An interest in sciences and a passion for medicine made Pieter-Jan Voorter(26), from Stokkem, choose to major in Biomedical Sciences at the University of Hasselt in 2014. During his master’s, he specialised in bioelectronics and nanotechnology. “In the second master’s year, you have to do what is called a senior internship,” says Pieter-Jan. “Meanwhile, one of our lecturers during the first master’s year, Professor of Chemistry Tanja Junkers, had started a research project at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, and she suggested that we come to Australia for an internship. Of course, that suited me right away.” 

In November 2018, you started your internship at Monash University in Melbourne. Can you compare that university to the University of Hasselt? 

“Monash University, just like the University of Hasselt, is still a fairly new one, although Monash University has grown very much in a short space of time. That makes it a far larger university than Hasselt’s. It’s also a very multicultural place, with students of all different nationalities.” 

After your master’s, you stuck around in Australia. You’re also doing your doctorate there now. What exactly is that about? 

“I’m doing a PhD in Chemistry and my main project is a collaboration with Dulux, one of the largest paint companies in Australia. The intention is for me to develop what’s known as an antimicrobial paint for Dulux. This is an environmentally friendly polymer-based paint. This type of paint is sometimes used in hospitals today. My research project is still ongoing, although there’s a chance that we might soon be able to patent our discoveries.”

And what about after your doctorate? 

“I find it very interesting to use my academic knowledge in the business world, because ultimately that’s where I see my future too. After my doctorate, I want to gain further experience in the industrial world. My ultimate dream is to be able to develop my own paint. And then I’d like to market that ‘PJ paint’ worldwide.” 

You have been in Australia now since 2018. Do you feel comfortable there yet? 

“Absolutely. Life in Australia feels very ordinary to me. I drive on the left side of the road with no problem. Having to drive on the right again would feel very unnatural to me. My future lies in Australia. I also met my girlfriend China (24) here, who’s Australian herself. We now live together in an apartment in the town of St Kilda.”

What kind of town is St Kilda? 

“St Kilda is located a few kilometres from the centre of Melbourne. It’s a very chilled-out place, which is also popular with hipsters. Many backpackers depart from St Kilda on tours of Australia. St Kilda is also a coastal town. The sea is two streets away from my apartment, but at the same time, I’m living very close to the city centre here. Because there are so many nationalities living together here, there’s a very interesting catering world, with all kinds of restaurants. Asian cuisine in particular is totally my thing.” 

Did the corona crisis affect you much? No place in the world was in lockdown for as long as the state of Victoria, where you live. 

“We had to deal with a very strict lockdown here. That was a very intense period. We were barely allowed to see people, nor were we allowed outside a 5-kilometre perimeter of our house. As a result, my doctorate was somewhat delayed and I wasn’t able to see as much of the country during that period. But the worst part was that I couldn’t go to Belgium. My brother Jonas had planned a wedding in April 2020, just when the corona crisis broke out. The wedding was eventually rescheduled for July 2020, but even then I couldn’t get out of Australia. I had to witness the wedding ceremony from a distance. My parents filmed everything, so I could watch the ceremony live on an iPad at home. I’d invited some friends over and ordered some Belgian beer – Duvel at $12 a bottle (laughs) – and so I celebrated my brother’s wedding in my living room in Australia.”

Do you still do a lot of sports? In our newspaper’s archives, I found another an from 2011, when you won silver at the Flemish Canicross Championships. This is walking with your dog. 

“During that period, I did do a lot of walking and did indeed compete with our border collie. Right now, unfortunately, I don’t have that much time for exercise. Although I do want to pick it back up again. I’d like to start training for a triathlon next spring. It’s organised in St Kilda, around the corner from me here, every year in November. A triathlon, of course, means swimming, and here that’s in the ocean. I’ll have to do plenty of training for that. By the way, canicross is also known in Australia. I have a little dog, a Japanese Spitz. But I’m not going to put that little critter through any running races.” (laughs) 

Do you still come to Belgium often? 

“This spring, I had a three-month exchange project at the Max Planck Institute in Mainz, Germany. That was when I saw my family again for the first time in two years. Soon, at Christmas, I’ll be travelling to Belgium again. For my girlfriend, China, it’ll be her first visit to Belgium. By the way, I’ve already warned her not to anticipate too much about Stokkem. She has seen some pictures and she thinks it’s a cute place at first glance. (laughs) I’m glad I can be with my family again at Christmas and celebrate Christmas in the winter. Christmas in summer is really not the same. At a previous Christmas in Australia, my room-mate had stuck some snowflakes on our windows. That’s always a strange sight when it’s forty degrees outside.”(laughs)

Pieter-Jan Voorter 

Age: 26 

School career:Primary school: Dilsen Municipal primary school; Secondary school: Dilsen Municipal grammar school (1-4) and Virga Jesse College Hasselt (5-6); Higher education: Master’s in Biomedical Sciences, specialising in Bio-electronics and Nanotechnology at the University of Hasselt and PhD in chemistry at Monash University in Melbourne. 

Parents: Ronny Voorter (53) and Lydia Huskens (53) 

Brothers:Jonas (29) and Bram (24)

About Melbourne

Nicest café? 

Espi on the St Kilda Esplanade: ideal for a nice snack and cocktail with a sea view. 

Best restaurant? 

Farmer’s Daughters, my ultimate favourite. The menu features only local produce from the Melbourne area. 

Price of a pint? 

12 Australian dollars (7.79 euros) for a half-litre. 

Nicest place for an Instagram photo? 

Guildford Lane, a street full of old buildings but lined with plants. 

Tip for a fun outing? 

Wilsons Prom, where you can explore the Australian flora and fauna. 

A few more questions 

What do you miss most about Belgium?”Obviously, my family and friends. My brother and his wife are having a baby soon – my parents’ first grandchild. I’m very sorry that I can’t be there at times like that. Besides that, I miss my favourite chip shop. They do sell chips here in Australia, but they taste just a little less delicious than in Belgium. In Australia, they still don’t understand the principle of a chip shop very well. I always tell them that you can compare a chip shop to a butcher’s shop. There are all kinds of meat under the counter there too, the only difference being that at a chip shop, they deep-fry that meat. They think that’s really crazy here.” (laughs) 

What do you find strange about the Australians? 

“I really like the Australians. Especially here in Melbourne, they’re very open. Actually, there’s not such a big cultural difference between Melbourne and Belgium. If you go further north in Australia, it’s quite different. That’s where you see the more traditional Australia.” 

What do the Australians find strange about you? 

“According to my girlfriend, I follow the rules far more strictly than Australians, for example in traffic. Although I did just now get a traffic fine in the post. My first one: $111. The traffic fines, especially speeding fines, are a lot higher here than in Belgium. My friend’s sister once drove 54kph in a 50 zone, with a correction to 51kph, and had to pay a whopping $220 for it. The fines for harming nature here are far higher still. Throwing away a cigarette in a nature area can cost you several thousand dollars here.” 

Who is Pieter-Jan’s girlfriend? 

“My girlfriend is China, a 24-year-old Australian. She works as a dental assistant here, and she also teaches art classes. China and I now live together in an apartment in St Kilda, but we have plans to buy a house together. Not here in St Kilda – the houses here are just a bit too expensive – but we’ll look for a property outside the city.”