Life does not treat us all equally. As a student who is close to completing his studies and getting into the seriousness of life after university I am at least somewhat aware of this. Sometimes equality is not even about equal opportunity, but about the ability to take risks. Since I can count on the support of my family if things get difficult, I can sometimes afford to make risky decisions. The biggest risk I ever took was going to Italy to get a second Master’s degree.

I was quite comfortable pursuing my Master’s degree in Software Engineering at the University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria, when I heard about an agreement that my University had just signed with the University of Calabria to set up a dual-degree program. This would enable students to switch universities after the first year of their Master’s degree program, then continue studying at the other institution and finally submit their thesis at both universities to get both a Software Engineering and a Computer Science degree.

I would be required to spend at least a semester in Italy completing degree courses for 30 ECTS in English. After that I would be working with thesis advisors from both universities on completing a thesis which fit all the criteria laid out by both degree programs, including two final exams and everything. I was terrified by the prospect of leaving my life in Austria behind. I had always stayed close to home while studying and I knew that this would be hard for me. I was also a bit nervous about being the first student to take advantage of that dual-degree program. To me it felt like exploring uncharted territory. I think the opportunity to step out of my comfort zone was the reason why in October 2015 I packed my things into my 2004 Kia Picanto and actually drove to the University of Calabria in Cosenza, Italy.

Yes, I drove to Southern Italy by car, because while I could barely endure the prospect of moving to another country for this adventure without speaking Italian or knowing exactly what I was getting myself into. It gave me a lot of comfort to make the journey in my own copper-colored personal fortress accompanied by a solar powered dancing owl on my dashboard.

dashboard owl

Now looking back, I spent six exciting and wonderful months in Italy. I met great people not only from Italy, but also from Turkey, Greece and Malta. I attended interesting and challenging courses with passionate and attentive professors. In the last months I even had some company in the form of another exchange student from Hagenberg and some nice exchange students from Germany.

When I went back home to Austria, I was broke and exhausted. I had quit my job as a software developer to go to Italy, and now I was happy to come home to my family. I was very thankful for their support at that point. They gave me the opportunity to recharge my batteries without immediately having to look for work again.

Right now, I’m working on my thesis with my patient and supporting advisors, so my journey is not over yet and this post will probably warrant a follow-up after I had both my final exams. I have not chosen the easiest route for myself, but on the other hand I had the luxury of choosing this challenge on my own terms and I appreciate that luxury.