Excellence Scholarship and Opportunity Programme (ESOP)
Valentina Espitia Mendoza – Master's student in the Structural Geology and Tectonics group – received an ESOP scholarship.
My name is Valentina Espitia Mendoza and I’m from Colombia. I earned my bachelor's degree from Universidad del Norte in Barranquilla. My undergraduate thesis was titled "Macro and microstructural characterization of the Serrania de Carpintero and northwestern Serrania de Jarara (Upper Guajira)." This project aimed to uncover the Mesozoic-Cenozoic structural evolution of the Guajira Peninsula, located at the northernmost point of South America, by studying a poorly known late Cretaceous suture zone. Additionally, I had the opportunity to develop a knowledge appropriation plan to link this geological history to the ancestral beliefs of the Wayuu native tribe, custodians of this sacred area.
Driven by my passion for structural geology, I connected with the Structural Geology and Tectonics research group at ETH to participate in an ongoing project within the Eclogite Zone of the Tauern Window—an exhumed nappe in the Austrian Alps exposing high-pressure metamorphic rocks. Under the guidance of my supervisors, Silvia Volante and Leif Tokle, I developed my master’s thesis proposal titled "Multi-scale petro-structural characterization of eclogites and garnet schists from the Tauern Window (Eastern Alps)." This research aims to analyze the relationship between strain distribution and metamorphic reactions in metasedimentary and metamafic rocks by integrating petrological and structural observations across various spatial scales.
About the scholarships
The Excellence Scholarship & Opportunity Programme (ESOP) supports students with a scholarship, mentorship, and a network of the ETH Zurich Foundation. The scholarship covers the full study and living costs during the Master's degree programme.