Meet former EIT Digital Master School program student, Irene Kolomvrezou.
Have you ever thought of yourself as a student traveller? Well, certainly, Irene did, even before she discovered the EIT Digital Master School Programme back in 2013. This young Greek student in Mathematics and IT was looking for an international qualification, when finishing her Bachelor's programme from the University of Athens, and she came across the EIT Digital Master School programme.
"I started mathematics and wanted to continue in new technology studies so EIT Digital was a perfect match to broaden my horizons. The EIT Digital Master School had the full package and at the time, it was a new programme."
Irene started the Master programme in Human Computer Interaction and Design at the KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. She enjoyed experiencing new ways of teaching and learning in Sweden as well as discovering the city and making new friends from all over Europe. In combination with her second year at Aalto University in Finland, KTH gave her solid basis in business development on top of her computer and maths researches.
"I enjoyed networking with EIT Digital people to gather all diverse experiences from universities, with a common background in our studies but different point of views. By starting studying in two different countries, I managed to get new perspectives. This has been a great personal experience, I learned a lot about myself."
Little did Irene know that she would end up joining a booming startup after her studies: "Before joining the EIT Digital Master School Programme, the world of startup was far away from me. The reason I wanted to learn more about business is because I felt I was missing a lot of key knowledge."
From Aalto University to EIT Digital Accelerator:
During the Summer School, which is mandatory between the first and second year of the EIT Digital Master School, Irene created a network that helped her find a master thesis, continuing her researches in Digital Wellbeing. The EIT Digital Co-location Centre in Eindhoven had a High Impact Initiative at the time called 'Fit to Perform' and needed new people to join. Irene was employed by Philips, partner of EIT Digital and came to Eindhoven to work on developing a wearable device that measures truck drivers' vigilance by processing their physiological data. The startup is about to launch its services this year in July.
Irene's advice to students: "Move around. Broaden your horizons."
"Too often, students in Greece have doubts about going abroad. It is good to discover Europe's different cultures and I encourage people to do so: go abroad for a short period, learn new languages, make new friends, it doesn't mean you won't be back. The EIT Digital Master School programmes opens a lot of doors, many opportunities, networking and getting to know what is out there. I was missing this in Greece. I was missing the big picture. EIT Digital encourages collaboration and team spirit both at University and at Node level."
If you are looking to know more about EIT Digital Master School, why not come and meet us during our European roadshow:
The Master School is a two-year master's programme with eight technical Majors and a Minor in Innovation & Entrepreneurship. 18 European top universities, renowned researchers and leading businesses are in partnership with EIT Digital to provide cutting-edge ICT excellence in combination with innovation and entrepreneurship training, leading to a double degree and an EIT-labelled Certificate.
