Dr. Lucht, what was the objective of the report?
The report served the internal accreditation of the Master of Science in Physics program. I am grateful for the opportunity to advise the department on the training of future scientists.
What are the results of your expert report?
We believe that research and teaching at the university must be industry-oriented.
To what extent should the university better prepare students for the working world?
The good news is that the content of the master’s program in Physics is needed later on in industry. However, the ability to understand research as part of an overall value creation process is becoming increasingly important for successful industrial innovation.
So what is missing in university education?
Aspects such as project management, regulatory issues, and global market developments play a central role in scientific work at industrial SMEs today. Anyone who trains natural scientists should take this into account. In the report, I advocate incorporating business management knowledge into the master’s program.
What are your specific recommendations?
I am convinced that the future belongs to those who combine scientific depth, technological expertise, and an entrepreneurial attitude. Students should gain insight into research and development in industry early on. This includes learning how to build interdisciplinary teams, how to advance projects together, and how to strategically involve external partners when certain competencies are missing. Equally important is the ability to present ideas and developments clearly and persuasively within a given timeframe. A degree program should systematically teach precisely these skills.
Since you started at Orafol in 2002, you have been collaborating with the “Economic and Industrial Partnerships” network at the University of Potsdam. Why?
On the one hand, our goal is to clarify the requirements that industry places on graduates. What qualities should they have? On the other hand, this exchange offers us the opportunity to invest in collaborations early on – in research topics that will play a role for us as a plastics specialist in the future.
How do you collaborate specifically?
Students provide important impetus at Orafol when they write their master’s theses at our company. These findings are also incorporated into our technologies and processes, and they see how their work translates into concrete customer benefits. Joint research projects are a second focus.
What kind of research projects does this include?
A few months ago, we worked with students on the question: How can processes at Orafol be optimized using artificial intelligence? So, basically, we’re driven by the same things that interest society at large, such as the benefits of AI, for example.
What advice would you give students as they take their first steps into the business world?
Build a network early on! Career fairs are a common and good starting point for getting into conversations – also with us. We also regularly open our doors for tours at our headquarters in Oranienburg. Short internships are often enough to help you get your bearings. I strongly recommend: Take advantage of these opportunities, including those at family-run companies like Orafol, where you can quickly gain deep insight into practice!
What makes the transition to a job easier for students?
My tip for getting started: Be open-minded! We see that colleagues who are curious, ask lots of questions, and also have the ability to listen feel at home with us very quickly.
As a physicist with a Ph.D., what helped you advance your career?
In a globally active industrial company like Orafol, scientific results must not only be theoretically convincing, but they must also be replicated in production economically and efficiently. That’s exactly what has always appealed to me. I grew up in a family of craftsmen. That shaped my eye for pragmatic approaches and certainly also my development here at the company. Because in the end, we hold a concrete product, the solution to a problem, in our hands. Without my flexibility, I would have taken a different path. I’m convinced of that.
Dr. Sylvia Lucht studied physics, mathematics, and computer science at the University of Potsdam and earned her doctorate at the Chair of Atomic and Molecular Physics at the Institute of Experimental Physics. She then served as a research assistant at the Institute of Optics at TU Berlin and at the Institute of Physics at the University of Potsdam. In 2002, she joined Orafol in the Research and Development department. Today, she is responsible for the Reflective Solutions business unit and strategic sales for the Orafol Group in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and India.
This article appeared in the university magazine Portal - Eins 2026 „Inklusion“.