“It is a privilege”

Sanja and Peter, you have been at Lonza working on a six-month contract, Peter since September and Sanja since October - and both of you are now considered an integral part of your respective team. We are looking forward to hearing more about your experiences! In its call last year, what exactly was Lonza looking for?

Sanja: First of all, thank you for inviting us to this interview! Lonza was looking for experts for its production site, they were urgently looking for bio- and chemical engineers - and this is what I and Peter are. I remembered that I read the announcement at the Digital Campus in April 2021 with great interest and considered it as a rare opportunity in life to be able to make a real difference. When applying, I did not know about all the positions that were available, so I just sent my CV to Lonza and thought they could decide based on my experience and my skills where I best fit into the company structure. The hiring process was very simple and quick. Just a few weeks later we received the call from Lonza and we only needed to agree on our starting time. We both work as bioprocess engineers. A big impact on the whole process had our professor Sven Panke, who from the very beginning encouraged and fully supported our decision; without his support, we would not be here…Thank you!

What does Lonza offer to you, is it some sort of package they were offering for these 6 months?

Peter: Lonza offered not an internship but a real work position and a salary. Also, if needed, they provided housing. We received a short introduction and on-the-job training from our coworkers and already after just a few weeks we became fully responsible for our tasks. They believed in us from the first day; it felt like we were permanent staff not only on just a short-term contract. Part of the training was also working for one week with the operators on shift, directly manufacturing the vaccine. That gave us a good insight into the actual manufacturing process itself.

What exactly do you do at Lonza in these ongoing six months?

Peter: Being bioprocess engineers our responsibilities are in manufacturing, not in the plant directly but as the first support. This means: whenever problems occur inside the plant, we get called and we perform troubleshooting. We are also responsible for the general execution of the production, meaning: the planning, the preparing of the protocols and supervision of the production, ensuring that everything is performed in compliance with GMP (Good Manufacturing Process) regulations. A big part of the job is also implementing process changes and continuous improvements. This means we are the connection point between the actual mRNA COVID-19 vaccine manufacturing and all the other support sections like quality assurance and the scientists.

When you compare your work at D-BSSE and what you do now at Lonza: How would you describe your experience?

Sanja: One of the main differences is that here at Lonza the pace is very, very fast. It is a very dynamic work environment and deadlines are very strict. It is clear: production has to be fast but the quality can not be compromised. Therefore, the responsibility is huge because making a small mistake could mean that millions of doses of life-saving vaccines are destroyed. Such a big project not only requires hard work from the individual but is also a real team effort. As there are hundreds of people with varying educational backgrounds and origins working together, good communication is crucial. This is a big contrast to our PhDs, where we mostly work alone on our own projects.

Peter: I agree. Another difference to pursuing a PhD is that when you start the day here at Lonza your calendar can be empty but after a few hours you are drowning in work because a problem occurred and you need to quickly react to a lot of unexpected things…

In what way do you benefit from this short-term employment in industry?

Peter: We learned how to work in a GMP environment and learned much about the industrial manufacturing of pharmaceutical products. Apart from that, we developed a lot on a personal level. This includes communication skills and taking huge responsibility not only for yourself but for the whole team and for the quality and safety of the vaccine we are producing. While being faced with new problems on a daily basis, we improved our problem-solving skills.

Sanja: …and we learn to be more practical and less theoretical. We need to think fast and make decisions fast, sometimes under stress, which is certainly a good preparation for further challenges we will face in our future. It is a unique opportunity to be able to produce the medicine that we all need to get out of the pandemic. It is a privilege!

Finally, will you go into the industry once you have finished your PhD…?

Peter: Yes. For me, it was the plan from the beginning and I am happy to see how well the change of environment from academia to industry went. I learned so much during my PhD and I am eager to apply all this knowledge and skills in an industrial environment in the future.

Sanja: Same for me, yes! I enjoy teamwork and look forward to working on applied projects that have an immediate impact on people's lives.

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us. Have a good remaining time in Visp, we are looking forward to welcoming you back in Basel soon!