Photcast - A podcast by the Master of Science in Photonics Engineering

Welcome to Episode 10 of the PHOTCAST series — “Arash’s Journey”! In this episode, Sara sits down with Arash, a postdoctoral researcher at the Brussels Photonics Team (B-PHOT), to talk about his path from Iran to Belgium and the experiences that shaped him from photonics student to PhD researcher and beyond. Together, they explore how photonics can create real-world impact in healthcare: from fabricating nanostructures and using Raman spectroscopy, to building faster ways to identify bacteria — combining optical readouts with machine-learning classification. While conventional workflows can take 24–36 hours (or even longer) to get answers, the conversation dives into why speed matters and how research can move toward practical clinical and industrial solutions.Beyond the science, Arash shares the honest side of the journey: the ups and downs, what a “typical” postdoc life actually looks like, and the lessons he wishes he knew earlier — including advice for students considering studying abroad and navigating choices between academia, industry, and entrepreneurship.Timecodes:00:46 - Meet Arash (postdoc at B-PHOT)01:12 - Project overview question01:17 - Rapid bacterial sensing: why speed matters05:00 - Diagnosis timeline: bringing it under ~30 minutes05:25 - Beyond the lab: the PhD journey isn’t always smooth06:30 - Low moments: self-doubt & staying motivated08:39 - Best parts of the PhD: support, wins, learning12:31 - Growing as a researcher: resilience & soft skills15:27 - Academia vs industry: why stay in academia18:17 - Key skills gained (technical + soft)23:59 - Typical postdoc day (research, supervision, teaching)26:06 - Collaboration & networking: building opportunities29:31 - Explaining photonics to non-experts34:05 - Looking ahead: future plans & translating research to impact36:49 - Studying abroad: master’s applications & practical tips41:05 - Programme news + upcoming application period (Jan 2026)42:08 - AI & “vibe coding”: using tools to build faster45:01 - How to keep learning46:21 - Where to find Arash + final thoughts - arashfeizpour.comPHOTCAST is a podcast from students, with students, for students. We discuss every aspect of photonics & engineering, studying photonics in Belgium, student life, and future job perspectives. Want to know more? Visit our website: https://studyphotonics.com or https://b-phot.org The Master of Science in Photonics Engineering is an English-taught 2-year master programme (120 ECTS) leading to a joint degree from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University.

⚡️ Welcome to Episode 9 of the Photcast series! This is the RUSH VERSION of the podcast episode, to give you a 10-minute summary of our 1-hour podcast. ⚡️ We are excited to bring you an engaging discussion featuring master students Patrick and Arne, who recently embarked on a fascinating journey to Nairobi, Kenya. Joining us for this episode is also Fanny, the coordinator of the elective course 'Trade Mission' at VUB, who played a crucial role in guiding our students through this unique experience. In the 'Trade Mission' course, students are given the extraordinary opportunity to represent a company or organisation abroad. This involves independently securing funding from companies, which helps them develop critical entrepreneurial and intercultural skills. These skills are then put to the test during the mission itself, where students conduct market research and engage with international business partners. Our discussion today will delve into Patrick and Arne's adventure in Kenya, exploring the challenges they faced, the skills they developed, and the insights they gained. The Trade Mission course, offered in collaboration with Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT), enables students to discover new business opportunities for Belgian enterprises. This year, Patrick and Arne were part of a multidisciplinary team of future business engineers, international business specialists, economists, communicators, legal experts, and photonics innovators, all led by the experienced academic team of Professor Dooms. Over the past 33 years, VUB Trade Missions have successfully represented more than 400 companies in over 30 countries. With guidance from entities such as the Belgian embassy and the Foreign Trade Agency, our students gain invaluable experience that extends beyond the classroom, preparing them for a global career in their respective fields. Join us as we explore the highlights of their mission, the impact on their professional development, and the broader implications for photonics engineering and international business. Welcome to Episode 9 of the Photcast series – let's dive into the world of VUB Trade Missions and the exciting experiences of our students in Kenya! -- PHOTCAST is a podcast from students, with students, for students. We discuss every aspect of photonics & engineering, studying photonics in Belgium, student life and future job perspectives. Want to know more? Visit our website: https://studyphotonics.com or https://b-phot.org The Master of Science in Photonics Engineering is an English-taught 2-year master programme (120 ECTS) that leads to a joint degree from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University. We offer students a challenging engineering programme that combines core photonics courses with a wide range of photonics electives and multidisciplinary modules, e.g. Electronics and Information Technology, Physics and Materials, Business Engineering, Modelling, Measurement and Control and Life Sciences. You can study on campus in Brussels or Ghent OR follow the brand-new online track! This multidisciplinary approach, combined with high-level training in labs and a strong link with industry worldwide, has proven to boost the employment prospects of our graduates to a maximum in innovative industries and research domains such as biotechnology, health care, green energy and environmental monitoring, homeland security, aerospace, ICT and Industry 4.0.

