As international student I was looking for different options for studying and also I was accepted in different engineering programs in Italy, but the thing that attracted the most about UNIPD and, continues to attract me, is the organisation of the different engineering masters and the information of each master has on its website, as well as the different tracks you could choose for each of them. For example in my Master programme there are 4 tracks, Telecommunication, Cybersystem, Optics and Digital Health, and the different subjects are at the forefront of hot topics nowadays such as AI, quantum computing, cybersecurity, and so on. Moreover the Department can boost an international reputation thanks to its professors who have international experience in prestigious conferences, universities, institutions, making them best-suited to teach and to transmit all the knowledge they have gained abroad.

What I like the most about my master degree is the flexibility of the study plan as it allowed me to discover what I am really passionate about. Furthermore the teaching methodology includes labs, homework using advance tools and resources (depending on the course). The programme is well organised and supportive for everyone, for international students especially: there are different programme to help them settling down or tutoring without any cost, and, remember, you can be part of those programmes yourself!
There are different activities also for internship search in companies you wish to work in or with a professor in the university: The programme gives you all the resources to make the study-life balance smooth and have fun, because part of coming to study in Padua for me also is enjoying the dolce vita italiana.

Something in common that all the ICT students have is the love for technology and science, so make sure to state it in the motivation letter. Also as engineering is an applied objective science, I recommend you to make a clear example of an applied project you have been involved in regarding ICT topics: what have you done, the challenges, how you overcame them, the tools you used, the results and lessons learned. There are vast examples because ICT is a broaden field, also for this reason I recommend you to see the ICT tracks offered in the UNIPS website because it is always better to have a clear objective of what you want to pursue as a master student. It is good to be torn between two track options, remember that you just have to state in the motivational letter the reasons why you want to be part of those tracks and why you are the best-suited based on your academic and professional records.

I believe most of international students won’t know about the educational system in Padua, and Italy in general: here the grades are in a scale of 30, and the exams can be retaken multiple times till you get the grade you want or you are likely to accept. Another thing to be aware is that courses are dictated per semester so one course that is available in semester 1 of the first year is not going to be available the 2 semester of the first year. The oral exams are also good because is not based in an strict way of knowing strictly formulas (as usually is asked in written exams), but it’s more about explaining what you understood during the course, main concepts, methodologies and approaches, more about the “why” and the professors helps you a lot to arrive to the right path.

One reason that draws me to Padua was the city itself, I came from a chaotic and crowded city which is Lima so I was exhausted of this thing, I found in Padova the perfect small city to live in and I was not wrong: the city is vibrant, young and small with all the commodities of a big one, the best for me is the sunset during the summer, enjoying an aperitive with friends near to Porta Portello, festivals with friends (in Padova there are so many of them!). Also the affordability to move inside the city by bus, bike or even walking around is unique. The city history is also amazing, and there are many places to visit: one of my favourite is the Square Prato della Valle. I also enjoyed a lot the welcoming of Italians, at the beginning is tough moving to another country, culture, and language but you are not alone, there are so many international students as well as Italians that are more than glad to help you.

This one time I was expecting my turn for an oral exam, and for that class there is a well-known theorem, the Nyquist-Shannon theorem. A student seated behind me asked me and my friend if we could explain him about the “Nesquik” theorem. Me and my friend laughed just a little, because we didn’t want to make feel bad the student, but I was dying of laughter so much inside. The problem comes with the pronunciation of the words in English that are kind of close, but obviously the word “Nesquik” is misplaced in the ICT context.