Guest article by Timon Flathmann n³: Nano – Now & Next — Tips on studying and careers After we took over as the board of the AlumniNano organiza- tion in October 2025, our aim was to embark on a process of “generational change.” Accordingly, we had many ideas for exciting new events and projects. We kept coming back to the key point of better harnessing our considerable network in order to put talented students’ knowledge and motivation to practical use in industry and academia. This would help to arrange placements on a mutually beneficial basis. We quickly realized that a format of this kind essentially already exists in the form of the “Master your Master” events, which explain the opportunities of the master’s program in nanosciences, connect students with projects and master’s the- ses and allow students to make initial contact with alumni. What had unfortunately been missing until now, however, was an orientation event for new master’s students on starting a career in industry or taking the academic route by becoming a PhD student. With that in mind, we set ourselves the ambitious goal of creating a new event that brought these topics together into a single format. We wanted to create a focal event where “nanos” could benefit from alumni’s knowledge and develop an idea of their future prospects — no matter what stage of the nanoscience program they were at. Instead of “Master your Master,” students can now attend the new event “n³: Nano – Now & Next”! With active support from several dedicated alumni, as well as from the nano student association and from Anja and Chris- tel, the inaugural event was a huge success. The first speaker was Michael Gerspach (of the 2006 intake), who talked about how his studies progressed and offered advice on how to stay motivated and get through the exam phase. He also highlighted that career pathways — such as his own — are by no means always straightforward. Alumni board members Gregory Zaugg and Alexa Dani (both of the 2018 intake) opened the talk on applications and first career steps, providing an opportunity for the group of attending alumni to answer questions from students. The talk was followed by a presentation from Géraldine Guex (of the 2003 intake) on her academic career, which has led her to a professorship at UZB. Géralding also provided valuable tips on the subject of “Dos and Don’ts when choosing a PhD.” Milan Liepelt, Chairman of the board of the AlumniNano organization, ope- ned the event “n³: Nano – Now & Next, ” to which all nanoscience students were invited. Géraldine Guex offered valuable advice on how students could continue their education with a doctoral thesis. 24 SNI INSight June 2026