In this era of globalization, many people travel to distant countries for their work, especially in high tech industries. What is it like to pack your bags and move to a different continent? Sofia Szpigiel talks about the challenges, and the surprises – both the pleasant and the not-so-pleasant ones. Six years ago, she left Buenos Aires in Argentina and started a new life in Eindhoven, where she now works at ASML.
Why Eindhoven?
‘I had just finished my software engineering master’s degree in Buenos Aires and wanted to do a post-master’s course abroad. Normally, a PhD is a four-year course and other types of post-masters are very expensive. One of my friends in Argentina told me about a two-year post-master in Eindhoven called Professional Doctorate in Engineering, PDEng. Not only that, if the university accepted me, I would get a student’s salary. So it all seemed to be the perfect fit. All I needed to do was find out where Eindhoven was.’
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