ETH Zurich Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Programme (ESOP) Recipient, Vicente Algaba Martínez from Spain, Shares His Journey of Pursuing a Master’s in Health Sciences and Technology with a Major in Neuroscience at ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Hi everyone, my name is Vicente Algaba Martínez. I am currently studying my Master's in Health Sciences and Technology, specifically in the Major of Neuroscience, at the ETH Zurich. My main goal is to further specialize me into the direction of glial cells, and their yet to be unraveled potential.

While I currently live in Switzerland, I studied my Bachelor's degree in Munich at the Technical University of Munich (TUM). I graduated in 2024 with a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology. Nonetheless, I don't come from Germany either. My home is in Madrid, Spain, where my parents and my dog still live. And, while I will always miss my family, the culture, the sun, and the food, the scientific situation in Spain is definitely not the best. But who knows, maybe one day I'll come back and help shape the current scientific landscape there.

Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Programme Details

The current scholarship that enables me to study at ETH is called the “Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Programme” (ESOP), and is funded by the ETH Foundation. Ultimately, the source of money for this scholarship is ETH alumni, to which I will always be grateful. This scholarship is offered to ~60 students a year (Master’s and PhD students), and awards 12000 CHF per semester. Given that my master's is 1,5 years long, I have ultimately gotten 36000 CHF for my Master's studies. This is more than enough to live comfortably as a student in Zurich.

Were You Offered any Other Scholarships?

Yes, during my Bachelor's studies at TUM, I was awarded the DAAD Scholarship for Students coming from Foreign German Universities. This scholarship completely funded my 3-year-long Bachelor's, and allowed me to also live comfortably in Munich during my studies. The amount of this scholarship is more flexible and has probably increased due to inflation. Back then, I was getting ~1000 € a month, lasting for 3 years, which totals 36000€ for my studies.

Educational Background

I will use the German grading system, as both my old school and first university used this. Here, 1,0 is the best, and 5,0 the worst. A non-passing grade is anything bigger than 4,0.

In my Abitur (German High school), I managed to score a 1,0, which also allowed me to score the DAAD Scholarship.

From my Bachelor's studies at TUM, after incredible amounts of work, I managed to score a final grade of 1,2 and reach a Bachelor's with honours.

How Did You Prepare to Apply to ETH Zurich?

How Did You Find Information About Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Programme and Institutions?

My main advantage was the fact that I took a gap year between the Bachelor's and Master's. During this gap year, I decided to work part-time in the lab where I performed my Thesis. This allowed me to maintain myself, continue a very fascinating research on peripheral glial cells with Dr. Reginald van der Kwast, and have enough time to search for cool universities, degrees, and plausible scholarships. I applied to Karolinska Institute, KU Leuven, ETH, TUM, Cambridge, and Imperial College London. And, while I was accepted in some places and others not, my ultimate decision was made thanks to where I was awarded a scholarship, namely at ETH.

The best trick I have to find information is simply googling the universities you find interesting and going through their websites. But beware, this may take more time than you think. Application processes are nowadays fairly complicated, and you may need to click through many websites to get the information you need. Also send emails! That has always worked fine for me.

Did You Take Any Standardized Tests? If So, How Did You Prepare for Them?

In order to prove my English knowledge, I took the Cambridge Advanced Certificate test (CAE). You may wonder why I chose this? I based my decision on previous experiences, given that I had already done the First Certificate (CFE). Also, Cambridge Certificates don't have an expiration date like TOEFL or IELTS, which motivated me a bit more. Ultimately, this decision is not so important. Just choose one and be done with it. Unless you want to apply to the USA, most of these tests are accepted anywhere.

How Did You Prepare to Apply to the Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Programme?

I basically wrote very specific motivation letters for each degree and scholarship I applied to. The ESOP specifically also asks you to write a Master's Thesis preproposal. This basically means you have to choose a lab/group that interests you, dive deep into their research, and find ideas on how to continue it. Later, there is no need to actually perform this research. They just want to see how well you can scientifically think.

How is (was) Your Experience at ETH Zurich? 

I have only been at ETH for a few months now, so I don't think I'm still capable of evaluating it perfectly. But, for now, I have noticed that ETH professors are didactically a lot better than I was expecting. Coming from TUM, I was used to not understanding 50%+ of the lecture, and here I barely had any questions in the end.

How Do You Rate ETH Zurich Academically and Why? 

ETH has a great network to other universities, such as the UZH, great project opportunities, and great labs. You can see that most places here are very well funded, making their infrastructure state-of-the-art. Given that professors are also didactically quite good in my current experience, I would say that ETH deserves a 9/10 (nobody is perfect). But ask me again in a year! Hopefully, my opinion doesn't change.

How Does ETH Zurich Support International Students?

When being accepted to the university, the international office starts sending you emails with invitations to several online seminars. These seminars talk about everything you need in a time-structured manner: visa application, citizenship, money needed, enrolment to the university, health insurance, etc. With that regard, don't worry! You will get guided in a very organic manner.

Are Your Classes Conducted in English or the Country’s Native Language?

All my classes are given in English.

Would Potential Students Have Any Problems Academically Not Knowing the Native Language of the Country?

Switzerland has many official languages, so the chance that you speak one of them is pretty high already (German, French, Italian). But otherwise, I believe most young Swiss people speak English and can help you with anything you need. As usual in most countries, the elderly population is less knowledgeable and flexible in this aspect. Also good to know, in case you speak German, people here speak in a very weird accent, so you may miss most words anyway.

What Do You Think Made Your Application Stand Out?

I had the luck that the Master's Thesis Preproposal I wrote was based on Prof. Bohacek, who also came to my interview. He basically led the interview in a very nice and comfortable manner. Finally, when it came to the question round, I was extremely well prepared to answer anything about my preproposal, and I already knew the answer to all the questions he asked me. I believe he was impressed by this. So my tip to you: prepare yourself to answer scientific questions about your preproposal!

What Would You Have Done Differently if You Were Going Through the Process Again?

I would have spared the effort of applying to Cambridge and Imperial College London. While both universities are among the most prestigious ones, their application process is extremely tedious, and I am not quite sure to what extent it is objective and unbiased. I had to do 3 interviews for Cambridge, one of them even on the same day when I was getting surgery in the hospital! The interviewers weren't really that nice, and I believe they may have been struck by a feeling of superiority. So, if you guys don't have too much time on your hands, maybe just avoid this suffering :)

What Advice Would You Give Those Looking to Apply for a Similar Scholarship?

If you want to apply to the ESOP scholarship, make sure that you write a cool preproposal. Your ideas don't have to be groundbreaking, but demonstrate that you are an organized person capable of diving deep into a topic. And then, for the interview, think of possible questions they may ask you with regard to the preproposal itself. I hope this helps, and in case of doubt, don't hesitate to write to my personal email [email protected]