When Sultan Jumayev heard from his supervisor Elena Lomonova during a working visit to Germany that there was something special about his gaining his PhD - TU/e’s five-thousandth - his first thought was actually: ugh, more hassle. Because Sultan Jumayev’s path towards obtaining a doctorate has not always been typical - he has studied what is called a double degree program, which arose from collaboration between TU/e and Finland’s Lappeenranta University of Technology.

“Basically you do one research study and write one thesis, but you are supervised by two universities, and you defend your thesis at both institutions,” explains the tall, sporty-looking Turkmen in fluent English with a Russian accent. “I am the first PhD candidate in this collaboration, and I had to satisfy two differing sets of protocols and deadlines.”

Luckily for him, a shortcut was found, he says. “In Finland the defense has two parts, and the second part has now been integrated in the PhD ceremony here in Eindhoven, where I have done most of the work. My Finnish opponent is a member of TU/e's doctoral committee.”

First Turkmen

Jumayev's doctoral study is special in yet a third way: he is the first Turkmen to gain a doctorate at TU/e. His homeland is wedged between Iran and Afghanistan to the south, and Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to the north. “The country consists mainly of desert, the Karakum,” he says enthusiastically. “That means something like ‘black sand’. The river valleys are a sort of oasis; that's where the people live. They are kind and very open – family is very important in Turkmenistan. Throughout my childhood, I spent the summers staying with my grandma in a small village. I used to love swimming there, and going fishing and roaming the forests. That's what I miss here the most.”

Turkmenistan is a sparsely populated and relatively poor country, although it does have various mineral resources, including oil. But it was also part of the former Soviet Union, Jumayev points out. “That means that everyone who wanted it had access to good education. Consequently, my parents are highly educated people, and I too attended a school run along Russian lines, where I learned not only Turkmens but also to speak fluent Russian - I consider myself bilingual.”

After high school and aged just sixteen, Jumayev left home to study engineering in Saint Petersburg. “Education is no longer free in Russia, but I could afford to pay for this study by working three days a week for my uncle's company; he had also moved to Saint Petersburg. He has a timber company there, and I designed wooden cabins for his customers.”

Transition

The transition from remote Turkmenistan to the Russian metropolis - with a population equal to that of his homeland - was considerable, he says. “In terms of its culture, Russia lies halfway between Asia and Europe. I know that now, but at the time I felt the difference was gigantic. People in Saint Petersburg were a lot more reserved than I was used to, although Russians are much more emotional than, say, the Dutch. And even though I spoke Russian, I still had to master the local jargon. That was pretty different from the language of classic Russian literature that I had learned.” Still, after a while he did manage “to find the key to the heart of the Russians,” as he puts it, and to make friends. “Ultimately people all over the world are the same. More or less.”

In his fourth year in Saint Petersburg, he heard about the possibility of studying for a Master's at Finland's Lappeenranta University. “The Finnish government was running a grant program, but it was intended for Russian students. I had a lucky break: the coordinator was good enough to arrange that, as a non-Russian, I too could sit the admission exam. I was admitted, on the condition that within a year I could speak sufficient English. That was a language I had never learned at school, so it was a question of working hard alongside my academic studies and job. I remember sleeping a lot during the long subway journeys through Saint Petersburg, sometimes even standing up!”

The unexpected opportunity that presented itself in Finland meant that after his studies in Saint Petersburg Jumayev did not return to Turkmenistan to start working 'in oil'. If that had happened, he thinks, he would likely have had a traditional Turkmen's life. “Work, buying a house, getting married, having children. I am happy that instead I had the chance to see something of the world.”

A stroke of luck

Although the Finnish university is literally only 200 kilometers from Saint Petersburg, the culture across the border was very different, he found. “Luckily I made friends there too and I was really keen to stay, but back then, after the crisis, there was no work. I had almost booked a ticket back to Turkmenistan when I heard about the double degree and was allowed to apply for a position with Elena Lomonova. I think her having a Russian background was a stroke of luck for me. ”

In any event, he was taken on as a PhD candidate, on a project in which he developed a model to design electric motors based on permanent magnets. Motors like these are excellent for achieving extremely high rotation speeds, which makes them suitable for use in, say, portable intensive care ventilators - the test case in Jumayev's project.

After an initial six-month period spent doing research in Finland, the Turkmen settled down in Eindhoven. “Yet again I left everything behind, and I had to make new friends because I can't live without friends. Luckily, that wasn't difficult because as it happens the Dutch are more sociable than the Finnish.” What's more, Eindhoven is home to a lot of young, well-educated people of all cultures who have a mindset he can identify with, Jumayev discovered.

“At any rate, these days I am exploring cultures without passing judgment. After all, every one of a society's good qualities comes with a disadvantage, and vice versa. I've learned that from experience. Once I have gained my doctorate, I intend to pay more attention to my social and cultural side; you see, I believe that your cultural development must be in balance with your technical skills. I am reading a lot about sociology, cultures and religion; it has become my second job, as it were.”