My time in Padova was one of the best periods of my life so far for many reasons, including the experience of living in Italy and Padova. Padova is a beautiful, lively student city with many spots to discover within the city or on day- or weekend-trips around the city. Especially during my first semester I was able to use my free time to explore Venice, Verona, Bologna, Siena, Florence, and other cities or go hiking in the Colli Euganei. I would recommend to everyone to try and learn some Italian before arriving or during the stay in Padova. I made use of the free intensive course provided by the university language center to international students arriving. I experienced people in Italy as very happy to speak to you in Italian even if you know only few words, which made it very simple for me to feel comfortable to start speaking Italian and gradually improve my level. From my personal experience I think that speaking the language can help to feel at home in a new country and city.

The university of Padua is one of the oldest universities in Europe with an interesting history to discover. Despite this, I experienced the university as striving for innovation more than for historical prestige which I appreciated a lot. During the beginning of the pandemic my impression was that the university tried to accommodate as quickly and best possible to the educational, sanitary, and personal needs of students from various backgrounds. Despite most of my Master’s degree taking place remotely due to the pandemic, I was lucky enough to create strong bonds with people in the city in the first semester and thanks to the university I experienced my master’s degree as a stimulating challenge. I also had very good experiences with the international office which was helpful for diverse questions or for referring me to the responsible offices.

FOCUS ON NEUROPSYCHOLOGY
The main reason I applied to this Master’s degree at the school of psychology was my combined interest in neuroscientific research and clinical applications. This Master’s met my interests and further stimulated my curiosities. Very special experiences were the practical laboratories, such as assisting to a human brain dissection, or learning about clinical neuropsychology assessments.

SMALL CLASSES
The Master’s degree offers small group teaching which I personally think adds quality to a degree, as exchange between students and with teachers can be favoured. I personally experienced most professors as highly approachable and motivated to interact with interested students.

INTERNATIONALITY
In my cohort around half of the students were internationals and the remaining were Italian. Bringing together students from diverse backgrounds fosters diversity of thought. For example, the exchange with Italian students influenced my current thoughts about psychodynamic theories of psychology. Being most familiar with the biological, cognitive and behaviorist perspectives of psychology, it was interesting for me to study in an environment where psychodynamic theories were taught, and this influenced my opinion and opened my mind. Additionally, psychology is highly influenced by culture. This can best be experienced by firsthand experiences with students from diverse backgrounds.

OPENNESS TO STUDENT INITIATIVES
Last year together with other students I was able to organize a symposium on psychology and neuroscience related topics which will be repeated this year. The university aids students’ initiatives by funding events and the school of psychology provides available lecture rooms. Without the support of the university and the school of psychology we would not have been able to organise such an event.

FLEXIBILITY OF COURSES SCHEDULE
There are courses that can be selected freely from a variety of courses of the school of psychology or other schools. This allows to adjust your degree to your personal interests and needs. In my case I was not sure whether my degree has enough credits in clinical psychology to be recogniSed as a master of clinical psychology in Germany. For that reason, I decided to follow two courses from other degrees at the school of psychology. Despite the courses being in Italian, professors were highly understanding for me to write the exams in English.