Meet Claudia

All the way from Germany to Sweden, Claudia ended up in Kiruna for the Space Master programme. Find out what she thinks!

Tell me about yourself

“I am from Germany Cologne, Studied Aerospace Engineering in my bachelor's with specification in space engineering. Now I am a master student at campus Kiruna in the Space Master programme.”

When did your interest in space start?

“We had a theme week about the universe in elementary school. Since then, I have liked to watch documentations, read books and focused more on astronomy. I am the first one in my family who was able to pursue a university degree. In high school, I felt like I would not be able to pass through physics but ended up in Engineering. My grandpa used to be a pilot, so aeronautical engineering seemed pretty interesting. Throughout university I realised that the space factor is much more interesting for me and now here I am... In Kiruna... studying within the Space Master.”

What do you like about the Space Master programme?

“The Interational environment, the possibility of moving around, the location (so close to Esrange), the project courses which are part of the degree. I really like the way of teaching, by not having only an end exam. Throughout the semester there are assignments and homework's on which the grades are based.”

How has the experience of studying Space Master in Kiruna been?

“I joined the project FENRIR and had a lot of practical experiences, besides the theoretical. Especially, the SpaceMaster has such a huge network it is insane. Wherever I go, I meet people from previous grades, and it is very interesting to talk to them and how their life in Kiruna has been.”

What do you aim to do after you finish your Masters?

“I would like to work in the industry, preferably, the space industry.”

How is campus life here, was it easy to make friends?

“Very! There is a welcome week organised by the previous round of students. During this week you get to know almost everyone. The nice part about Kiruna is that most people are moving up here and do not have any contacts yet, so everyone is eager to meet new people, and it happened that our whole class is a big friend's group. The students organise events regularly and there are many winter activities you can do in town.”

Any culture shock moments?

“Not really. I lived in Scandinavia before, also the Swedish culture is very similar to the German one. However, they really like angry notes withing the washing room. I do not know if it is a Kiruna thing, but that is something we were surprised about.”

How is life generally like in Kiruna?

“I like it. It is definitely a small city, but a very unique place. Coming here, it was definitely not boring. As I really like winter sports, there was enough to do for me. If you want to be social, you will find spots you can always go to. If you want a quiet and clam place you have enough nature to escape. And of course, aurora! Sadly, this year we did not have as many as I would have liked to.”