Ep. 038 – [Graduate Student Series] Applying to a Foreign University in the United States with Fiona Salim, Graduate Student at Wageningen Univeristy

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Today’s guest is an old classmate back in the college days and I actually met her at a Chinese college club. Fiona Salim came from Indonesia, studied at San Luis Obispo, got an awesome job at Bakersfield, California, and now is in the Netherlands’ getting an advanced degree.

When I heard she was in another country, I had to ask her to be on the show.

And the information that you’ll get from this one is very valuable. Because Fiona applied to both United States and European schools, you’ll learn about the differences between a United States University Application versus a European one, and you’ll learn the very different atmosphere that revolves around this university.

Even if you’re not interested in applying to graduate school in another country, I highly recommend having an open mind and listening to what Fiona has to say. It’s well worth it.

Take your time in Europe you guys, next week, we’ll be flying back to the United States where we interview our final guest, who is from Greece.

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Key Takeaways

– How Fiona got into the food industry without a food science degree and got a really fun job because of it
– Why Fiona chose Whennigen over Ohio State
– Our discussion about process innovation
– How work experience can “alter” your mindset in academia
– Why you might need to look outside of the United States

Summary of Questions

Why Did you Decide to Go To Graduate School?: I’m impatient. I wanted to learn more about food to progress into the industry
What aspects were important for researching graduate school?: Food and Health. Looking at the syllabus and curriculum
Kansas State
How is the application process?: Easier. You don’t need a GRE. But you need a VISA and you have to move. You don’t have to email your professors.
You decide on your thesis your second year
Best Advice about the application process: Emailing professors is still important, but you also have to be crystal clear about what you want.
Leverage your network – Fiona leveraged her network to get into Winnepeg
Funded: Unfortunately, Fiona is not funded. It costs $65,000 dollars for 2 years in the Netherlands but it’s $100,000 dollars in the United States if you’re out of state.
Work Experience: People with no experience blame machinery and instruments rather than process
Who Inspired you to get Into Food?: Food is more fun than healthcare
Favorite Kitchen Item: Silicon Tip Kitchen Tongs
Favorite Food: Tonkatsu Ramen Favorite is somewhere in San Francisco or Santa Clara
Advice for going into graduate school: Don’t be discouraged and look beyond the United States
If you were to tell your 18 year old self something: Don’t worry too much about grades. Live life. Make friends

What We Talk About

Wageningen Univeristy – Only focus: Healthy food
Neatherlands
IFT Website
Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
Biochemistry
Nestle Research
Bakersfield California
Icyness
Dr. Jimenez – Ohio State
3D Printing
Netherlands made the lab grown meat burger
Make a puree out of a carrot into a carrot (find link)
Enzymes to create food
Non-GMO
Steak
Korean Barbaque
Beyond Meat