My background is a bachelor in Philosophy and a MSc in Cognitive Neuroscience with a new interest in computational methods, thus attending the MHPC looked like suicide from the outside at the time. I was the only non-physicist in my edition and most of the exercises were geared toward physics-related problems as is the case within the HPC world, so the (also heated) discussions with and without the professors were a nightmare for me to fully grasp. Nonetheless, I found a group of friends and professors that were so good at explaining me the basics that, with due diligence from my side, I could manage to be part of the discussion and fully enjoy the experience.
I have to admit that if I had come from a physics/mathematics/engineering background, the whole master would have unlocked even more potential for me, as was the case with my fellow comrades who could take home much more than I could because they already mastered the basics. Notwithstanding, I learnt way more than I ever expected when enrolling. The most important thing I learnt is some kind of mentality on how to tackle computing and programming-related issues, so much that I kept this newly found passion and decided to put them to good use by working as Data Engineer/Data Analyst for automating the detection and resolution of network-related issues for one of the biggest Internet and Mobile companies of The Netherlands as first real job experience.
The MHPC unlocked many new doors for me, not only for the practical tools it gave me, but especially for the mindset. It also taught me that collaboration is a most important aspect and that sleep is so sweet after a long day of cursing in front of stack overflows.