North East England

Position : Senior Device Developer
Company : PETEC
Location : Sedgefield, County Durham

"I studied polymer science in South Korea, then worked for Samsung Electronics and the Kataya Electronics Institute.  I’m an expert in process electronics but, on its own, process development doesn’t have a meaning; we need materials.  In the UK, you have some excellent materials so it’s a good place for me to develop my experience. 

I’d heard of PETEC  -  the Printable Electronics Technology Centre  -  a pioneering project in the plastic electronics area, and was very fortunate to be given the chance to join them.  The UK leads in this field and already has good electricians, so it was lucky for me to be able to join.  The facilities here are world class. 

It’s both a cutting edge and inter-disciplinary area.  Most people in electronics don’t know about plastics or flexible materials.  And people in plastics don’t know about electronics.  The good thing for me is that I already had some cross-over career experience.  Coming here means I can continue my research in this field.  Plus, there are people here with good reputations in the plastic electronics area which means there are good opportunities for my career development.

I’m really enjoying living here.  In Korea, I lived near Seoul, a big city that’s crowded and the air pollution is quite serious.  Here in Durham, where I live, it is quiet and very clean.  When I arrived, people helped me in many ways -  for example, they had already arranged for flat viewings for me  -  so it was easy for me to settle in.  Plus there are many beautiful places near here, such as Hadrian’s Wall and the coast.  But what I really like is the fact that the North East is actually in the middle of Britain.  It’s the perfect place from which to travel to the whole of Britain!"