technologist at LB Minerals, a company that deals mainly with kaolin processing. As a technologist, Kateřina is responsible for the optimal setting of technology parameters and chemical dosage. She also has a small part of research work left - she is also involved in development tasks in the company. 

And why does Kateřina want to get involved in mentoring? "I chose analytical chemistry at the time because I thought it would be cool to indicate colour changes in solutions and find out what it was by that. But I soon found out that the reality was something else. If I can help someone who doesn't quite know where to go with their studies or career, I would be very happy to help."