For Pranava Pakala, studying Electronics and Nanotechnology at Aalto University didn’t quite quench her curiosity.
“When I found out about CHEMARTS, I loved the idea of combining design and science, of making biomaterials functional and beautiful.”
In 2022, she joined the Design Meets Biomaterials course and the DATEMATS Workshop organised by Aalto CHEMARTS. What she found was nothing like a traditional course.
“It was so hands-on. I don’t remember going to a single lecture, we were just in the lab, experimenting and making.”
Her projects explored plant-based leather, culminating in a mobile changing room built entirely from the material.
“It was very novel,” she laughs. “One of the biggest challenges was making the leather sheets stand upright. We eventually reinforced them with cardboard for the proof of concept.”
For Pranava, the most valuable part of CHEMARTS was collaboration.
“The projects were mostly done in groups. You’re constantly learning from people who think completely differently, that’s where the real creativity happens.”
That experience now echoes in her current role as a PhD student at Uppsala University, where she researches perovskite solar cells.
“You have to know a bunch of different topics and fields in order to succeed,” she says. “I used to find that daunting, but CHEMARTS helped me embrace it. It taught me that interdisciplinarity isn’t confusing, it’s exciting.”
Pranava plans to move into industry R&D, where she hopes to continue developing sustainable and high-performance materials. She’s optimistic about the future.
“The demand for sustainable materials is growing everywhere. Material production in general is expensive and the extraction process is oftentimes not environmentally friendly so there is a growing need to find alternatives.”
Her advice to anyone considering CHEMARTS? “I totally recommend it. It’s an incredible experience, especially if you want to learn by doing and see how design and science can truly work together.”
Interested in studying CHEMARTS courses? Apply to Aalto University.
