“In the first year at TU Delft you learn as much theory as you do in several years in America,” says Zhang. “And the second year is all about practical experience.” She now holds a doctorate and works as an aerodynamics engineer at Red Bull Technology in Milton Keynes (UK). Soon after arriving in Delft, Zhang realised she was actually walking around the city where the movie Girl with a Pearl Earring was filmed. But she had very little time to waste in the city centre in her first year. “As an international student of Aerospace Engineering, the pressure’s really on you. That was difficult.” She formed a close-knit group with the other inter-national students who provided Zhang with an effective support network. In 2016, Zhang was awarded her Master’s degree cum laude. After her Master’s in Delft, Zhang took on a new challenge, relocating to Canada’s University of Waterloo to do doctoral research. But even Canada was not her final destination. “The Canadian labour market had been hit by the pandemic, so I had to look overseas again for work.” Zhang eventually ended up in the UK, and has been working at Red Bull Technology since 2022. She regularly recalls her time in Delft. She particularly remembers the Delft working culture. “It’s very professional. If you’re collaborating on a project there, personal relationships don’t matter,” says Zhang. “Here, work and private lives are more intertwined.” She also remembers the Dutch reputation for directness. “I was shocked the first time I worked with a Dutch person. In the middle of an assignment, she suddenly said: ‘Caddie, stop it, you’re wasting our time. Focus on something different.’ She later explained that it was nothing personal, but purely about meeting the deadline.” Zhang now misses this directness in the UK. “It’s efficient and clear, making work easier and faster. Communication in the UK is more indirect and unclear. Here, I’m the one who can sometimes be too direct.”