Name: Daniela Ballari
Function: guest employee
Organisation: Wageningen UR Laboratory of Geo-information Science and Remote Sensing
Employee since: 2009

The best thing about Wageningen UR (University & Research centre) is: “That we are all connected to each other.”
 
“I was raised in a small Argentinean village. After my graduation from the University of Cordoba, I wanted to further develop myself in the domain of geography. The decision to move to Europe was quickly made. I began my studies in Geographic Engineering in Madrid. I was put in touch with Wageningen because one of my supervisors worked here. When the opportunity arose to come to Wageningen as a guest employee in order to pursue my PhD studies, I didn’t need to think too long about it.

Geo-information
I work at the Laboratory of Geo-Information Science and Remote Sensing of Wageningen UR. My work is quite technical: I research which metadata are needed to allow different wireless sensor networks to operate together. The importance of reliable information has become paramount as a result of increasing environmental problems on the one hand and the increased need to protect and manage nature on the other. The fun thing about this scientific area is that it’s at the beginning of its own development and Wageningen UR is leading globally in this arena.

Immigration procedure: everything has been arranged
I experienced in Spain how difficult it can be to obtain the required documents. It’s tough to discover how everything works. Here, everything went smoothly. Wageningen UR has a contact person available for foreign employees and students who guides you through the immigration process. Everything was arranged for me which was so nice! I really appreciated this.
 
Wageningen
Wageningen is a unique town for outsiders. Almost everybody feels connected to Wageningen UR. It’s easy to make new friends because many students come from a similar situation as me. The main connecting factor is that everybody places nature and the environment centrally. We take care.
I am enjoying myself here. I love my work and I love working hard, just like my colleagues.
Every Friday, we celebrate the weekend in the café. What I miss here? My family of course. The Dutch can also learn a bit from how we Argentineans barbecue. Thankfully, Wageningen has a shop where they sell many Latin American products. I go there every weekend in order to, for example, buy typical Argentinean sweets: dulce de leche.