English subtitles for clip: File:ESOcast 165.webm

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I really enjoy being at ESO because of the diversity of people and activities that I do here.

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ESO is a place where astronomers and engineers shape and design the future of our field.

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The doors open to me by ESO – I think there’s so many that I’m not even aware of all of them yet.

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Each year, several outstanding early-career scientists have the opportunity to further develop

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their independent research programmes at the European Southern Observatory.

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Fellowships are available both at ESO’s Headquarters in Garching near Munich, Germany

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and at ESO’s astronomy centre in Santiago, Chile.

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ESO Headquarters is situated in one of the most active research centres in Europe

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boasting one of the highest concentrations of astronomers in the world.

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High-calibre scientists, instrument experts, and other professionals within easy reach

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provide fellows with valuable opportunities for starting collaborations and learning new skills.

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ESO programmes helped me in my career as it brought me together with people

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that are very relevant for my field and essentially allowed me to start new research programmes.

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Being at ESO has helped my career because one of the opportunities that you get at ESO

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is exposure to experts in both the science as well as the technical side of things.

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The Garching fellowship programme is quite unique in many ways

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but mostly because of the environment we have here with the talent, people—hundreds of people— astronomers

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one of the biggest campuses in Europe and in the world, and the very, very strong support

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that we are bringing to these fellows for the three years they spend here.

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So the research setup here is quite rich. It goes from comets, exoplanets

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to star formation regions, protoplanetary disks, galaxies, cosmology, high-redshift objects.

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It really covers the whole set of topics that we have in astronomy.

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So if you are passionate about astronomy, come to ESO. It will definitely change your life.

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The ESO fellowship has been a fantastic opportunity for my career.

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It’s the first time where I’m truly independent in my research. I’m taking control of what I’m doing on a daily basis.

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I enjoy most about my fellowship that I can work in an extremely diverse and international environment

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and through my ESO duties I have access to instrumentation and to gaining a deep insight about the instruments and facilities.

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So what I really like at ESO is the possibility to be independent and at the same time to collaborate with people with different expertise.

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And also the possibility to really see the full scientific process, from the initial idea and how proposals are selected

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through the possibility to go to the telescope and see how the sky is observed, until the final publication.

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In addition to developing their independent research programmes

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ESO Fellows in Germany are expected to engage in so-called functional work for the organisation, for up to 25% of their time.

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Although initially perceived as a burden, the functional duties for specific ESO projects prove to be enjoyable

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and fulfilling, and have a very positive influence on fellows’ careers.

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So the functional work that the fellows are conducting here is a unique opportunity

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for them to connect to the ESO projects and to learn new skills.

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These will be super important when they go on with their career.

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My main part in this functional duty was looking at new algorithms.

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As functional work here, I’m going to Paranal three times a year to observe.

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That’s a great experience to understand how a telescope is working and how observations are carried out.

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During the fellowship, apart from research, I work in the user support department

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so I help the users to develop their observing programmes.

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I’m working with the new ESO Supernova centre which is a visitor centre and outreach centre that ESO is opening in 2018.

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I’m very passionate about outreach.

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In addition to the fellowships at ESO’s Headquarters, ESO offers a similar programme in Chile.

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The unique aspect of the fellowship in Chile is the opportunity to work so closely with instrumentation and state of the art telescopes.

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Being closer to the instruments, you learn how you can get the most out of it.

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We are looking for people who are passionate about observatories.

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You work for ESO 50% of your time for three years

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and then you have a fourth year, that you don’t have in Garching, totally free of duties.

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We can plan the duty work in a synergetic way to actually benefit the science and the development of the fellow.

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I love the combination of functional duties at the telescope and being able to concentrate on my science here.

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The functional part of the work — it can be tough! But it’s incredibly, incredibly rewarding, and incredibly enjoyable.

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The people here are really collaborative. I think that the team work is a must, for Paranal specifically.

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Usually you get some collaborations where you can discuss science in an informal way

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so this environment is very good for science.

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We have a small community. Fellows are working together and spend time together.

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We exchange information on science and then we have a great time together. That’s the part I enjoy the most.

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Regardless of which programme they chose, be it in Chile or Germany

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the ESO fellows are fully supported to conduct frontline research.

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At the same time, working at ESO equips them with essential practical skills for later in their careers.

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I’ve learned how to multitask. I’ve learned how to prioritise.

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I’ve learned a lot about instruments that maybe I wouldn’t have used in my own science beforehand, which now I’m thinking about.

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And of course both Germany and Chile offer great opportunities to have fun outside of work...

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For me one of the great things about working here in Garching is my ability to cycle everywhere.

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In my spare time I really, really enjoy travelling.

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South America is incredibly accessible from Santiago so I’ve had the opportunity to travel around South America as well.

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If you would like to become our next ESO Fellow and fast track your career

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apply to our Chile or German programmes and take into account the advice from our current or past fellows.

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ESO is a place for curious people, so if you are curious then just come here and explore all the possibilities that there are.

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Come to ESO and ask questions. I think I got the most out of ESO by just knocking on doors and speaking to all of the people.

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Come, visit, learn about what we do, and do great science because that’s the most important thing here.

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Transcribed by ESO; Translated by —