“It can be fun to be a physicist” - Euroschool on exotic beams summer school was organised for the third time in Jyväskylä

The summer school had a total of about 70 students, including 15 from Jyväskylä. In addition to Finland, the largest numbers of participants were from Belgium, Germany, France and Spain. In addition to the students, the school was attended by five lecturers who were experts in their respective fields related to ab initio nuclear theory calculations, nuclear astrophysics, laser spectroscopy and the study of the decay of exotic nuclei. The school also had two special lectures on Friday on the LUMI supercomputer and high-performance computing, as well as research related to nuclear safety.

“Interacting with young people remind you why you’re doing it”

Iain Moore, professor of physics at the University of Jyväskylä, says that Euroschool is interesting and meaningful. He has been delighted with the large number of participants, and active participation throughout the week, including in the morning lectures. It also warmed his heart that there were no cancellations among those who signed up. According to Iain, Euroschool is a good experience for both students and lecturers. In particular, he wants to highlight the rich interaction between students and lecturers during the lectures, and chuckles that after the lectures, the discussion continued, and there was no end to it. Iain says that lecturers like to show that physics is fun. Although challenging, the work is fun and useful. According to Iain, the University of Jyväskylä has good facilities, and a special mention is given to the accelerator laboratory.

The advantage of Euroschool is that you get to know the topics from the basics, and you don't need as much background information to participate as you would at conferences. Iain also states that when you start from the basics in the lectures, you will notice that you understand what you are teaching better. He chuckles that students will notice if you don't know what you're talking about, and if the subject doesn't excite you. He also praises the fact that participating in Euroschool is also a good opportunity for local students to create international networks.

“It’s been nice to participate and get to know what’s going on in the field and in Jyväskylä”

The doctoral researchers participating in Euroschool praise the week as interesting and educational. They have liked that the lectures start with the basics and the content is easy to understand. Workshops and poster sessions attracted interest among the participants and they really appreciated the networking opportunity. International participants praised Thursday's cruise as fun, and the student overalls seen on campus attracted admiration, as well as a hint of disappointment when it was revealed that they could not be obtained very easily. The lecture by Iain Moore, an expert at the University of Jyväskylä, was one of the most interesting of the week. The theory lectures garnered praise, and the lecture on astrophysics was also highlighted as interesting.

Euroschool On Exoic Beams board chair Riccardo Raabe says he enjoyed the week. He says that the implementation of the arrangements did not need to be doubted for a moment, and everything has been carried out perfectly. Jyväskylä is already a familiar place to him, and he’s happy to return. The board's greatest work is done before the school week itself, so he has largely only been able to enjoy the program. The Board is responsible for the scientific programme, the selection of lecturers, deciding the number of participants, as well as the country and city in which Euroschool is held.