Machine Learning can contribute to a better world

This article is part of a series called “Twente Leeft!” (Twente Lives!). You can read personal stories here about living and working in Twente. Twente is a nice place to be, according to the talents we meet. The beautiful nature, space, the down-to-earth mentality; they all characterise Twente. There are also plenty of career opportunities! Twente has many innovative, international and future-proof companies that are desperate for staff. Want to know what Twente has to offer? You can find Eric Santiago’s story below.

He chose to do his masters and live in Enschede. "In Spain, the Scandinavian countries and the Netherlands are highly regarded. In terms of studies, but also because these countries are well organised and the quality of life is high. The study programme at the University of Twente appealed to me the most." The Netherlands has not disappointed him in the years he has lived there; Eric cannot think of anything he does not appreciate here. "Okay, one point. I find it very strange that everyone here is satisfied with sandwiches with cheese at lunchtime every day. I don't understand anything about that. I am the only one here in the office who takes a pasta or rice dish from home every day. But apart from that, the Netherlands is great. That you can find ingredients from all over the world in all supermarkets, for example. I like to cook and love trying out all kinds of things." The ability to get on your bike is also one of the advantages of our country, according to the Spaniard. "And in Enschede you can find and do everything you want. It's a lot less crowded than Barcelona where everything is rushed and I was constantly running and flying."

His family and friends had expected him to return to Catalonia after his studies, but Eric is far from finished and exhausted in Twente and in the rest of the country. He has made friends at university and at InnoValor with whom he gets on the train every weekend to visit a different city. "We have a weekend pass on the train. For thirty euros you can go anywhere. We have been to Deventer and Zwolle, but also to Delft, Nijmegen, Amsterdam and Rotterdam, for example. We often catch a museum as well. Very nice to see and I think the Dutch are nice people. They are friendly and helpful. And: they all speak English, which is very handy if you don't speak the language. I am learning Dutch, but it's not easy."

Besides train trips, Eric also often chooses to hike, play volleyball and kayak. "And board games I also think are cool to do. I still live in a student house because I like the fact that I then have people around me when I get home. With my housemates, I often play games like Catan. That's partly why I got a place in that house. And because I indicated that I would bring fuet (Catalan dried sausage) every time I came to Catalonia. They, like me, love that."

According to the talents we speak to, Twente is the ideal place to live and work. Want to know why? Read all the personal stories about living and making a career in Twente at twente.com/twente-leeft. Looking for a job straight away? Then take a look at our extensive vacancy database.