This month, we are delighted to introduce Irum Saadia Khan, who comes from Pakistan. She was part of emPLANT Intake 1 (2018–2020).

She studied at the Institut Polytechnique UniLaSalle in France during her first academic year and at Ege University in Turkey during her second academic year.

🌱 From Research to Industry: Growing a Career in Plant Tissue Culture

I currently work as the Head of the Basic Materials Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory at Florensis in the Netherlands. My journey into plant tissue culture really started with my Master’s thesis during emPLANT. Moving from academic research, I gradually built my way into the industry, specifically in ornamental breeding, which became the launchpad of my professional career. The entire emPLANT experience was incredibly helpful in this journey, from the courses and class discussions to the field visits, I believe every single step shaped my career path.

🌍 A Key Skill: Building Confidence Through an International Experience

I gained several invaluable skills and experiences during the program. To name a few: the exposure to both academia and industry, studying in a multicultural environment across different countries, the study visits, the intense weekly courses by guest lecturers, and the sheer variety of subjects we covered. But looking at the combination of all of these, the most important takeaway for me has been learning to believe in myself. Coming from a conservative country and family, emPLANT helped me identify my true potential, and I try every day to build on that and do better.

💬 A Memorable emPLANT Moment

One thing that really stayed with me culturally is how reality can be different from the stereotypes we often see in the media. Meeting people from different countries in person completely changed my perspective and broke a lot of assumptions I didn’t even realize I had.

Professionally, my standout moment was participating in the World Seed Congress in 2019. That year, the conference happened to be in France, and the ISF welcomed emPLANT students to attend. With the other two fellows, I was given the opportunity to speak on the stage in front of a large audience for the very first time. It was terrifying, but equally transformative and empowering. The sheer scale of the conference made me realize just how large, complex, and well-connected the seed world actually is. So, for me, this was quite a defining milestone that truly shaped my professional confidence.

✨ Fun Fact

People often think I’m quite serious when they first meet me… but once I’m comfortable, that completely changes 😄 I can actually be pretty mischievous!

On the professional side, I’m very determined, or “stubbornly determined,” I should say. When I believe in something or set my mind to it, I stick with it and give it 100%. I always trust that things will eventually fall into place (and they do!), though this can sometimes come at the expense of my health (mental, physical, or both). That’s something I am actively learning to balance now.

Irum Saadia Khan

📍 From Pakistan 🇵🇰 → The Netherlands 🇳🇱

🎓 First emPLANT Intake (2018–2020)