Alberto from Italy about his time at Stockholm University

What was your main reasons for coming here?

– During the second year of my Ph.D. in Psychological Sciences at the University of Padova, I took the opportunity offered by my program to spend a research period abroad. I mainly wanted to experience a different scientific environment from the one I was used to, learn new approaches, and make real progress on my Ph.D. dissertation. I had been interested in living in Sweden for a long time, and this interest aligned very well with my research goals when I found out that Professor Ronald van den Berg, one of the leading researchers in the field of Visual Working Memory, was working at the Department of Psychology at Stockholm University. Given the strong overlap between his research and my own interests, choosing Stockholm University felt like a natural step. As I learned more about the university, I was also impressed by the active neuroscientific research environment and the high level of its researchers, which made me even more motivated to do my placement there.

The expertise, feedback, and collaborative environment I experienced here have been incredibly valuable in shaping the final structure and scientific quality of my Ph.D. project.

How has your semester been?

– Overall, the semester has been really positive and stimulating. I’ve been working intensively on my Ph.D. project and have made substantial and meaningful progress. This period has been especially valuable for refining both the theoretical framework and the analytical approaches of my research. I’ve also had the chance to meet many researchers and professors working on topics closely related to mine, which has already sparked new collaborations.

– On a personal and social level, I felt very welcomed by the Ph.D. students in the department. Sharing office space with them has been both fun and helpful, as they were always ready to support me. The Fikas we had together really introduced me to Swedish culture and made the busy workdays more enjoyable.

How will your time here contribute to your dissertation?

– This research period has made a really important and tangible contribution to my dissertation. A large part of the theoretical development and technical work on computational modelling and Electroencephalography (EEG) analysis was carried out during my time at Stockholm University. The expertise, feedback, and collaborative environment I experienced here have been incredibly valuable in shaping the final structure and scientific quality of my Ph.D. project.