“The first time I really came in touch with the Master in Science of Photonics at the VUB was actually during my third bachelor year. I attended a workshop which took place at the VUB Photonics Campus in Gooik. There, I was amazed by all the complex and mind-blowing research equipment. Although I was already convinced I would follow this master programme, this triggered me even more to know how everything works in the field of photonics. What came next definitely fulfilled my expectations.”

“The first thing I noticed when I entered the classroom for the first time was that the majority of my fellow students came from abroad. As I want to broaden my knowledge about other cultures and expand my network, this was already a good start. During the master programme I often got to work together with students from different countries, and we completed all the projects quite successfully.”

“This brings me to the second important thing of the MSPE: teamwork. Since engineers are not magicians and cannot fulfil any project successfully on their own, it is necessary to learn how to work together with other people, also from other cultures. This is certainly the case in this master.”

“Another reason I decided to enrol was that the curriculum does not only contain courses about pure photonics but also integrates lectures in electronics, programming, business and entrepreneurship. I think that for an engineer, being multidisciplinary is a great virtue.”

“Also important is that during the whole master you learn that the link between hardcore research and industry is essential since this enables newly invented technologies to enter the market. This is one of the reasons this master is focused on being an excellent researcher as well as giving you enough opportunities to come into contact with the industry, e.g. the international internship in photonics.”

“The last thing I will mention is one of the biggest values of MSPE. Whenever I needed help, guidance, information, etc. I always could rely on a lot of people. I think this is a very professional attitude and this can help students facing certain problems a lot.”