Member of the Helmholtz Association everything!’ lucky with ‘I was so at the Jülich onthe Forschungszentrum topic stay ofherresearch inNorway With Yulia Arinicheva, inthe PhDstudent Institute for andClimate Energy Research (IEK) INTERVIEW in the Institute for andClimate Energy Research atthe Jülich. Forschungszentrum Yulia Arinicheva, inthe aPhDstudent ‘Nuclear Waste group Management andReactor Safety’ Stipendienfonds. ofthe Onesuccessfulapplicantfor ascholarship E.ONStipendienfonds was or a related research in energy field are the intended of of theE.ON scholarships beneficiaries Germany. Young andPostdocs) PhDstudents (students, scientists both from working countries betweenThe goalofthe and scientificcooperation E.ONStipendienfonds Norway isto support Tony andhismentor Qian(right) Singh Karandeep

© private You have been at the University of Bergen in Norway for five months. What topics are you working on there? Yulia Arinicheva: I am working on a project dealing with fundamental investigation of properties of ceramics, specifically of rare-earth orthophosphates with the monazite structure. There are many potential applications for such materials in the field of sustain- able energy, such as ion-selective membranes for fuel cells or thermal insulation layers for gas turbines. I am investigating the dependence of certain properties on the micro- structure and the texture of the materials. With a tailor-made microstructure and a de- fined degree of texturing, the desired behavior of the material can be precisely adapted to specific technological requirements. My funding through the scholarship of the E.ON. Stipendienfonds has actually already ended. However, the University of Bergen kindly continues to provide me with an office in order to evaluate my last results and finetune my PhD thesis. I am happy about this, because the atmosphere here is very pleasant and I am able to discuss my thoughts directly.

Your PhD project is in the field of materials science. What is your academic background? Yulia Arinicheva: I began studying in Moscow, where I come from, at the People’s Friend- ship University of Russia, and graduated with a Masters degree in Environmental Chemis- try, as well as studying German, with a focus on technical translation. Then, I came to Germany with a stipend from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and received a Master’s degree in Chemistry from the RWTH Aachen University, with a focus on Materials Science. After that, I started my PhD project at the Institute of Energy and Climate Research.

Moving to a foreign country can be challenging. What was your experience in coming to Germany? Yulia Arinicheva: I was so lucky with everything! I found a good and inexpensive shared

Member of the Helmholtz Association Member of the flat in Aachen before I left Moscow – I was able to conduct an ‘interview’ via Skype. My flatmates and fellow students helped me a lot. It was still sometimes difficult for me in the first few weeks, however after two months I felt very much at home.

As a PhD student you learned about the opportunity to win a stipend to go to Norway. What attracted you to this opportunity? Yulia Arinicheva: I already knew the country from short private visits. I also got to know Norway from a scientific perspective when I participated in a course on neutral diffraction at the Institute of Energy Technology in Kjeller. Based on these experiences, I wanted to spend a longer time there. Additionally, my boyfriend, whom I met at the RWTH Aachen, comes from Bergen. Because of this, I had already started taking Norwegian classes at the Volkshochschule Aachen. Member of the Helmholtz Association Can you communicate well inNorwegian? In afew months, you willbefinishedwith Whatare your PhDproject. your plans for the future? yourWhat are general ofNorway? impressions Yulia Arinicheva: learning Bokmål, the Oslo dialect, but he speaks the Bergensk dialect. dialect. Bergensk the speaks he but dialect, Oslo the Bokmål, learning am I because yet, boyfriend my with Norwegian speak even can’t I differently. speaks different word endings andpronunciation, but alsocompletely different words. Everyone involve only not which dialects, Norwegian many the of because is That ken language. man-speaking country – Germany, Austria or Switzerland. Switzerland. or Austria –Germany, country man-speaking Ger in a position a tofind be would preference My Europe. throughout positions Post-doc for applying currently Iam research. in like tostay Iwould Yulia Arinicheva: and for network. expanding my professional education my for helpful are which events, community or tours, seminars, weekly in pate topartici opportunity the Tekna, Ihave Through technology. and science in community scientific largest Tekna, of Norways amember became Ialso skiing. cross-country and alpine tojust addition in are, there skiing of types many how Ilearned that Bergen in here was it but Russia, in before skiing Ienjoyed skiing. for months colder the Iused Fjords. the of view the toenjoy sea tothe drove we Sometimes university. the from minutes five only is port the and need you everything with equipped are boats the here; dents stu for life of way atypical is That asailboat. on Ilived summer the In nature. more and Germany than population alower has Norway beautiful. is country The Yulia Arinicheva:

I can read Norwegian, but I often have trouble understanding the spo the understanding trouble have Ioften but Norwegian, read I can Interview conducted byInterview Mosch Kristin - - - -