Keeping in Touch
This year marks the 17th anniversary of CUTEC. So I thought I’ll reach out to our former committees to see how they are doing and perhaps ask for a few thoughts on how the CUTEC experience, in hindsight, contributes to their life. The responses are surprisingly very encouraging! Do take a look at some testimonies from our alumni below. If you’re one of them, we’d just like to say a huge thanks for paving the way for us future committees! If your name isn’t here yet, do reach out to us as we’re keen to hear from you!
Nicolas Servel — VP of Content [2003–2004]
Nicolas is currently the Director of the MSc Entrepreneurship & Innovation at SKEMA Business School (delivered on both Sophia-Antipolis and Suzhou campuses) , the Co-Director of the Double Degree in Entrepreneurship & Sustainable Design awarded in partnership with the Sustainable Design School and the Manager of SKEMA Ventures, SKEMA’s incubator, on the Sophia-Antipolis Campus. “ I have very fond memories of my time at Cambridge University. I still firmly believe that Entrepreneurship, Science and Technology can be very powerful levers to change the world. Therefore, It Is deeply fulfilling to see that 16 years later, CUTEC, the student association that we have cofounded, is still very active. On a professional note, the friendships and connexions made at CUTEC are still helping me until today !!! ”
Alessio Ciulli — Marketing Director [2003–2004]
“Alessio Ciulli is currently a Professor of Chemical Structural Biology and Principal Investigator at the School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee. He is a leading expert in the field of targeted protein degradation (PROTACs). His laboratory has made important contributions to the development of small-molecule PROTACs and pioneered structural and biophysical insights into their molecular mode of action. He is also the scientific founder of Amphista therapeutics, a protein degradation company spin-out of his laboratory at the University of Dundee. Alessio was a member of the very first CUTEC committee. CUTEC provided a fantastic opportunity as a student to widen my network and get to know and work together with driven peers and successful entrepreneur. It was an exciting year in my life!”
Lucy Butler — Vice President of Content and Treasurer [2006]
Lucy is Director of Analytics at the Financial Times, leading the Data Science, Analytics and Business Intelligence Teams. After her PhD, she started off in strategy consulting, then moved into analytics roles in media and retail. “CUTEC really opened my eyes to the business world outside of pure science, and stimulated an interest in innovation and entrepreneurship that I still hold today.”
Lukasz Mlodyszewski — Life Member [2011-now], Executive Director of Innovation [2010–11], Marketing Director [2009–10]
“Lukasz is an ex-VC, an experienced entrepreneur and CEO in both building new high-tech ventures and running corporate entities. Being in CUTEC EC was one of the most exciting activities I’ve ever done, which largely defined my career.”
Alessandra Caggiano — Finance Director and Vice President of Sponsorship [2011–12]
“After launching and running two companies, these days Alessandra is Head of Strategic Partnerships for a start up in the property sector. Being part fo CUTEC inspired me to start my own enterprise and gave me plenty of insightful tips and tools to do so. It also allowed me to build the basis of my business network which springboarded me and my projects into the public realm. Highly recommend joining this wonderful club.”
Annika Eving — Vice President of Business and Operation Team [2011–2012]
“CUTEC inspired me with the entrepreneurial people that are interested in technology and innovation. Currently, I am working as a business analyst at the oil & energy industry and also developing a startup that specializes in the peer-to-peer EV charging market.”
Neil Rzechorzek — Director of Development [2011–12]
“Neil joined the University of Cambridge as a postdoc in 2008 to research DNA metabolism in the Biochemistry Department. In 2011–12 he served as CUTEC’s Director of Development, delivering the popular ‘Business Surgeries’ series to support nascent technology-led startups. This emphasised the importance of focussing on unmet needs, leading Neil to undertake consultancy work through the University and, in 2015, to co-found and lead the Entrepreneurial Postdocs Of Cambridge Society (EPOC). Neil moved to the Francis Crick Institute in 2020 to pursue his research interests, but maintains a strong entrepreneurial network within the Cambridge Cluster.”
