Euro Universities

Euro-mags and others lucky enough to study abroad: I'm thinking of possibly pursuing some type of 1 or 2 year post doc / lab tech position next winter. As my Euro geography/topography is not brilliant, could you please name some universities within 1/2 of a days reach of slopes? France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria Italy???

My background is in geochemistry but I can cross over into microbiology or chem. so I would be looking for one with a science program. I can barely manage a bit of German but language barriers are something I am very willing to work on.

Thank you, this will really help direct my search.

-K

Grenoble, Grenoble and Grenoble.

Geneva, Lausane (just abit futher around the same lake), Salsburg, Zurich, Turin....but Bad Roo's choice is probably best

Grenoble is definitely a contender. My advisor is doing a sabbatical there this spring, maybe I could get him to work on them...

Thanks for the replies. If anyone has personal experience with any of the universities, that would help too.

Interesting, I was thiking of asking the same question here. I'm considering a PhD in Geology/GIS at either ETH in Zurich or maybe even in New Zealand. My office mate from grad school is at ETH and he skis all the time. PM me if you like and I'll give you his email address. He's in tectonics.


GK

EPFL in Lausanne might have what you are looking for.
EPFL= Ecole Polytechnique Federal Lausanne.
(I might have mis spelled a word in there.)

It is the equivalent of ETH in Zurich, except that they speak French not German. English might get you by too. Both are considered excellent schools.

From Lausanne, you can be in the mountains in 1.5 hours.

I passed 2 years in Grenoble. horrible city, but the best place to live when you love the mountains. We use to say "every street ends in a mountain here". Magic. 30 mn to les 7 laux (gnarly couloirs), or Chamrousse, or st pierre de chartreuse. 1h from La grave, alpe d'huez, 2 alpes, etc.

Toulouse is 1hour from the closest resorts in the Pyrénées (Ax les thermes). Another kind of mountains, less vertical drop (around 1000-1200m) but beautiful mountains and sometimes more snow than in the alps, depends. A town easy to live in, cheaper than grenoble, really pretty (pink bricks walls everywhere) and a cosmopolite place. And the alliance française is very nice here to learn french (1 month and you'll speak nicely).

Both town are very dynamic, a lot of student and research centers, PM me if you need specific info as I know both universities (UJF & UPS) pretty well. check their websites before ;)

I also second Lausanne, nice city, sweet swiss city, but definitively more expensive.

Depends on your main objectives ski bumming or getting the best education possible.

For the first it doesn't matter where you go.
For the second however I recommend either ETH Zurich or TU Munich, both top notch and have skiing within an hour (or two into a place like Stanton). Plus they offer a lot of additional season and off-season activities along with nice a flair and are international hubs in case you like to go elsewhere. Only downside is those spots are not the cheapest options. I lived close to Munich for a couple of years and can recommend it, PM me if you like more info.

Else not much to add to the previous comments.

Hick's comment on priorities is very well taken.
I'm in medicine and do not know a lot about geo, but I would personally consider Lausanne-Geneva over Grenoble. They seem to me better towns, with strong academic tradition and prolly more international. Lausanne in particular, I see it as the euro-SF: built on the hills, and a nice waterfront (well, they've no bridges, but sailing is great there during the whole year).
Turin is also an option considering that they'll have winter olympics in 2006 and they are actively looking for international people with wintersport knowledge to serve (also part-time, I suppose) in the set-up of the event. Turin might also have a more interesting nightlife (lots of bands there). Turin Universities are OK, at least at Grenoble level if not better

I spent a year as an undergraduate exchange student at the Grenoble University Geography department in 2002. Well, theoretically anyway. I actually found myself living in La Grave from the middle of the first semester - it just seemed more fun. :D

Grenoble has one of the biggest foreign student populations in France. They are very welcoming to exchange students - my experience was that if you ask they will offer you a place doing something although I don't know if you can walk straight onto a PhD programme. They also have a great language school that will bring you up to speed and is as good as free. Not sure about the fees situation for Americans - I didn't have to pay whereas I normally would at home in the UK.

It is a slightly shitty city but quite charming in its own French way. It has a cool old centre but rough suburbs. Housing is really hard to find though, unless you want to live in student halls.

Thank you all for the information.

I will already have my PhD (if my committee is kind to me in April). At this point I'm not really sure what I want to do besides move back to mountains. If a good post doctoral appointment will get me there, then that works, if I have to wait tables to end up there, I'm fine with that too. Just figure I may as well continue to ride the random acedemic wave that I ended up on.

Will check out their websites next week.
Thank ewe again.
K

Hey K,

Great to see you in these parts!!!! The Mrs. and I have had many a good laugh about the predicament of Summit '03 when she overflowed the toilet at your parents house at three in the morning. See, with a little time, things that almost got my nuts chopped off can be laughed at.

Anyway, we would love to ski with you this winter. PLease try to make it to the summit. I can probably get you some couch space. Don't be a stranger.

All the best,
Rock

Rocky-

Heh, I forgot about the toilet episode. I was a bit worried for you and your homecoming after that trip, heh.

Jackson summit is at the shouldn't but probably stage. Will keep the couch space in mind! Thanks.
K

skiegirl > you sound like my female counterpart. I'm just 6 months ahead of you. And I won't wait table. I like this english word, "funemployement" :)

But can you seriously think of doing a postdoc *and* ski? Well, your choice...

Postdoc offers in France : ABG-jobs
(most are written in both french and english)