Career Lunch: Students discussed careers in sustainability & global development
In the spring semester, we invited five experienced professionals from various fields, who are committed to making an impact on people's lives or the environment through their work. They shared their experience and advice on careers in sustainability and global development with a crowd of more than 50 ETH students during the second edition of our SDG Career Panel.
The session started with a short round of introductions where the five panelists, among them three ETH alumni, briefly presented their career steps in both the public and private sectors.
- Gabriela Blatter, a Principle Policy Advisor and Head of International Environment Finance shared her experience working for the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN).
- Having previously worked in the Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health Division at the World Health Organization, Raschida Bouhouch followed her passion for medicine and now works as a physician for the Limmattal Hospital in Zurich.
- Jasmine Neve has focused her career on issues of climate change and sustainable development currently working as a senior lecturer at NADEL – Center for Development and Cooperation.
- Shailee Pradhan has worked for several years in international development before joining Swiss Re in 2016 as Senior Sustainability Manager.
- Bridging yet another perspective, Patrick Stadler mentors startups incubated by Charity Entrepreneurship, and co-founded the charity New Incentives.
In addition toanswering specific questions about their different career paths and the impact they try to make in their respective sectors, the panel discussion that followed offered some interesting general career insights. What did we learn from the panelists?
- There is not only a single way to contribute to sustainable development, and every contribution counts.
- To tackle the global challenges we face, we need people from different backgrounds with different skills & experience
- Listen to your gut and your heart because you're usually best at what you're passionate about
- Zigzagging career paths are perfectly normal. Being willing to change your field is a skill in itself
Following the discussion in the panel, the panelists joined smaller groups of students for a more in-depth conversation over lunch.
We would like to thank the panelists for their willingness to share their experience with the students and for their openness, the participants for their interest, questions and engaged discussion as well as external page Palmyra Catering for the excellent food.
The next Career Panel will take place in the fall semester of 2022. If you have suggestions for interesting panelists, feel free to email