Intersectoral master's studies led the student to one of the world's leading biotechnology companies
In June, Egert Vene, master student in Molecular Biosciences. successfully defended his master's thesis at the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu. The thesis was completed in collaboration with the Vilnius branch of the international biotechnology company Thermo Fisher Scientific.
The project focused on an animal-borne disease and addressed a real product development challenge of importance to the company. According to Egert and his industry supervisor, Anna Sawicka, Senior Research Fellow at Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics, the experience demonstrates how the intersectoral master's studies bridges academic research and the practical needs of industry, creating value for the student, the company, and the university alike.
Traineeship realized to master's thesis
As part of the Molecular Biosciences master's programme, students complete an entrepreneurship module including traineeship. In the summer of 2025, Egert undertook his traineeship at Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics in Vilnius, where he joined the Animal Health Research Team. It was there that he began working on a project that later developed into his master's thesis - although he did not know it at that time.
During the autumn semester of his second year, Egert studied abroad in the Netherlands. Of the four courses he completed there, two provided the opportunity to investigate objects and get inspiration for further research. After returning from his exchange studies, he was invited back to Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics as an employee and was offered the opportunity to complete his degree at the University of Tartu through a thesis carried out in collaboration with the company.
Naturally, I accepted the opportunity to write my master's thesis in collaboration with the company. In addition to my interest in the research topic itself, I saw it as an opportunity to pursue meaningful scientific work while also developing professionally.
Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics has a long-standing programme that engages students from Lithuanian universities at different levels of higher education. Students from the Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology, University of Tartu have also completed short-term Erasmus+ traineeships at the company for many years. In addition, the company maintains several other collaborative partnerships with the institute and with the University of Tartu more broadly. Mutual trust and cooperation were therefore already well established, but this was the first collaboration with the University of Tartu within the framework of the intersectoral master’s scheme.
“The University of Tartu, with its excellent academic reputation, is an important partner for Thermo Fisher Scientific. Egert's project was our first joint master's thesis project, and we hope to continue similar collaborations in the future,” says Anna Sawicka, Senior Research Fellow at Thermo Fisher Scientific and Egert's supervisor.
An international experience that challenged and inspired
The intersectoral master's programme differs from a traditional master's degree completed solely within the university in many ways. By the time students reach the master's level, they are already familiar with the university environment, academic staff, research groups and academic culture. Working in an international company, however, meant that Egert had to adapt to an entirely new professional environment.
Surrounded by colleagues from different countries, he had to demonstrate his skills and abilities on a daily basis. Communicating in English also meant that his ideas and scientific reasoning had to be conveyed clearly to an international team. "In fact, I also had to prove to myself that I was the right person for this project," Egert recalls.
Working on his master's thesis in an industrial setting also provided experiences that would have been difficult to gain within the university alone. He gained first-hand insight into how work is organised in a large international company and learned about processes and functions that contribute to research, development, and innovation. He developed a deeper understanding of regulatory requirements, quality control, and quality assurance procedures that underpin the development and validation of new products. As Thermo Fisher Scientific operates globally, the project also gave Egert the opportunity to collaborate with specialists from different countries and across a wide range of scientific disciplines.
A master's thesis addressing a critical challenge
“Knowing that my work could have a real impact on people's lives and that my research might help improve an existing product was my greatest source of motivation,” says Egert.
Egert's industry supervisor, Anna Sawicka, is satisfied with the outcome of the project.
Student projects are always unpredictable to some extent, as each student brings a unique set of knowledge and experience. In current case, the collaboration developed very well, and within a year we were able to generate substantial results that could be successfully summarized in a thesis.
Developing new solutions
Although the project required Egert to acquire entirely new skills, he found that the academic training he had received at the University of Tartu provided a strong foundation. In addition to laboratory techniques, his studies had equipped him with the ability to search for and critically evaluate scientific literature, analyze data, and communicate research findings clearly and effectively. These skills made the collaboration more productive and contributed significantly to the success of the intersectoral project.
According to his supervisor, Anna Sawicka, Egert demonstrated a strong willingness to learn from the very beginning. He actively participated in discussions, took responsibility for his work, and quickly earned the confidence to take on increasingly demanding tasks.
For Egert, the greatest challenge was developing new approaches to investigate a relatively unique research question. “There were very few existing studies or examples that directly addressed what we were trying to achieve, so we had to develop new methods and acquire entirely new skills," reminds Egert.
One example was the collaboration with Professor Veronika Zadin from the University of Tartu. This involved learning new computational and bioinformatics methods and collaborating remotely—an experience that was both challenging and rewarding.
A unique defence experience
Egert defended his master's thesis twice - first at Thermo Fisher Scientific and later at the University of Tartu. At Thermo Fisher Scientific, it is standard practice for students completing their thesis in collaboration with the company to present their project and findings at an internal defence attended by an evaluation committee and other interested colleagues. Around 150 people attended Egert's presentation, some of them online.
The format of the company defence closely resembled that of a university thesis defence, including the student's presentation, questions from the evaluation committee and discussion with the audience. Egert's presentation was awarded the audience prize for the best presentation of the day.
The defence at the University of Tartu was different, as it had to be held behind closed doors due to confidentiality requirements and the protection of the company's intellectual property. Such procedures are standard practice in industrial research projects.
“Both the company and the university were committed to making the collaboration work, and all the necessary arrangements were completed efficiently,” says Anna Sawicka.
For Egert, the university defence was made especially memorable by the fact that both his industry supervisor, Anna Sawicka, and his opponent, Evelina Maziliauskaitė, travelled to Tartu to attend the defence in person.
He recommends the intersectoral project to any student who wants to see their research to make a tangible difference beyond academia.
The university gave me a strong academic foundation, while the company provided an opportunity to develop practical skills that would have been difficult to acquire in a traditional academic setting.
Thermo Fisher Scientific likewise views collaboration with universities as an important way to bring new knowledge into the company while identifying and developing future talent. Although employment opportunities ultimately depend on both the company's recruitment needs and graduates' own career choices, projects like these provide students with invaluable experience and make them strong candidates for future positions in industry.
Egert's experience demonstrates how the intersectoral master’s programme can bridge academic research and industrial innovation, creating lasting value for students, companies and the university alike.
The photo at the top of the page shows Egert Vene during his traineeship at Thermo Fisher Scientific Baltics in summer 2025 surrounded by his colleagues from the Animal Health Research Group of the company.
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