Francesco Bertola

Francesco Bertola

“Brainport offers all you need to create a pleasant life for yourself”

“We reckon that our stay in the Netherlands is for the long term. When asked at the child day-care centre whether they should speak English or Dutch to our son, we chose Dutch. It will make things easier for him when he starts school.”
Francesco Bertola works at the petrochemical multinational SABIC in the R&D field as a Senior Process development Engineer. His focus is on process development and he therefore provides support to other SABIC sites. He gained his PhD in Chemical Engineering in Italy, spending some time in the United States via an exchange programme during his studies. He decided to work as a modelling specialist after completing his studies. His wife is also a PhD, gaining her degree in Chemical Engineering in the US where they lived and worked for seven years. Last year saw the birth of the couple’s first child. The need to be closer to home – Turin, Italy – lay at the heart of their decision to return to Europe. In the Netherlands both quickly found jobs, Francesco at the petrochemical multinational SABIC and his wife at DSM. Since February this year they have been living and working in Brainport.
 

Brainport is a multilingual, multicultural environment

Francesco and his wife both prefer to work and live in an international setting, with Maastricht suiting the family down to the ground. “The people are open-minded, facilitating, understand what it is that you need. The region is internationally oriented. If you come to live here, you don’t have to worry about speaking Dutch straightaway because everyone speaks English and often German and French, too. It’s a multilingual, multicultural environment. It is very easy to integrate here and there are plenty of interesting international people you can share a lot with.”
The infrastructure is an important advantage for the couple, with the airports of Maastricht, Brussels, Charleroi (1 hour drive) and Eindhoven making a flight to Turin within easy reach. This also makes it easy for the families of the couple to visit them in the Netherlands.


 

Name
Francesco Bertola
Company
SABIC
Function
Senior Process development Engineer
Country
Italy
City
Maastricht
Education
PhD in Chemical Engineering
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Life is easier here

They feel good again, back in Europe. “It is easier to organise your life here,” is Francesco’s experience. He is very impressed by the quality of life. “You have enough time for your home and family, and enough vacation leave. The region has all you need to create a pleasant life for yourself, whether at work, socially or in terms of enjoying a good meal.”
“You quickly get used to living and working here,” Francesco says. “The region is used to facilitating internationals.” But the couple was surprised that there was a waiting list for the day-care. “That would have been nice to know in advance.” It also took some getting used to the fact that you first have to go to your GP before you could see the paediatrician. “But it’s also reassuring to know that the GP can drop by your home to examine your child.”
While they can get along fine using English (the company language at SABIC), the Italian couple has started to learn Dutch. “We want to feel more at home, get to know the Netherlands more.”

I have every confidence in my opportunities here

“Sabic is growing very fast, so I see plenty of fascinating career opportunities for myself. And throughout the region there are so many interesting top high-tech companies. It is quite easy to find good, interesting jobs  in this sector. I have every confidence in my opportunities here.”

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