Welcome to Episode 9 of the Photcast series! We are excited to bring you an engaging discussion featuring master students Patrick and Arne, who recently embarked on a fascinating journey to Nairobi, Kenya. Joining us for this episode is also Fanny, the coordinator of the elective course 'Trade Mission' at VUB, who played a crucial role in guiding our students through this unique experience. In the 'Trade Mission' course, students are given the extraordinary opportunity to represent a company or organisation abroad. This involves independently securing funding from companies, which helps them develop critical entrepreneurial and intercultural skills. These skills are then put to the test during the mission itself, where students conduct market research and engage with international business partners. Our discussion today will delve into Patrick and Arne's adventure in Kenya, exploring the challenges they faced, the skills they developed, and the insights they gained. The Trade Mission course, offered in collaboration with Flanders Investment and Trade (FIT), enables students to discover new business opportunities for Belgian enterprises. This year, Patrick and Arne were part of a multidisciplinary team of future business engineers, international business specialists, economists, communicators, legal experts, and photonics innovators, all led by the experienced academic team of Professor Dooms. Over the past 33 years, VUB Trade Missions have successfully represented more than 400 companies in over 30 countries. With guidance from entities such as the Belgian embassy and the Foreign Trade Agency, our students gain invaluable experience that extends beyond the classroom, preparing them for a global career in their respective fields. Join us as we explore the highlights of their mission, the impact on their professional development, and the broader implications for photonics engineering and international business. Welcome to Episode 9 of the Photcast series – let's dive into the world of VUB Trade Missions and the exciting experiences of our students in Kenya! -- PHOTCAST is a podcast from students, with students, for students. We discuss every aspect of photonics & engineering, studying photonics in Belgium, student life and future job perspectives. Want to know more? Visit our website: https://studyphotonics.com or https://b-phot.org The Master of Science in Photonics Engineering is an English-taught 2-year master programme (120 ECTS) that leads to a joint degree from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University. We offer students a challenging engineering programme that combines core photonics courses with a wide range of photonics electives and multidisciplinary modules, e.g. Electronics and Information Technology, Physics and Materials, Business Engineering, Modelling, Measurement and Control and Life Sciences. You can study on campus in Brussels or Ghent OR follow the brand-new online track! This multidisciplinary approach, combined with high-level training in labs and a strong link with industry worldwide, has proven to boost the employment prospects of our graduates to a maximum in innovative industries and research domains such as biotechnology, health care, green energy and environmental monitoring, homeland security, aerospace, ICT and Industry 4.0.

PHOTCAST is a podcast from students, with students, for students. We discuss every aspect of photonics & engineering, studying photonics in Belgium, student life and future job perspectives. Arash hosts Alejandra and Alamghir in episode 8. Both master students talk about their adventures far away from home. Studying abroad can be challenging, but both find comfort in their co-students, neighbours, professors and environment. Learn what living and studying in Belgium means being a foreign student! Want to know more? Visit our website: https://studyphotonics.com or https://b-phot.org

PHOTCAST is a podcast from students, with students, for students. We discuss every aspect of photonics & engineering, studying photonics in Belgium, student life and future job perspectives. Episode 7 is a special one in honour of International Women's Day. We recorded this session in collaboration with B-PHOT Brussels Photonics and the B-PHOT Student Chapter. Host Sara Abbasi welcomes her colleagues Pablo Marin-Palomo (postdoc), Alejandra Gomez (master student), Jürgen Van Erps (professor), Natalia Gutierrez (PhD student) and Ben Gellaerts (master student) to discuss the diversity at B-PHOT's research group. We not only discuss gender balance and the importance of International Women's Day, but also other diversity aspects of being in an international research group. Want to know more? Visit our website: ⁠https://studyphotonics.com⁠ or ⁠https://b-phot.org

