“I need to know more about GIS.” This was the common objective of 28 students meeting in Salzburg for the UNIGIS MSc starter workshop. However, GIS was not the central topic of the workshop. Prof. Strobl challenged such expectations right away in his welcoming talk: “we do not expect you to leave Salzburg knowing much more about GIS, we want you to get to know each other“. On the way towards a community of practice of GIS students, coffee breaks during the workshop and delicious Austrian “Ripperl” with “Keller-Bier” facilitated this aim. Supervised by the UNIGIS_2013 mascot GISmo, the basis of a strong network was successfully built. A distance learning course has morphed to a networked, collective learning experience. We wish all new students interesting 2-3 years ahead and success in meeting their aims!