Marcelo Oliveira

Marcelo Oliveira

‘We are pleased to have you here’ is the feeling that comes across. 

Marcelo met his future Dutch wife in Brazil, when she was on a holiday there. He decided to come to the Netherlands, not just for love but also for the career opportunities he saw in Eindhoven at “one of Europe’s best engineering science universities”, where he has now been doing his PhD in combustion technology for three and a half years. Marcelo enjoys being in the Netherlands, although the climate is one drawback. “Even my wife complains about the weather, but that is a typical Dutch thing to do!” 

Marcelo travels between Amsterdam, where he lives, and Eindhoven. “ No problem at all for me. Travelling by train in the Netherlands is comfortable. I get aboard, plug in my laptop and get straight to work. So I don’t lose any time travelling. I also get to work at home one day a week.”

In the Netherlands when you do a PhD, you are not a student but a paid employee. 

Marcelo is doing fundamental research into combustion technology. Following his studies in Chemical Engineering at the Federal University of Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil, Marcelo Oliveira worked as a researcher for a project requested by the Brazilian oil company PETROBRAS. It was in this project that he came in touch with the field of ‘combustion’.  “I am keen to do my bit to alleviate the problems of traditional fuels as well as gain the insight that is important in developing alternative fuels.” In this respect he gets all the support he needs. “I feel I am being taken seriously. In the Netherlands when you do a PhD, you’re not a student but a paid employee. Psychologically that makes a positive difference.  And everyone at the university is really approachable, including the professors that I have contact with.  I am regarded as a professional and my opinion counts. ‘We are pleased to have you here’ is the feeling that comes across.

I can also follow all kinds of courses, take part in conferences around the world and I get the opportunity to cooperate with other European universities like the Lund University of Technology in Sweden.”

 

Name
Marcelo Oliveira
Company
Eindhoven University of Technology
Function
PhD in CT
Country
Brazil
City
Amsterdam
Education
Chemical Engineering
country flag
special

The Dutch are open-minded. You can talk about everything and anything there are few taboos.

In his spare time Marcelo likes to travel a lot. “The Netherlands is a great springboard for trips around Europe. And the great thing about Europe is the diversity of landscapes and cultures, all quite near to each other. For instance, Switzerland is quite different from Spain. I have been to quite a lot of European countries to date yet I haven’t seen anything of South America outside of Brazil because Brazil is as big as a continent in itself.”

Marcelo has built up a circle of friends in both Amsterdam and Eindhoven. He enjoys the company of his Dutch friends. “The Dutch are open-minded. You can talk about everything and anything – there are few taboos.” The language of communication is always English. “All Dutch people speak English. And still I consider it a privilege that people will switch to English especially for me if I am the only one in the group who doesn’t speak Dutch. I certainly want to learn the language and I am making progress but when I first came to the Netherlands I concentrated initially on brushing up my English.”
 

As a Brazilian, Marcelo enjoys football and likes to play with his Brazilian friends in Amsterdam.  He also is a regular visitor to the monthly Brazilian parties held in Amsterdam. “It prevents me getting homesick and the nice thing is that you not only meet Brazilians but also many Dutch people there.”
 

Banner