My first week at Novo Nordisk

As I sit here watching "Vinter WIPEOUT" Scandinavian-style while Collin makes some delicious-smelling chicken parmesan for dinner I thought maybe I should pull my weight around here and update our blog.  I don't believe I have talked about work yet, so now that I have completed my first full week, it is time.

I've mentioned the commute.  I think I have the hang of out it now.  There were a few misses this week as I got on a wrong bus that added 45 min to my morning commute, got on a train that mysteriously stopped a station short of where I was going, and waited for a VERY long time for an obviously delayed train while announcements explaining the situation were constantly being projected over the loudspeaker.  At least I assume they were explanations, as they were -- of course -- in Danish.

My first day of work I was greeted by a gorgeous bouquet of flowers on my desk from my department.

I was also greeted by a huge pile of boxes containing various computer parts that needed to be put together. Local IT seems to be a little lacking in Måløv.  Apparently they are only on campus for 6 hours a week and only for minor problems...that might prove interesting as time goes on.  I've already had to visit them once since apparently Windows was never fully installed on my computer.   Computers.  fun times.  

I currently share an office with three other scientists...sometimes also called chemists...or academics, all in my department. From what I can tell all three terms are for people with their PhD, compared to technicians who don't have their PhD.  The setup is a little different here.  Each group is made up of both technicians and scientists, and typically the technicians do most of the lab work while the scientists design the experiments and analyze the results.  My small team of 5 is made up of three scientists (one of which is my manager) and 2 technicians.  The three scientists each have our own projects we work on, and we "share" the technicians.  Due to the small size though, I expect to be heavily in the lab myself, at least at the beginning.  Our team of 5 -- the "assay team" --  is part of the hemophilia biology department which is made up of about 20 people so.  Our sister department is the hemophilia biochemistry department which is about another 60 people I think...maybe 40, I can't remember.  I'm still just trying to learn our 20!

In our biology department there are two people from Sweden and one from Germany (and me) so at least I am not the only one requiring English.  The biochemistry team has another American and someone from India  Otherwise it's pretty much all Danes.  English is the official language and everyone CAN speak English but that certainly doesn't mean everyone likes too.  When speaking directly to me they speak English, but otherwise I am constantly surrounded by Danish.  The technicians, especially, seem a little less confident in their English skills.  But no one should be, they all speak English quite clearly.  Collin and I hope to start Danish lessons in February and hopefully that will really help.

Our site is kind of in the middle of nowhere.  Here is a view from my office window on my first day.

And here is a view from the same window this week...much foggier weather. (both pictures were taken at the same time of day)

The site is currently under a lot of construction.  Our department is actually moving in March, same site but new building.  But the construction makes it a little challenging to get around.  This week I did get lost in our basement trying to find my way outside.  Every door I came to looked like it could be a fire-emergency door so I was hesitant to open any (again, everything IS in Danish, despite English being the "official" language).  Eventually an elderly custodian from Ireland named Declan helped me find my way out.  He was very excited to hear I was from Boston, "the Irish part of the States" according to him.  

My first week has probably been pretty similar to first weeks at most large biopharma companies.  Lots of Isotraining (including an isotrain on how to do isotrains), lots of quizzes about the "Novo Nordisk Way", basic orientation type stuff.  I did have to jump right into the science this week since someone in my team is leaving at the end of the month and I need to take over her work.  But otherwise I have not yet done any experiments...soon enough!

I have already registered for two conferences for the year -- the first in Warsaw Poland in February, the second in Amsterdam in July.  Not too shabby!

I also want to mention the awesome cafeteria (or canteen) that they have here.  For DKK 22 (~$4) you get access to a full buffet of delicious food.  One hot meat entree (or a vegetarian option) and a large salad bar of interesting things including lentils and beans and potatoes, a table full of tapas-style Danish dishes, a few loaves of fresh breads and a selection of artisanal cheeses.  Sadly everything is only labeled in Danish so I don't always know what I am eating -- especially with the more traditional Danish dishes -- but luckily I am not a picky eater and have no allergies.  I'm slowly learning my Danish food words!  They are definitely not big on unhealthy drinks...it's mainly just water.  You can buy a bottle of coke as well, but I have no idea how much that costs.

They also really like their coffee breaks.   My department has two unofficial coffee breaks each day.  One at 8:30 in the morning and one at 1:30 (13:30) -- I think. I keep forgetting about them but I hear that's kind of frowned upon so I will try to be better in the future.  The day over all is much earlier than I am used to.  The first two days I came in at 8:30 and that was definitely on the late side.  Since then I have been aiming for 8:00.  But on the flip side, I typically leave work at 4:15 in the afternoon.  I have stayed as late as 4:45 and the place is pretty dead at that point.  I definitely like that aspect of things.  

Hopefully this gives a little overview of what the work life is like here.  It is a lot more Danish than I think I appreciated coming over here but I am getting used to it.  It is much more difficult trying to remember everyone's names when most of them have names I have never heard before!  And I never realized how exhausting it is listening to heavily accented English all day long -- it must be more exhausting for them though, speaking English!  and I think it is definitely the kind of thing that after a while I won't notice the accents nearly as much.  It is nice coming home and talking to Collin though which requires no effort...usually :)  Overall my experiences have been great so far and I am very excited about working here.