The Belgian Adventure of Engineer Mehdi from Morocco

In late 2023, Mehdi made the move from Morocco to Belgium to join Select Projects as an engineer. The integration went very smoothly, and in April, he celebrated a major milestone: six months at Select Projects, but also six months in Belgium.

How are you doing?

“Everything is good. I've been in Belgium for almost seven months now, my wife and kid are here too, and I'm starting to get used to living here. The weather is quite unpredictable though.”

What are you doing at Select Projects now?

“I'm working on two projects. For the second project, we are currently conducting a feasibility study. The client wants to aseptically upgrade an existing conventional filling line.”

How do these projects compare to the work you did in Morocco?

“It's all new to me. There are similarities, but it's definitely a challenge. The pharmaceutical aspect is also new to me. That means a lot of documentation, new terms and new requirements to learn.

I saw it as a great opportunity to work on this project. It allows me to learn more about pharmaceutical policies. In the beginning, it was very difficult, but now I'm getting more used to it.

The difference with my previous experience (As a process and continuous improvement engineer) is that before in the two positions I held, the majority of the tasks I had were more on an operational scale : If there were problems, I would solve them as quickly as possible. It was very operational. Now, as a project engineer, you think at a higher level, more strategically. We take our time to think strategically about changes or potential problems. It's not an operational position, This is why it is new for me which will enrich my career.”

How is your Dutch coming along?

“I've started the course and I really want to be able to speak Dutch fluently, or at least understand it. For now, I can speak a little bit of Dutch. But I am practicing.

The team I work with on my project is also very international: Canadians, Spaniards, Portuguese, Italians people from Qatar, Lebanon and Iran. So, we often speak English (or French with some of them).”

How did you experience the cultural difference? What do you think of us Belgians? Are we very different from Moroccan people?

“I find Belgians to be very open people. For example, I can easily talk to my neighbors, my colleagues. Belgians are very nice. They're not as open as people in Morocco, but I expected them to be much more closed. In the cafeteria at work, during lunch, I'm never alone. There's always someone to chat with.

Select Projects also organizes a lot of afterwork activities that I enjoy participating in. I couldn't attend the last one because it coincided with my Dutch class. But you'll definitely see me at an afterwork activity in the future.”

Thank you, Mehdi. We wish you continued success at Select Projects and lots of fun in Belgium!

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