Dobri is convinced that education is the key to a brighter future. As from a very young age, she was encouraged by her mother to pursue her career and never stop learning. She is very competitive and says there is always something new to explore in the academic environment. Dobri has her bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering. She graduated in Romania in the city of Cluj-Napoca.
After having worked in the fertilizer industry for 2 years, she decided she wanted to continue her studies. She wanted to study abroad in order to maximise her opportunities and make the most of her time spent as a student. She chose to study at the HAW Hamburg as it offered her a course of study in English in an international city.
As Dobri comes from a different country, she enjoys observing the differences in the educational system. In her home country, Romania, she says the education is more focused on theoretical knowledge, while here the focus is on developing critical thinking and applying the information already present in the field of engineering. She likes the encouragement from the professors to have discussions with and in between students, and the openness towards non-conventional and innovative ideas. She finds it challenging to adapt to a new culture and with the endless opportunities for extra-curricular activities her schedule quickly becomes tight.
Dobri is devoted to focusing on the sustainable development of the industry. She believes that given the context of the energy crisis and climate protection, there has to be a change made in the field of engineering. She claims, that it is the duty of young engineers to find solutions for the challenges the industry is facing, to embrace innovation, and to preserve the environment for future generations. She is convinced that research is the key factor in the transition.
Dobri thinks that there is a need to bridge the gap between research, the industry and consumers and she wishes to explore working on projects that tackle this topic.
Being raised in a rural area, gave Dobri a great appreciation of nature. As a child she dreamt of becoming an environmental activist. At a young age, in order to get access to a better education, she left her hometown for high school which was in a city called Cluj-Napoca which was 300km away. She also did her bachelor’s degree there.
The Deutschlandstipendium gives her a peace of mind that she has a safety net which helps her in focussing on her studies. It also ensures that she has additional funds that she can use to attend activities outside of Hamburg such as the Hannover Messe or conferences organized by the European Young Engineers (EYE). EYE is an international non-profit organization connecting engineers from all over Europe. Their mission is to give a voice to young professionals by collaborating with the industry, politicians and academic associations. They usually host two conferences each year where, apart from networking, there is also the opportunity to discover the local industry through company visits.
Alongside her studies, Dobri dedicates a significant part of her free time to learning German. She is also involved in a project called BaltiPlast. The goal of the project is to reduce and prevent the utilization of single-use plastics in the Baltic Sea Region. She would like to dedicate a part of her free time to getting more involved with volunteering and becoming more active with organizations such as the Verein Deutscher Ingenieure (VDI) and EYE.
