Senior researcher Jáchym Judl: Genuine friendships and a career in life cycle assessment

Originally from Prague, Czech Republic, Jáchym graduated as a Master of Science in Engineering from the University of Chemistry and Technology in Prague. A new and interesting field of research on the life cycle assessment (LCA) of products and services led him to study abroad in Norway and eventually to become a researcher at Syke and a permanent resident in Finland. He has been working at Syke since 2010, and he currently works as a senior researcher in the Climate solutions unit.

Jáchym became acquainted with the LCA during his undergraduate studies. At that time, there was hardly any research in this field in the Czech Republic, and Jáchym was one of the first ones to choose this career path. To deepen his expertise, he spent a year as an exchange student in Norway. During his exchange studies, he also met his Finnish wife, and knew he wanted to work in Finland.

First time Jáchym ended up in Syke was through an internship. During the internship, he worked on Syke’s projects while also completing his master’s thesis for his university in Prague. ‘At that time, my office was my second home’, Jáchym laughs. After finishing his master’s degree, Jáchym wanted to return to Syke. ‘I ended up working at Syke because I wanted to do something meaningful and didn’t want my work to harm the environment’, Jáchym explains. Lately, his studies have continued as a doctoral student at LUT University in Lappeenranta.

At the time of the interview, Jáchym had just returned from a parental leave and has taken a smooth landing back into the working life. In his work, Jáchym studies how to make systems, services, and products more environmentally sustainable, with the focus being on climate impacts and the use of natural resources. His work typically consists of various research projects and participation in expert groups that co-operate across the EU and Nordic countries. A large part of his working time is spent on doing background research and data collection, understanding large-scale concepts and publishing research results. Some of the more impactful projects that Jáchym has worked at Syke have supported decision-making domestically, as well as on the EU-level.

For Jáchym, the best thing about Syke is the people: ‘What makes Syke unique as a workplace are the warm and genuine friendships with colleagues, the freedom to do your own work, and the trust that the work community has in the professionalism of others here’, he says. Jáchym mentions that some of the best memories of his career are from international projects he participated in with a now-retired co-worker. ‘She was my closest colleague for years and a strong support at the beginning of my career – like a second mother here in Finland’, Jáchym recalls. Through these international collaborations, he was able to build professional networks that he still uses in his work today.

For Jáchym, sustainability transformation means replacing excessive consumption with more restrained practices. This involves reducing emissions, embracing circular economy, and measuring progress by something other than just economic growth. In his view, the most important thing is that research supports decision-making, and is generally useful.

Why should people come to work at Syke?

‘We have good people here, and the atmosphere at Syke is positive. If you want to, Syke can become a second family. You can talk about anything with your colleagues, and here you can define your own ways of working and doing things. At Syke, there is freedom to work, plan projects, and participate in different kinds of research. Here, you can be part of the sustainability transformation!’