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Carlota de Macedo Santos, Portugal

3 min read

Carlota de Macedo Santos loves embracing new cultures and new challenges. Even Covid-19 could not stop her. She applied for and got an internship with the Medtech company Cerebriu and left Portugal to go to Denmark.

Name

Carlota de Macedo Santos

Country of Origin

Portugal

Position

R&D Intern

@Cerebriu
Years in Tech

8

Updated 25.04.2021
Carlota de Macedo Santos, Portugal

“One year ago, I was in Buenos Aires on an exchange semester fuelled by hopes and dreams of embracing new cultures and broadening my horizons. Covid-19 decided otherwise. I had to fly back home to Portugal, and the lockdown was there to receive me with open arms. I reacted by actively searching for an internship abroad as part of my Master thesis project. During my research, I came across the Health Tech Hub of Copenhagen through which I found Cerebriu. Cerebriu capitalizes on AI with MRI to provide faster and better critical diagnosis. It seemed a fascinating opportunity to transfer my biomedical engineering background to an innovative start-up environment. I applied, and after an interview, I got in.

A shocking level of flexibility and freedom

Biomedical engineering was the logical academic choice. It allows me to combine my scientific curiosity and personal interests in nutrition, health and medical innovation. With a major in Medical Imaging and Signal Processing, the Medtech industry has always been the number one option for me after graduating.”

Explore: What career opportunities are you looking for?

“When I arrived in Copenhagen, I was impressed and almost shocked by the schedule flexibility and the work-life balance of Danish companies. It allows a person easily to have time for both work, social circles, and outdoor activities. I am currently an R&D intern at Cerebriu. My internship consists of evaluating the performance of Cerebriu’s Apollo software. The main objective is to have a better understanding of the optimal use of Apollo in clinical settings. This is a necessary step to bring deep learning technology from the lab to the bedside and tackle some concerns of clinicians with respect to its reliability. I usually plan my day from 8.30 to 17.00, but it depends on the amount of work I have on my desk and the priority of each task. During the week, I oscillate between literature reviews and the design of new testing experiments, code implementations and results analysis.

Denmark has what makes the foundation for a healthy working environment

“I remember how amazed I was by the working conditions in Denmark. Besides the minimalistic and pleasant environment, I appreciate the empathy and open mindset of my coworkers. Everyone's voice matters. For me, these are the foundations of a healthy and productive working environment. My eight-month experience of working with Danes taught me how you can be extremely productive during working hours. Lunch may only take 20 minutes and coffee breaks don’t last more than five minutes. In return, at 17h00, you are leaving the office without any guilt. Danes also seem to have this amazing ability to leave work topics and stressful issues at the office and enjoy the rest of the day with their family and friends without concerns.”

“Integrating into the Danish system as an EU citizen is extremely easy. No distinctions are made between Danes and non-Danes. Every bureaucratic administrative process is smooth and easy, appointments can be booked online, websites are user-friendly and English translation is always available. Moreover, taxes may be high, but the return is impressive: the city transportation system, the healthcare system, and administration are efficient. However, the high living costs and the burden of finding accommodation should be taken into consideration when moving to Denmark.

“I would love to continue working in the Medtech sector, preferably in a startup environment at the interface between development and clinics. I believe that deep learning will play a key role in this field.”

Explore: HealthTech in Denmark.

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