Letting Alumni tell their version of the Aspire story
We are very pleased to continue our Humans of Aspire series with a fresh Alumnus from our 2022 edition, Jorge Servert. He comes from Madrid, studies in Manchester and aspires to have impact in the world of biotechnology. Find out what answers he give to our burning questions.
1. What are you working on right now (both on a personal and professional level)?
“I am currently working on the development of a diagnostic tool for the detection of neurodegenerative diseases, a project to which I have been dedicating my heart and soul for months. Throughout this time, I realised the dangers of obsession. My fear of failure has pushed me to make negligent decisions about my health and my relationship with the ones around me. I realised that, although achieving my potential is definitely a priority, living a life based on goals is not the key to happiness. My true project right now is to understand where the balance is between work and personal life, a mildly cliché one, but fundamental for a plentiful life nonetheless.”
2. What do you consider your best achievement is?
“I recently won the Gold Medal in the IGEM competition, the biggest synthetic biology tournament in the world. Together with my team, I was able to come on top household names such as Stanford, Harvard, or ICL. The experience taught me how to operate in a very diverse team, with different levels of motivation. Having to create something as technical as a Biotech startup enabled me to observe how powerful empathy and active listening is to reach your goals, even in a lab. My biggest achievement this year was to come to this realisation, understanding the importance of putting yourself into someone else’s shoes in the workplace is something that will stick with me for life.”
3. How did Aspire contribute to your personal and professional growth?
”How Aspire is a network of highly motivated people that, for some reason, just click with each other. I am yet to utilize the full potential of this network, which for sure will help me to step on the shoulders of giants one day. However, my time in Aspire Academy taught me the importance of teamwork and listening, which really changed my approach in the way I work. I therefore owe Aspire my achievement in the IGEM competition. For reference, I want to point out that this victory happened 3 months after my time in Romania, truly proving the speed at which the acquired lessons change you.”
4. What is the most treasured memory you have from Aspire?
“The free Moldovan wine, no doubt.”
