Alumnus testimonial
Lorenzo Mazzola
Lorenzo came from Italy to study in Wageningen, where he studied Biobased Sciences from 2018 to 2020. He started in plant sciences because the MSc in Biobased sciences didn’t exist yet when he came to Wageningen. However, he knew that he wanted to pursuit Biobased Sciences. So, he decided to start with plant sciences for 6 months with a track very similar to Biobased sciences, before switching to the new Biobased sciences program as soon as it was ready. During his studies he obtained numerous skills that he currently applies daily in his work.
Even the dirtiest products can be valuable, especially considering the need for a circular economy.
Current career
“At the end of my MSc, it was difficult to find an internship due to the COVID pandemic. However, I managed to find a great spot in the north of Italy where I would work on Life Cycle Analysis. Thanks to that, I found a job directly after finishing my MScs, which is about sustainability in the food sector where LCA is one of the tools that we use. The first company I worked with was ‘Life Cycle Engineering’, then we split apart and I continued for ‘Perfect Food’. Next, Perfect Food was acquired a few months ago by DSS+. However, we are still working on everything related to sustainability in the agricultural food sector in general. Here we work with many kinds of clients, where we assess their environmental impact and provide advice on reducing side impact. So, we work on many different case studies, which are very specific to the situation of the client. We can also provide certifications on the results if the client wants to communicate the environmental impact to the consumer.”
Contributing to a better world
“Studying at Wageningen helped me in contributing to a better world, because not just BioBased sciences but the whole university is committed to sustainability. I remember many projects being carried out by students which really get implemented by the university. For example, a friend of mine started a course where they had a challenge, here they proposed a way to reuse markers. They won their challenge and continued working on it.
I also worked on a student project based on Biobased sciences together with six students from different backgrounds. Here, we worked on using pig manure to make soundproofing materials. We won the first prize in the Netherlands, and we became second in Europe. This really showed me that even the dirtiest products can be valuable, especially considering the need for a circular economy.
So, I think with Biobased sciences there are many ways to contribute to a better world.”
Preparing for a future career
“Especially my internship where I worked on performing an LCA was the first time I really dug into the LCA methodology. I performed this at a research institute, where I really had the opportunity to investigate the theory and then put it into practice. What also really helped me to do everything I am doing at the moment, was the modelling that I learned in the Biobased logistics course.”