How a Viking ended up studying Applied Image and Signal Processing

The icelandic student is currently working hard on his master thesis.

From the rough beauty of Iceland to the charming splendour of Salzburg – How a Viking ended up studying Applied Image and Signal Processing

When we were sitting down to enjoy a quick talk about how Steinþór Jasonarsson, originally stemming from Iceland, decided to move from the icy North to the temperate climate of Salzburg, it was immediately obvious that the location in the heart of Europe has not only persuaded the former Mechatronics Engineering student because of the perfectly designed curriculum the Applied Image and Signal Programme has to offer. He, like so many other of our international students, fell in love with the vast cultural perspectives the city of Salzburg deliberately shares with all its visitors and inhabitants.

Now being in his fourth and thus final semester of the MSc programme and currently working on his master thesis, Steinþór let us know that when he discovered the uniquely made up programme of the AISP master course online, with the knowledge of Salzburg as the birthplace of Mozart and home to many creative souls, the choice
was a rather easy one.

As Steinþór has apparently always been interested in finding himself new challenges, the step of moving from the island of Iceland to the very centre of Middle-Europe immediately seemed to be yet another task he was interested to accomplish in order to satisfy his inner drive to learn more about signal processing, his personal field of special interest. Having already gotten in touch with the subject during his bachelor’s programme back in Iceland, Steinþór was still not fully satisfied with what he had learnt up to this point and was basically seeking answers and, as he told us, »…just wanted to always know how things work«.

Apart from his current work at one of the two universities in a research project and the time-consuming work on his master thesis, the student who attended several choirs back in Iceland, has found many opportunities to live cultural life to the fullest in Salzburg and has joined the Bach choir, a semi-professional group of like-minded singers.

What he defines as most important for international students? »Definitely making sure that you are into the programme and like what is covered by the AIS curriculum«, Steinþór recommended. Furthermore, he can only advise applicants to start a possible legalization process as soon as possible in order to ensure that all deadlines for the application can be met, in case you are located outside European Union. When asked regarding further challenges and input for students being interested in joining the programme at the Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Steinþór added »Going to a different country also means dealing with a lot of change, including a different bureaucratic system and, yes, different teaching methods at university. This also covers varying examination styles«.

After our enjoyable talk there was only one question left from our side »Was it worth the time and hard work?«. We did not have to wait a second for the response. »Definitely.»