Ilja – the man with many interests

  • Published: 7 April 2022
It is time to introduce another one of our amazing colleagues. For this month we have chosen our development and technology specialist Ilja.
In his childhood Ilja didn’t have any special dream job, but by the end of middle school he realized that he wanted to study something that combines chemistry and biology, like genetics or pharmaceutics.

What got him interested in science was the idea that everything is composed of molecules: alive and not alive. He wanted to know more about how unalive molecules are combined in a way that life appears.

While being interested in science at a quite a young age, he didn’t think about becoming a researcher until later in life. In fact, he had no idea what he was going to do for a living until he got into the lab at the university. There he started to understand how the lab works – what different people do there and what could be done in a lab. The researcher position started to seem very appealing then. So, once Ilja managed to get the job for himself, he really enjoyed it. 

Now Ilja has been in Solis BioDyne for a little more than a year and works as a product development and technology specialist, which is not that far from researcher’s work, therefore he feels very comfortable in his current position. The time has passed like a rollercoaster ride for him. It has been very quick, fun and he has enjoyed it! 

He likes that Solis BioDyne has the ambition and resources to grow and develop. It is interesting to be part of the team in this journey. He likes the team, how the problems are solved and the feeling that a supportive collective is behind his back. Colleagues say that it is always a pleasure to see Ilja around the house. Talking to him is never boring, because he is interested in the world and knows a lot about a lot of things.  

His favorite team experience was company summer days where everybody could have a rest, do interesting activities, enjoy tasty food and good beverages. Also, there was a chance to talk to each other and meet each other's families.

If he would have to put it in very simple terms, he helps to produce things that help doctors to decide whether a person is sick or not. To do such great work, great motivation is needed. What motivates Ilja is his family. It gives him a lot of strength, support, and joy that he would want to return to them in double and the world around him, because he is curious about what is going to happen in the future.

In his spare time he likes to travel, whether it is a trip to another country or car trip to somewhere not very distant. Cycling trips or walking tours in Estonian nature or somewhere abroad - all fit him very well. Some activities like festivals, concerts, exhibitions, and fairs are also very interesting to him. On the other side he often enjoys weekends when he can do homey stuff. Good music, movie or a book can make his day. Recently he has also started to enjoy sports activities more and more.  

With many experiences also come good tips. Ilja’s best life advice is the following: “All kinds of experiences, even unpleasant ones, make you better. Maybe, it does not sound new, but really, it is better to focus on the bright side and try to enjoy simple things that happen often while life is short and there is no restart button.”

In the future Ilja would like to see some of his own development projects ending up as a part of the company's portfolio or as part of some product. Personally, he would like to have an opportunity to dive somewhere in the warm sea, to pass the Camino de Santiago travel route or as an ultimate goal to participate in Burning Man.

As Ilja is very much invested in the future he would like to leave you with this thought: “We have only one planet, we should take care of it much more.”