Padova has been like a second home to me. It has seen me grow, mature, and learn to look at the world from a different perspective. Staying in the US is cool but I do miss my late night (3am) walks around Centro and Prato Della Valle. (Oh! If you are wondering if I was stopped by authorities during my late night walks, the answer is YES, I was! I just told them the truth about how much I love the architecture of Padova at night.) I knew all the places for parties and after classes, my friends would always see me there, dancing, singing, drinking wine and aperitivo. At times I do miss Padova and its beauty at night.

Party places:
1. Do not forget to check the many pizzerias in the city centre, many offer student discounts and have happy hour.
2. Make new memories at Giardini Park.
3. DO NOT forget to get your ESN card. It will help you to get a lot of discounts and cheap flights with airlines.
4. Travel as much as you can. Your perspective towards world will change.
5. Hikers, right outside the city of Monselice there is a hiking trail. (The mountain opposite the train station of Monselice). It a 2-hour hike. DO NOT miss that. You will see a bird’s eye view of the Medieval city of Monselice.

I do study too! My campus is in Legnaro (Agripollis). I loved the library, the modern classrooms, and the laboratories. What I learned from my master’s is life is too short to STUDY ONLY. Study hard, smart but PARTY and VISIT PLACES HARDER. TRAVEL AS MUCH AS YOU CAN.

Dual degree gives me an opportunity to study at two different world reputed universities in two different continents at the same time, thus letting me explore a lot of new places. Thanks to the Dual degree prog. I have seen Venice, Milan at night. I also been able to see the U.S. Capitol Building during Christmas and celebrated my New Year’s Eve at Times Square, New York. I have met new people, some became friends.

Apart from parties, I have also been exposed to a plethora of scientific knowledge through research, conferences, and hands-on training. If, you ever get the chance of doing the dual master’s degree, DO NOT leave it.

UniPD, UniPD, UniPD, UniPD and UniPD.

1. OPPORTUNITIES
You can embark on a Mobility programme or choose a Double Degree, like I did!

2. EXPOSURE
You will be exposed to a plethora of scientific knowledge through research, conferences and hands-on training

3. SUPPORT
If you ever feel you miss home/you are stressed out you can talk to ‘Psychological Assistance Service’

4. PARTY
Padova is a student centred town and you won’t miss a chance to have fun with newly met friends while you drink Spritz!

5. MEMORIES
If you can leave your comfort zone and become a student of Unipd, you will make life-changing memories.

Will see y’all sometime, somewhere at a party/traveling/ some scientific conference as the world is small.

My experience at UNIPD is closely linked to the double degree programme I followed. Hence, I can say that during this programme, I have enhanced my agricultural knowledge, I have become experienced in field work and in handling new technologies in the field. This has helped me to increase my curiosity in science. I can say that getting this PhD position can be attributed to all these experiences.

In terms of thesis writing, time will seem to fly away once you start getting to it. I have learnt through my own experience that you should have draft pointers about what you want to write, and then you have to work on how to expand those points. Then comes the hardest part that is refining your text, and that includes referencing, formatting, grammar check, spell check etc. I have also found that while working on your thesis experiment, it’s better to constantly check the relevant literature on the side. This will help you to understand the experiment better.
When it comes to finding a position, be it a job or a PhD, you should maintain open and clear communication with your supervisor and learn the date of your thesis defence at least three months in advance. This will help you to anticipate your masters end date. Use this end date as a reference during your interviews (for a job or to get a PhD) to know when you’re actually able to start. I recommend you keep a week or two as a buffer.

Unfortunately, it was a Covid year and the vaccines were yet to come out. Hence, we were under restricted movement in order to stop the number of cases from rising. But I have to say that that didn’t dampen my festive spirits.
My housemates and I planned a Christmas party for the two of us, where we cooked delicious meals, had a lot of pandoro cakes and gelato, followed by Christmas songs and movies.
This year I’m coming back to Padua to go to the Christmas markets and enjoy the vin brulé!