As the winter term ends, the international students of our EAGLE M.Sc. programme gathered for an evening that was less about deadlines and data and more about community. After months of intensive coursework and research, the celebration offered a warm pause in their academic calendar.
Students from different generations of the programme came together with the ERASMUS exchange students who have been studying alongside them over the past months.
“We spent so many hours solving problems together this term,” one student reflected. “It feels important to also celebrate together.”
The winter term has been a demanding one. Students engaged deeply with radar analysis, programming in Python and R, cloud computing infrastructures, urban applications, and UAS data acquisition. Many projects required teamwork and academic backgrounds, turning classroomslabs into spaces of constant (cultural and intellectual) exchange.
“The variety is what makes it special,” said another student. “One day we’re discussing algorithms, the next we’re planning field data acquisition. Everyone brings a different perspective, and that pushes the work further.”
The evening’s atmosphere reflected this same spirit of collaboration. Groups that had formed during coding sessions or lab exercises mingled with newer faces, and stories from fieldwork and study trips resurfaced with humour. Yet the celebration was not an ending — only a milestone. The coming weeks promise new challenges and opportunities. The curriculum continues with courses on the cryosphere, deep learning, data cubes, animal movement, and other emerging areas of Earth observation research. The pace remains ambitious, but the shared experience of the winter term has strengthened the sense of collective momentum.
“We know it gets intense again soon,” a student smiled, “but evenings like this remind us why we chose this programme. It’s hard work, but we’re doing it together.”
In that sense, the gathering captured the essence of EAGLE: rigorous academic engagement paired with an international, supportive community. As students – or rather young scientists – move forward into the next phase of the year, they carry not only new technical skills, but also the friendships and networks that make the journey meaningful.