Quintus Liu — Business Operations team member (2011–2012); VP of Media Relations (2013–2014)
“After finishing his undergraduate studies in Cambridge in 2015, Quintus co-founded Healthera, a leading UK digital health company which builds a digital platform that connects millions of patients to their local healthcare resources and takes the complexity out of prescribing and obtaining medication. As CEO, Quintus has led the company to raise more than £4.6 million in venture capital and government grant funding, and expand the platform to over 1000 pharmacies in the UK including national brands such as Superdrug. Serving in the committee at CUTEC inspired Quintus to start his enterprise and helped him expand his network to the start-up ecosystems in both Cambridge and the Silicon Valley. It was one of the most rewarding experiences he’s had while studying at Cambridge.”
Katie Atkinson — Director of Operations [2011–12]
“Katie Atkinson is currently a trainee solicitor at Allen & Overy LLP. She is a Chartered Materials Engineer and Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals & Mining LLP (FIMMM). Prior to converting to law, she was responsible for extrusions and managed research projects on sheet aluminium at Jaguar Land Rover. “Joining CUTEC nurtured my interests in innovation and intellectual property law””
Tim Lui — Vice President of Marketing [2012–2013]
“Since leaving Cambridge, Tim has founded a MedTech company Heartisans, that developed an ECG wearable device to detect heart attack emergency with a deeplearning algorithm. Currently he is at a surgical robotics company leading the AI development effort.”
Andrea Cabrero Vilatela — Chief Operating Officer [2013–14]
Andrea is currently the Director of R&D at Urbix Resources, a start-up specialized in high-value processing services and technologies for the Graphite Industry. They are developing more efficient, cost-effective and greener processes to fabricate graphite for the battery market in electric vehicles, refractories, flame retardant industry, etc.
Grace Copplestone — Chief Innovation Officer [2013–14]
Grace has built on experience gained at CUTEC through spending time at the NASA Ames Research Center, MIT and most recently at Dutch startup PHYSEE where she helps make sustainably building technologies. “CUTEC was a great place to find people within the university who were passionate about using technology to make a positive impact on the world”
Anibal L Gonzalez Oyarce — Vice President of Marketing [2013–14]
Anibal is a PhD in Physics graduate that moved to Singapore in 2014. While he initially worked as Engineer in Nano-Magnetic based memory devices, Anibal has then moved on to Data Science. Currently, he is still based in Singapore, working as a Data Scientist and Sales Engineer for GeoSpock; a Cambridge based company focused on delivering a database for handling extreme-scale geospatial data.
Nelly Olova — Vice President of Business Operations [2014–15]
“Nelly is a Research Fellow at the University of Edinburgh, where she studies the mechanisms of healthy ageing and rejuvenation, and aging-related disease. She is interested in the applied aspects of using epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation as biomarkers for early detection of cancer or for measurement and prediction of complex traits such as biological aging. Through CUTEC Nelly obtained hands-on experience of organisation and planning of a variety of innovation-related events, which later helped her develop the first entrepreneurship course for young academics in her home country Bulgaria.”
Chow Jia Rui — Chief Operation Officer [2016–2017], VP of Business Operations [2015–2016]
“Chow is currently a mechanical static engineer with Shell in Sabah, Malaysia. He is tasked with managing the maintenance of 2 deepwater platforms producing up to a quarter of the country’s total output. Managing CUTEC operation has equipped him with the skill to manage stakeholders, crews and deliver successful outcomes flawlessly.”
Sanjana Bhaskar — VP of Marketing [2016–17]
“Sanjana is currently pursuing a Masters in Environmental Health from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Her experience in CUTEC helped shape her future interests as CUTEC provided an excellent platform for her to connect to those in the Cambridge tech ecosystem including students, entrepreneurs, investors, and advisors, who were passionate about tech-based innovation in the context of working towards the UN sustainable development goals.”
Akhil Sonthi — Chief Information Officer [2017–18]
“Akhil is currently finishing off his Masters degree and heading to Citi for a Software Development graduate role. He has built a start (applyntrack.io) that helps students and grads keep track of their applications. He’s currently working on software development projects around Swift and Flutter. Loved my time in the CUTEC committee, met some wonderful people and genuinely encouraged me to dive deeper in the fields of Enterprise and Technology!”
Camila Betterelli Giuliano — co-Chief Innovation Officer [2018–19]
“Camila is currently pursuing her PhD in a microfluidics startup in Paris, in a large industry-academy consortium funded by the Marie-Curie Actions from the European Union, with the goal of developing a technology that she can bring to market. CUTEC allowed her to look outside the bubble of her course and college, meeting people she wouldn’t have the opportunity otherwise, and to organise her first-ever unConference.”