Poznań University of Technology (PUT, Poland) offered an opportunity mobility for PhD students interested in different fields of engineering. Marcello Maugeri from University of Catania (UNICT, Italy) talks about his experience and its usefulness for his career.
I became aware of this opportunity in Poland from an e-mail of my university’s communication office. Poznań University of Technology (PUT) manages a programme aimed at establishing cooperation between PUT PhD students and their foreign colleagues interested in different fields of engineering, with a view to preparing joint publications in the future. Since I found this EUNICE programme useful, I chose to attend the Agile Management for Industry 4.0 summer school. I like working between academia and industry. Lately, I have been too much in academia, I think this opportunity helped me maintain a balance. The school was well organized and balanced with one week at the university and one in the companies. I think that the benefit for my future is easily guessed from the topic of the summer school: I would like to become a research manager in a big research group.
I was very pleased to participate in this summer school. I liked the opportunity to go abroad, to broaden my horizons both culturally and professionally. We students came from all parts of Europe, but also from places as far away as Australia. It was nice to chat at lunch and coffee breaks, but also to organize evening group outings. During the first week, we worked in groups applying the concepts learned during the lectures. It was good to reason together on the given problem with different mindsets, cultures and backgrounds. Regarding the city, Poznań is very beautiful, the people are warm and welcome foreigners by speaking very fluent English. A special note goes to the typical Polish food, which is delicious, especially cakes and baked goods. You can also learn how to bake the rogal świętomarciński (St. Martin’s croissant) in the dedicated museum!
I am very satisfied with my experience in EUNICE! I am convinced that being part of a university alliance means that joining forces can fill any gaps each university may have in different fields. EUNICE is a good way to gather knowledge from different university at the same time. If there is one suggestion I would give to EUNICE students, it is to embrace opportunities and learn how to distinguish a change between opportunity or threat. This concept was taught to me on the first day of this school and I can say that mine was definitely an opportunity!
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
PhD student at UNICT
I am Marcello Maugeri, a PhD student of Computer Science at the University of Catania (UNICT), in Italy. My research is focused on improving the automation of fuzz testing: a security testing methodology. As a PhD student, I do not have much free time, but usually I tend to experience something new and expanding my knowledge in every field. For instance, I love travelling, it allows me to meet new people, learn about new cultures and try typical dishes. For this reason, I always take advantage of mobility opportunities.
Last year, I took part in Erasmus+ as a trainee in Bosch Research Germany and as a student at University College Dublin during my master. Unfortunately, due to the Covid-19 I had to perform a virtual mobility. Fortunately, I was able to work on my master’s thesis at the Bosch Research Campus in Renningen. In the next future, I am planning to boost up my research by engaging an internship in Europe or in USA.
