Tine Kliim Nydahl – The Laboratory Engineer Who Traded Denmark For Gothenburg

July 5, 2021

Tine is working as a laboratory engineer at ALTEN dating back one and a half year. In this interview, she tells us more about why her assignment at Wellspect HealthCare fit her like a glove and what she would do if she took six months off work…

Who are you?

– I’m originally from Denmark but dating back a year and a half, I’m living in Mölnlycke in Gothenburg with my partner and our two-year-old son. In a few months he’ll become a brother, as we’re expecting a little sister to the family.

Why trade Denmark for Sweden?

– My partner was offered his dream job, which obviously he couldn’t say no to. So, we thought – why not a little Swedish adventure?

What would you say is the biggest difference between the two countries, now that you’ve been here for some time?

– Oh, that’s easy – the nature! I especially love the Swedish archipelago. We spend much of our time outdoors in the amazing scenery that the west coast has to offer.

What are you working with here at ALTEN?

– Up until recently I’ve worked as laboratory engineer at the department of “Quality Control Laboratories and Sterilization” at a company called Wellspect Healthcare. It was our groups responsibility to make sure so that the microbiological contamination levels at their production facilities and on their products were kept below the set limits.

What is your background, and how did you come to work as a laboratory engineer?

– I’ve got a Degree of Master of Pharmaceutical Science (one year) in Pharmaceutical Design and Technique. My biggest work interests lie within the fields of microbiology and infectious diseases. I also really like working in labs, so this assignment that I had was really a perfect combination for me!

Describe a normal workday for you?

– In our group we had a rotating schedule, meaning we only worked with one area of responsibility per week, one area at a time. That meant I could be responsible for either bioburden analysis of products (catheters), bioburden analysis of media, monitoring in clean rooms, result reading or endotoxin analyses. Normally, I spent 50-60% of my time on these “routine tasks” while the remainder of my time was used assisting projects.

What was the biggest challenge?

– The biggest challenges that arose was when we saw microbiological outbreaks. That means a lot of extra work analysing extra samples. While this was most challenging part, it was also the most exciting, since we all had to group together and use our detective skills to try and find out why, where and how the contamination had happened.

Is there something that you’re a little extra proud of in your work?

– I’m very proud of having worked at a company that makes a difference in many people’s everyday life. A lot of people around the world rely on the products that are being produced by Wellspect Healthcare every day. While many other companies have closed their production during shorter or longer periods of time during the pandemic, Wellspect has had their production going all along. People’s need of catheters simply won’t disappear because of the covid-19 outbreak.

Finally, if you were to take six months off from your assignment, what would you go about doing?

– I’d take my family travelling! Perhaps a trip to South America, where we could explore ancient ruins, learn more about different cultures, go hiking in Patagonia… the list of things to do and places to explore goes on and on!