German student Sarah Pirk and Spanish student Jaime Mas Lafuente have been taking part of their study programmes at the School of Computer Science since September 2008. They chose to do this because the content of the course appealed to them, but also because they thought it was important for their personal development to live and work abroad for a few months. Jaime and Sarah are both in the third year of their study programmes. In these six months they are learning more about the business side of ICT within the ITSM specialisation.

Studying in Groningen has been an extremely positive experience for them, particularly the contact with fellow students and tutors. "People here are so open", say Sarah and Jaime. Jaime really likes the abundance of live music that the Groningen nightlife has to offer. Sarah is impressed by the bars in Groningen whose dancefloors make them half-bar, half-club.

Sarah and Jaime also have some tips for other students who are thinking about studying abroad: carefully research the options available, find out how well the two systems fit together, because they are often very different, start looking early on for somewhere to live, and take a language course.

Patricia Koops is 39 and has recently started work as a lecturer at the School for Computer Science. She was originally a sociologist and lecturer in Social Studies but, because job opportunities in her field left something to be desired, she soon made the decision to retrain in IT, a discipline where the demand for professionals greatly exceeds supply.

This proved to be a fortunate choice. Patricia: “Generally speaking, you get to be involved with the whole organisation you work for. It’s still a relatively new discipline, and so you can develop to become a specialist.” After having worked for almost ten years in the business community, she decided that she wanted to do something again that involved sharing her expertise and coaching and training young people. “With Computer Science I’m able to combine my past lecturing experience with my experience in business. Perfect! It’s interacting with the students that I enjoy most.

Patricia also has a word of advice for school leavers who are now having to decide on a programme of further study: “It doesn’t matter so much what you choose to do, as long as you do your best once you’ve made your decision. Finish your course. That’ll hold you in good stead for your career in the future. If you’ve made the wrong decision by any chance, then you’ll still always have the opportunity of doing something else (just look at me).”