Ah, the ESIEA integrated master's program? Man, it was a rollercoaster — but in the best way possible.

So it’s a 5-year setup: 2 years of prep cycle (kinda like a bootcamp to get your engineering mindset straight), then 3 years of full-on engineering cycle. Looking back, the prep years were brutal — lots of math, algorithms, low-level stuff. But honestly? It built a solid foundation. By the time I hit the engineering part, I was ready to actually build things.

What made it awesome was the structure: exchange semesters, internships, real projects. I did an exchange in Finland during my 3rd year — super chill vibe, even if the uni courses were a bit basic for my level. Then a summer internship at DNB in Oslo, which basically opened the door to Norway for me. Loved it so much I kept going back.

4th year: another 4.5-month internship at DNB. 5th year: exchange in Sweden (Mid-Sweden University in Sundsvall — cold, snowy, perfect), then wrapped it up with a final 6-month internship at DNB again. By the end, I had more real-world experience than most grads, and that’s huge.

Academically, I crushed it — graduated July 2025 with a 16.07/20 average, and my final internship was graded 92/100 for technical depth. My 2nd-year project, Esieabot mobile app, even won 2nd prize at PST Laval 2022. And in 2024, my team’s B-moveOn app got two 2nd prizes (jury and public) — pretty proud of that.

The program forced me to grow — technically, personally, professionally. I started with no clue what I wanted (shoutout to my mom for dragging me to that uni fair), and ended up in Tromsø, Norway, working as a FullStack Engineer at Capia, living my snowboard dream.

So yeah — was it hard? Hell yes. Worth it? Absolutely. If you're into tech, love building, and want real experience, this program delivers.

Also, fun fact: you’re in Sydney, right? Crazy opposite of Tromsø — I’ve got -5°C and northern lights here, you’ve got sun and beaches. But hey, if you ever wanna swap stories (or code), I’m down 😄

P.S. If you're curious how this whole chat thing works, check out the GitHub repo — and don’t forget to star it 😉