The IFRoS Master’s program is designed to be a true European adventure. After building a strong foundation in robotics, perception, and AI during their first year, our students embark on their highly anticipated mobility tracks for year two. This semester, we are thrilled to officially welcome our scholars to their new academic homes at Eötvös Loránd University (ELTE) in Hungary and the University of Zagreb (UNIZG) in Croatia!
Budapest: Team-Building and Autonomous Field Tech at ELTE
In Hungary, our ELTE mobility students hit the ground running with an intensive Induction Week that began in late August. Rather than just sitting through lectures, the Budapest kickoff was highly interactive.
The first few days were packed with mandatory orientation sessions covering university requirements, seamlessly organized by Prof. Zoltán Istenes, the ELTE program lead, and Réka Kökény, the student coordinator. After tackling the administrative logistics, the real highlight was the dedicated team-building sessions hosted at the CLC. Here, students were immediately introduced to the advanced hardware that will define their semester.
Outside the lab, the cohort posed alongside the faculty's impressive outdoor mobile platforms: Silvanus, a heavy-duty AgileX Scout 2.0 equipped with an xArm6 robotic arm, and Pomona, the agile Scout Mini. Getting familiar with these autonomous field robots right from week one sets the perfect stage for the advanced motion planning and navigation projects the students will tackle over the coming months.
Zagreb: Diving into Marine Robotics at FER
Meanwhile, in Croatia, the Welcome Day at the University of Zagreb’s Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computing (FER) officially kicked off on the 2nd of October. The energy was incredibly high as our scholars joined a massive, diverse cohort of international students.
The day began in the main lecture halls, where the new arrivals were warmly greeted by the Vice-Dean for Students and received their official FER welcome packages. Following the main orientation, the IFRoS cohort gathered for a dedicated program meeting to set their academic goals for the semester, warmly guided by Dr. Tamara Petrović, Research Fellow at LARICS and the faculty's mobility coordinator.
Because UNIZG is a hub for marine tech, the students were immediately taken on an exclusive tour of LABUST (Laboratory for Underwater Systems and Technologies). Gathering around the large testing tanks, they got an up-close look at the underwater ROVs and autonomous marine surface platforms they will be working with. The excitement of the day even caught the attention of the local press, our very own student, David, gave a short statement to national TV! (Keep an eye on our LinkedIn page, where we will be sharing his interview clip soon!)
Whether they are programming mobile manipulators in Budapest or diving into underwater systems in the Adriatic, our Year 2 scholars are ready to push the boundaries of intelligent field robotics. We wish both cohorts an incredible, innovative semester ahead!
The IFRoS (Intelligent Field Robotic Systems) program offers specialized mobility tracks across top European institutions, combining academic excellence with hands-on training in real-world robotic applications.