Karl Rene Kõlvart – knowing too much is just not possible!

  • Published: 16 July 2021
Meet Solis BioDyners. Taking pride in their work!
Karl Rene, or Karl, as most colleagues call him, is one of the youngest members of the Solis BioDyne sales team. Lively and full of energy, Karl dreamed of the glamorous life of a rock star when he was little. He is the symbol of a good mood and it’s likely that none of his colleagues has seen him sad or in a bad mood. We asked Karl what the secret of his constant cheerfulness is and how he views his job at Solis BioDyne.

“I determined my future in my childhood – my first active sales experience was in the video game RuneScape,” Karl says, laughing. In addition to sales experience, the game, which is based on strategic planning and dividing resources, equipped him with good English-language skills, which is important in Karl’s current international work environment.

At school, Karl’s attention was divided between his subjects and all kinds of extra-curricular activities. Need to make a film project – but of course! Let’s sing – why not! Sports competition – you can count on me! Olympiads and contests – sign me up! Karl’s active energy is amazing and he sees any kind of performance or presentation as a welcome challenge. This energy was enough for both his studies and the sports field. Having actively practised athletics at school, Karl’s main sport was the high jump; however, at the Estonian Championships, he won the gold medal in the 4x100 metres relay instead. Time not spent on the sports field found effective use on stage. Having learned to play the guitar in music school, Karl mentions his performance at the school talent show as one of his most memorable performance experiences. He sang the famous song ‘Out of the Dark’, originally sung by Falco, and received the Audience Favourite award. Even though the Audience Favourite award was given based on singing skills, for Karl, it was more remarkable that he performed a song in German without knowing how to speak German.

With performing in his genes, Karl’s road to chemistry studies was definitely not the classical choice. The choice was influenced by Karl’s basic school chemistry teacher at Pärnu Co-educational Gymnasium, whose teaching style was so gripping and fascinating for the young learners that the entire class excitedly anticipated chemistry lessons. The teacher’s stirring influence was one of the reasons why Karl found himself on the list of entrants for the University of Tartu Institute of Chemistry. He enjoyed his time at university. Exciting chemistry studies found a practical outlet in the form of laboratory work, which concluded in a Master’s thesis entitled ‘Novel Method for Studying Ligand-Receptor Interactions using TIRF Microscopy’.

Being active, Karl found outlets in other fields while studying at university and gave his time and energy to participating in and organising various events. Student Days, presenting a project on radio station Raadio 2, various video performances – every minute was accounted for and found a specific purpose so that his work at Tervisetehnoloogiate Arenduskeskus AS as an R&D scientist and at TBD-Biodiscovery OÜ as an analytical chemist fit into the schedule while studying at university. In addition, he contributed to teaching and guiding younger students by working on the Science Bus and participating in the science theatre. All of this led Karl to realise that, for theoretical science, he needs a more practical outlet and science and that the benefit from this must be shared. Karl’s daily work at Solis BioDyne offers just that. “Every scientist should be able to use high-quality reagents in their molecular biology work. It’s my job to help distribute high-quality materials. The fact that we can deliver most of our products without having to place them on dry ice helps preserve the environment and that’s important,” Karl adds, pointing out the most important thing for him:

“Science is wonderful! And I want to help its progress. Curiosity is the basis for everything and there’s no such thing as knowing too much. Working at Solis BioDyne, I am able to help scientists all over the world shift the boundaries of knowledge, offering them high-quality reagents for DNA- and RNA-related experiments. On top of that, working in such a strong and diverse team gives you incredible opportunities – you definitely won’t get bored” 

Karl (right) with his colleagues discussing new project

Even though Karl is a lost talent for the film and music industry, his working for Solis BioDyne is a win because there are no difficult client relations for him, only situations that teach him something new. His communication skills are invaluable in Solis BioDyne’s multicultural work environment and his colleagues respect them highly. Karl is skilful at finding the best solutions and he treats finding the most suitable solutions for clients with a passion fit for a sportsman. During his time at university, friends invited him to play disc golf and Karl found a new sporting hobby. He progressed incredibly fast even in this sport. What was initially a nice pastime that helped to unwind after work has turned into a serious hobby; Karl participates in tournaments and has repeatedly introduced his colleagues to the sport as well. If there’s any time left after that, snowboarding and fishing can still fit in the schedule.

So, if you can’t find Karl at the Solis BioDyne office, you can find him in a super good mood on a disc golf course in Estonia engaging in his leisure activity of choice.