Damiano Bolzoni's journey to the Netherlands began in March 2005 when he came for his PhD interview. He learned about the opening of this PhD position two months before completing his MSc in computer science. He saw it as a great opportunity and decided to pursue his PhD in the Netherlands. In the field of computer security, Bolzoni is doing research on intrusion detection systems. These systems work like anti-virus software. He is currently working on a system that is able to detect attacks without so-called `previous knowledge.' As a result, this system can recognize attacks that have never occurred before without any kind of intervention by a human operator.
Bolzoni makes it very clear that he did not want to do doctoral work in Italy. Doing a PhD there means pursuing a career in academics, which did not interest him in the least. Bolzoni is very satisfied with his stay in the Netherlands, `Here, I am getting possibilities that I could not get anywhere else in my field. My supervisor Dr Sandro Etalle is very well known in his field.' He flashes a charming smile and adds, `He is an Italian, so the communication is very easy and we can argue without problems.' Another advantage of pursuing his PhD in the Netherlands is his salary. In Italy, because the PhD is not considered work, the stipend is less than half of his Dutch salary.
According to Bolzoni there are many differences between the Netherlands and Italy. In the Netherlands, the state makes lots of rules and advises people on almost every step of their life, while at the same time giving a great deal of freedom. Bolzoni finds this contradictory, commenting, `For example, they have tuberculosis check-ups for the foreigners coming to the Netherlands, while they do not prohibit smoking in the public places which can cause problems to the lungs.' Comparing the Netherlands with his home country, Bolzoni adds, `The two countries are also very different regarding their food habits. We enjoy cooking and eating and it is an important part of Italian culture while in the Netherlands people eat to live. There seems to be little variety in Dutch food.'
In his free time, Bolzoni is fond of sports and spends two hours a day training for the 400m (a.k.a `the killer lap.'). He is training with the club AC Tion '48 in Enschede. Bolzoni started to participate in track and field at the age of 13 and is still a member of his `old' Italian team. His goal is to achieve the entry standard for the Italian individual national championships.
Regarding his future plans, Bolzoni does not have a strong desire to go back to Italy after finishing his PhD. He likes the Netherlands and, therefore, would like to gain some work experience here before returning to his patria. His professional ambition is to work for a big company and to make a name for himself in his field.
Favorites:
Hometown: Venice, Italy
Favorite film: Star Wars
Favorite sport: Track and field
Favorite cuisine: Italian
Dream Destination: USA
Favorite place in NL: Utrecht
Miss most about home: Friends and family
Best part about living in NL: Blond girls with blue eyes
Worst part about living in NL: Weather
