Welcome Zahra, we are happy that you are with us now and would like to introduce you as a PhD student at our department.

• So, please introduce yourself and tell us how you felt after getting the confirmation for your PhD position here in Leoben?

I am Zahra Rajabzadeh, a new PhD student in the research group of Prof. Lorenz Romaner in the Materials Science department. Honestly, when I got a positive response from Lorenz, I was super excited. Because I couldn’t believe that my dream came true and it is my outmost honor to have the chance to work with a great scientist during my PhD studies. Besides, I knew that Austria has the beautiful nature and one of my dreams was to live in Austria. All in all, I am so happy to have this opportunity for my studies and my life!

• What are you doing to maintain a good work-life balance?

Work-life balance is so important. In my opinion, you won’t be able to succeed if you don’t make a balance in your life. As an example, some activities that I usually do in my spare time include: going hiking, going to the gym, reading novels, painting (watercolor), traveling, and spending time with my friends. These activities have an important role in my life because they help me to relax and concentrate better on my studies and work.

• What motivated you to do what you do today?

Well, a master degree wasn’t the end of the path for me. I was always interested in continuing my studies to not only obtain more expertise and knowledge but also take important steps towards the research group that I want to join. I had a lot of questions that I liked to find the answer to and was curious about them. Besides, I always think about what should I do to help the world during my lifetime. For all these reasons, I am motivated for everything that I do today.