PHOTCAST is a podcast from students, with students, for students. We discuss every aspect of photonics & engineering, studying photonics in Belgium, student life and future job perspectives. In episode 6, Racha Akrour and Parto Ijadi Maghsoodi discuss their adventures in Japan and Italy. Racha got to experience a research stay at Hamamatsu Photonics where she discovered a completely new lifestyle. Parto went to Italy to chase the sun and found out about the vibrant life of Padua, where she did an internship at CNR-IFN. Both came back with a bag full of new life-changing experiences. Want to know more? Visit our website: https://studyphotonics.com or https://b-phot.org The Master of Science in Photonics Engineering is an English-taught 2-year master programme (120 ECTS) that leads to a joint degree from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University. We offer students a challenging engineering programme that combines core photonics courses with a wide range of photonics electives and multidisciplinary modules, e.g. Electronics and Information Technology, Physics and Materials, Business Engineering, Modelling, Measurement and Control and Life Sciences. You can study on campus in Brussels or Ghent OR follow the brand-new online track! This multidisciplinary approach, combined with high-level training in labs and a strong link with industry worldwide, has proven to boost the employment prospects of our graduates to a maximum in innovative industries and research domains such as biotechnology, health care, green energy and environmental monitoring, homeland security, aerospace, ICT and Industry 4.0.

PHOTCAST is a podcast from students, with students, for students. We discuss every aspect of photonics & engineering, studying photonics in Belgium, student life and future job perspectives. In episode 5, our host Mehdi Arash Feizpour talks to three students of the master's programme: Anusha Rehman, Parto Ijadi Maghsoodi and Jorik Withouck. They give us an insight into what studying in Belgium means, how to be a foreigner in Brussels or Ghent and what to expect when you arrive in the country.

PHOTCAST is a podcast from students, with students, for students. We discuss every aspect of photonics & engineering, studying photonics in Belgium, student life and future job perspectives. For the fourth episode, PhD researcher and MSPE alumnus Mehdi Arash Feizpour invited current student Aladdin Al Haffar, Erasmus student Maria Josef Lopera Acosta and PhD researcher Alejandro Madrid Sanchez to our photonics library. They discuss the master programme, feeling welcome in Belgium and photonics research in the research group. Want to know more? Visit our website: https://studyphotonics.com or https://b-phot.org

PHOTCAST is a podcast from students, with students, for students. We discuss every aspect of photonics & engineering, studying photonics in Belgium, student life and future job perspectives. PhD researcher and MSPE alumnus Mehdi Feizpour checks in with his colleague Dr. Qing Liu. Being an alumnus at the photonics programme himself, Mehdi is now a PhD researcher at B-PHOT, the Brussels Photonics Team from VUB, where Qing graduated as a PhD candidate last summer.

PHOTCAST is a podcast from students, with students, for students. We discuss every aspect of photonics & engineering, studying photonics in Belgium, student life and future job perspectives. In Episode 2, PhD researcher and MSPE alumnus Mehdi Feizpour talked to Rohan Sharma and Seif Mohamed, two first-year master students in our Photonics programme at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Being an alumnus at the photonics programme himself, Mehdi is now a PhD researcher at B-PHOT, the Brussels Photonics Team from VUB. They discuss on how they got into the programme ("the most simple application process amongst all the applications") and what coming to Belgium in difficult times meant for them.

PHOTCAST is a podcast from students, with students, for students. We discuss every aspect of photonics & engineering, studying photonics in Belgium, student life and future job perspectives. In Episode 1, PhD student Mehdi Feizpour talks to Samuel Plazas and Ahmed Bayoumi, two second-year master students in our Photonics programme at Vrije Universiteit Brussel. Being an alumnus at the photonics programme himself, Mehdi is now a PhD researcher at B-PHOT, the Brussels Photonics Team from VUB. The three scientists discuss the application process and enrollment, the scholarship options and the positive and negative aspects of student life in Brussels. They also give you some tips & tricks for applying for the programme and a scholarship. Want to know more? Visit our website: https://studyphotonics.com. The Master of Science in Photonics Engineering is an English-taught 2-year master programme (120 ECTS) that leads to a joint degree from Vrije Universiteit Brussel and Ghent University. We offer students a challenging engineering programme that combines core photonics courses with a wide range of photonics electives and multidisciplinary modules, e.g. Electronics and Information Technology, Physics and Materials, Business Engineering, Modelling, Measurement and Control and Life Sciences. This multidisciplinary approach, combined with high-level training in labs and a strong link with industry worldwide, has proven to boost the employment prospects of our graduates to a maximum in innovative industries and research domains such as biotechnology, health care, green energy and environmental monitoring, homeland security, aerospace, ICT and Industry 4.0.