I applied for a position at the international research consortium VAGABOND as I wanted to boost my career in science and perform a PhD. The consortium looked very well organised and it did stand out as the training calendar also included an extensive personal development program. I feel it is really fulfilling to work in another country with other top talents and be able to collaborate and grow together.

Although we travelled all over Europe to attend personal development masterclasses, the kick off of the personal development program was in The Netherlands with a module called Purpose-in-Life. We came together as a group of talents from all over the world and we were invited to analyse the past, relish the present and desire the future.

This day was an opportunity to get inspired by many personal stories. One story was of a man who’s definitely familiar with chasing dreams. He told us how he turned an almost impossible goal into reality and how he is now contributing to a better, more sustainable world. Inspired by this story that dreams really can come true if you chase them hard enough, we spent time to reflect on where we are today and what legacy we want to leave behind. This resulted in magical moments when all of us shared our dreams in life. After this first masterclass I shared my purpose with others. They all supported me, and they found it weird as I had never talked about that.

Joaquín Jurado Maqueda
Doctor of Philosophy
Toptalent at the VAGABOND NETWORK of the Princess Máxima Center for pediatric oncology
PhD Candidate Oncology, Haematology and Pathology, Università di Bologna