“Engaging with people around you will not only bring you new ideas, but will help you execute them.”
Vasilii Triandafilidi
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Grad year: 2020
- Program:
- Campus: Vancouver
Vasilii was a PhD candidate in the UBC Chemical and Biological Engineering (CHBE) program who graduated in May 2020. After a failed attempt to commercialize his research on smart polymers, he quickly pivoted and co-founded Innovation OnBoard (IOB) — the premier entrepreneurship program and competition on campus. In tandem, he leveraged his knowledge of Python and passion for education to enhance the engineering curriculum by co-leading the CHBE course re-design initiative. He and the team raised over $45,000 through the Teaching and Learning Enhancement Fund (TLEF) and created the new, experiential learning-focused content for several courses.
The resources he created (OpenChemE.github.io) are open source and have been used by over 400 students, as well as professors from major Canadian universities. Vasilii holds a Master of Science in chemical and biological engineering from UBC, as well as a Bachelor of Applied Mathematics and Physics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology. When not at work, Vasilii enjoys learning new languages, reading history books, listening to podcasts and playing soccer. He is also a blue belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu.
Innovation OnBoard (IOB) OpenChemE.github.io
What has made your time at UBC the most memorable?
My time at UBC was split between academic classes, countless hours running simulations for my research and tons of extracurricular activities.
My supervisor was generous enough to give me enough academic freedom to pursue my side activities — like entrepreneurship — as long as my actual research was completed. Together with my friend Athanasios Kritharis, I tried to commercialize my PhD research on smart gels; we started by participating in start-up programs and competitions and became dissatisfied with our experiences. Most of the programs were too focused on trying to sell the solution they had come up with rather than discovering the underlying problems that they were supposedly “helping to resolve.” This led to a lot of failure and heartache. To combat this “engineering vision” problem, we created IOB: a platform to match industry problems with student teams to solve them.
In the course of one month, we raised the money we needed and brought together a large group of doctors, environmental and energy specialists with actively unsolved challenges they were facing in their everyday practice. The students and industry professionals formed teams and it was amazing to see their ingenuity on display in solving these pressings problems.
In its first two years, IOB has become the premiere student-run start-up program at UBC, raising $100,000 in funding and in-kind services, and engaging over 200 students in more than 30 student projects.
Some of the top graduating ventures from IOB successfully moved into venture-building activities at e@UBC and placed high in the New Ventures BC competition. From disposable coffee cups made out of coffee grounds to an electronic microscope that costs less than a smartphone, these ventures solved regular problems with incredible means. Seeing how our efforts are helping the world combat growing environmental and health concerns makes IOB one of my most memorable experiences at UBC.
How are you applying the skills you learned through your studies at UBC?
The skills that I obtained over my years at UBC recently helped me to get a position in one of the most prestigious management consulting companies, Boston Consulting Group (BCG). To get the position I needed to demonstrate effective problem-solving skills applied to the business world, strong leadership skills and effective communication. Luckily, calculating the market for autonomous cars is no harder than estimating the optimal polyelectrolyte parameters that I do every day for my research. At the same time, through IOB, I have managed to develop and demonstrate effective leadership and communication skills required to jumpstart the organization.
How do you feel a graduate degree in engineering has benefitted you compared to a different field of study?
Besides teaching me to solve complex research problems, engineering is a unique place where you are forced to get your hands dirty from the start. Engineering has an incredible impact on the world and has an amazing community that is ready to help you every time you need it.
Coming from a more theoretical physics and mathematics background, I was very impressed with how determined engineers are with the practical aspects of their work. Engineers don’t spend time pondering possibilities or ruminating over the problems — they engage, build, model and get their feet wet. No problem is too hard for engineers!
Because of our expertise and determination to solve any problems we, as engineers, engage with the most pressing challenges of our time — like climate change, pollution or an aging population.
My lab-mates and our collaborators, for example, are working on new soft-gel materials for artificial skin and robotics that can revolutionize the fields of robotics and prosthetics.
Most importantly, despite our focus on working hard to solve important problems, our community invests a lot of time helping the younger generation of engineers with their research and activities. It was because of these connections that we have managed to launch, find sponsors and partners for IOB.
Where do you find your inspiration?
For me inspiration comes from an inner curiosity.
As prominent science fiction writer Isaac Asimov put it, most great scientific discoveries don’t come with “Eureka!” but with “That's odd. That's funny. Hey, wait a minute!”
My inspiration also comes from being surrounded by amazing people that helped me all the way through: my family and friends, IOB team members, IOB mentors and partners, TLEF team members, CHBE faculty and staff (specifically: Mike Schoen; Dr. Vikram Yadav; Marlene Chow; Dr. Jon Verrett, my mentors: Dr. Tony Yang; Claudio Arato and Blair Simonite and my supervisors: Dr. Savvas G. Hatzikiriakos and Dr. Joerg Rottler) and everyone else that I didn’t mention. I am grateful for all of your help and support!
How will you go on to make a difference in our world?
I come from an under-privileged background: being an ethnic minority in a small city in Central Asia, getting into the high school of my dreams (on the third attempt) and struggling there, but ending up in a top Russian University and now finishing my doctoral degree in Canada and landing a position at BCG. The reason I was able to achieve this was because my family believed in education, and invested everything they had into my and my brother’s education.
I want to somehow engage with communities and give back some of the help that I have received, perhaps by providing education or mentorship.
Maybe that is why TLEF and IOB felt so rewarding.
