Sitong, Scientist, MEU Research, Development Quality

Wednesday, January 01, 2020

Career Path

I studied food science and engineering in Beijing initially and then did a Master's in food technology in the Netherlands. During my second year, I did a nine-month internship in Munich with Mondelēz International in the technical centre, working in the pilot plant and laboratory on jelly candies.

I joined the team in Wroclaw in 2016 and started in Research & Development as a product developer for chocolate. In April this year I changed jobs, so I work in process development now.

What Do You Do?

In my previous role I worked on various small to medium sized projects, involving minor changes to recipes or the design of a product. Now I am working on a big new project in process development and everything is changing. I am grateful to be involved in such an exciting project, which has just started, and I see this as an opportunity to develop my career.

How has the Company Helped You Develop?

When I moved to Poland I had an individual induction plan, so in R&D for example I learned about product development, software programs, the technology, business processes and project management.

The training divides into 70-20-10, so 70% is learning from your work experiences, 20% from talking to colleagues and 10% from e-learning, webinars, reading and so on. Most of what you are learning is on the job.

Once you are involved in a project you can pick up technical knowledge and get access to the real detail.

Is Wroclaw a Nice Place to Live?

Wroclaw is a good city to live in, it has everything that I need - pools, gyms, a zoo, parks, museums and shopping malls. The public transport is excellent with lots of trams and buses.

Language was a problem at the beginning but I signed up for a course outside the office and it took me three months to learn the basics. The office is situated in the south of the city and you can drive to work or use the company bus from the city center to the office.