"For me, the PhD done at the IPC became the ticket to a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University" – an interview with Prof. Piotr Garstecki, IPC team leader and doctoral graduate, CEO of a spin-off company and an EY award winner

We present an interview with Prof. Piotr Garstecki, a graduate of doctoral studies at the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences (IPC), leader of the Microfluidics and Complex Fluids research group at IPC, CEO of the spin-off company Scope Fluidics, and winner of the Special Award for International Expansion in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 competition.

Professor Piotr Garstecki, please tell us about your academic career and the opportunities that the IPC has opened up for you?

"I came to the doctoral program at the IPC after studying at the School of Science of the Polish Academy of Sciences. The four years of the PhD program were a valuable time.

The IPC is a great environment for doing science - there are many smart people here who are lively and passionate about scientific research. There is someone to discuss with, to find inspiration from, to make each other curious about the world. There is also a sufficient apparatus and laboratory base. In short, it's a great place to have fun in science, learn and develop the most important competencies - curiosity and the courage to challenge the status-quo, to communicate, and to organize the world - both the actions of others and matter - around oneself, so as to achieve hard-won goals. The IPC is a great training ground, both for making scientific discoveries and for developing one's own skills. For me, the PhD done at the IPC became the ticket to a postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University, in the group of a true guru of chemistry - Professor George Whitesides - and to a future career."

How important is obtaining a doctorate degree in relation to commercial activities?

"I think that titles are not important in commercial activities. The question is still how we understand commercial activity. If you include work in industry here, then a doctorate is important - it will make it easier to get a job at a higher position, with more influence on the environment and with better remuneration. However, in entrepreneurial activities, where you need to organize, propose new solutions, invent products or services, organize financing, inspire teams or sell, titles are of secondary importance.

That's not to say that a PhD isn't worth pursuing - because setting up your own scientific thesis, organizing research, developing conclusions, getting through difficulties along the way - is a very cool school of life. Thus, the process is important, the title less so."

What advice would you give to science graduates who are looking for career opportunities, but are undecided whether to take a job in industry or pursue a career in science?

"Do what you like, what makes you happy. And if you feel like it's hard to make a decision, write down why it's hard, what you don't know, and then go to people who might know it and ask them. The most common reason for failure is abandonment."

Brief biography of the interviewee: Professor Piotr Garstecki, a graduate of the School of Sciences of the Polish Academy of Sciences, received his PhD from the Institute of Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Sciences (IPC) and did his postdoctoral training at Harvard University. He has co-authored more than 150 scientific publications, including in Nature, Nature Communications, Angewandte Chemie, and Nature Physics. At the IPC, he leads a research group developing microfluidic techniques. He also co-founded and leads technology companies aimed at bringing diagnostic systems to market in response to major health threats. Winner of the Special Award for International Expansion in the EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 competition. For more information about the research group headed by Prof. Piotr Garstecki at the IPC, visit: https://www.micof.pl/.

We are grateful to Prof. Piotr Garstecki for taking the time to participate in this interview. The Institute is proud to see the accomplishments of the graduates of our doctoral program, such as Prof. Garstecki, who has achieved national and international success, and exerts a positive socio-economic impact on the environment through his activities in both academia and industry.

Our Institute of Physical Chemistry offers full doctoral studies as part of the Warsaw PhD School in Natural and BioMedical Sciences (Warsaw-4-PhD). Recruitment for doctoral studies takes place three times a year. The next round of recruitment opens on May 6, 2024. We encourage all potential candidates to contact the coordinators of their project of interest in advance to find out more details. There is a possibility to become our intern for a short period (preferably 1-3 months) – the internship is paid. Please contact the project supervisors directly. Full information is available at this address: https://ichf.edu.pl/en/press/your-phd-at-ichf-the-recruitment-to-the-warsaw-4-phd-school-launches-on-may-6.

Prof. Piotr Garstecki was interviewed by: Anna Przybyło-Józefowicz

Interview coordination: Justyna Gruszka

Photo: Prof. Piotr Garstecki