Interview by Leonie Glaser
In this interview, you can read about the internship experience of Mari Ordonez (2020/2022), an Ecuadorian Euroculture student who studied her first semester at Jagiellonian University, Kraków and her second at Università degli Studi di Udine. She conducted her internship at The Festival Academy, which made her realise that she is not done with academia just yet.
Continue reading “My Third Semester: Internship at The Festival Academy”
By Laila M. Lange (Groningen, Deusto, 2021-2023)
Inés Bolaños Somoano did a Bachelor’s in English studies, before joining the Euroculture programme in 2015. She attended the University of Göttingen and Palacký University Olomouc and finished the Master’s programme in 2017 with a thesis on Islam and terrorism in the European Union.
Continue reading “Interested in Doing a PhD? Inés Bolaños Somoano’s journey to a PhD at the European University Institute”
By Laura de Boer
Katherine Arena (2020-2022) has done her Bachelor in European Languages and Cultures at the University of Groningen, where she majored in European Politics and Society. Her first Semester of Euroculture was spent in Groningen and her second in Udine. She is currently doing her internship at the Institute for Minority Rights at Eurac Research in Bolzano. She will return to Groningen for her final semester, back to where it all started.
Euroculturer Magazine (EM): What were your expectations when you started the Euroculture M.A.? Were they met?
Katherine: When I started the M.A. Euroculture, I was mainly expecting two things; the first one was to be part of an international group with people sharing a common interest in European studies and the opportunity to have an engaging exchange with them. The second one revolved around the whole moving and travelling dimension, getting to meet new people, and being confronted with new cultures. The first expectation was fully met; I have met a lot of interesting people, and I have shared and learned about different perspectives. The second one unfortunately was not fully met due to the pandemic; I was still able to do the second semester abroad, but the internship track, in the end, happened online, with me visiting the city and the office only once.
Continue reading “My Third Semester: Internship at the Institute for Minority Rights”
By Leyre Castro
It is widely known that you need experience to get a job, but you need a job to get experience. This is the reason why many young people end up doing unpaid internships. However, this may be coming to an end soon. October 8th, 2020 was a day to celebrate among all the students and newly graduates who are looking for internships as EU lawmakers adopted a resolution with 574 votes to 77 and 43 abstentions calling on all member states to ensure that young people are offered “good-quality, varied and tailored job, training, apprenticeship or internship offers, including fair remuneration”.
Continue reading “Towards a more equal Europe: The end of unpaid internships?”
Interview conducted by Felix Lengers
Euroculturer Magazine: You are currently doing a Schuman Traineeship at the EPLO in Budapest. Why did you choose this organisation?
Dorottya Kósa: On the one hand, I felt I was getting comfortable with academia and research in general, and in order to move out from my comfort-zone I wanted to try my luck in the professional field as well. On the other hand, after spending many years abroad in various European countries, this time I wanted to make use of my knowledge in my home country. I just felt like working as a Schuman Trainee at the EPLO in Budapest was really my call. I perceived it as a perfect opportunity to incorporate my international experience into the local context, as well as a great chance to get involved in the vital work of the European Parliament.
Interview conducted by Johanna Pieper
Celia Onsurbe Castellanos (2018-2020) is from Tomelloso, Spain. She started Euroculture in Göttingen and spent the second semester in Strasbourg. She has a background in Translation and Interpreting, holding a bachelor’s degree from the Autonomous University of Madrid (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid). After graduating, she applied for Euroculture because she wanted to do a Master programme in European Studies where she could also live and experience Europe in different countries. During the third semester she went to Mexico for the Research Track (UNAM) and was able to do an internship afterwards at the EU-LAC Foundation in Hamburg, Germany, before starting her 4th semester.
Euroculture Magazine: What were your expectations when starting the Euroculture MA? Did they match the reality? Continue reading “SOS IP! Celia Onsurbe Castellanos (2018-20, Göttingen – Strasbourg)”
Interview conducted by Hannah Bieber
Guillaume Hemmert (2018-2020) is French and has a BA in English Language, literature and culture from the University of Strasbourg, France. He stayed there for his first Euroculture semester, and then moved to the University of Uppsala, Sweden, for the second one. He chose the MA because it was a good match between his academic background in languages and culture, and his ambition to open to new fields of study and acquire deeper knowledge in new disciplines, such as European politics, economics, or human rights, for instance. In the third semester, he did the research track at the University of Strasbourg.
EM: What were your expectations when you applied/started the MA Euroculture? And does it match the reality at the moment?
Guillaume Hemmert: I actually didn’t have specific expectations when I started Euroculture, as this master was about something that was almost completely new to me. Maybe my only expectation was to find the European/International environment I had already encountered during my previous academic exchange, and with 16 nationalities represented over three semesters in Strasbourg and Uppsala, one can probably say that this expectation turned out to be a reality. This criterion really played a role when I chose to enroll in this program, as I always considered it a very favourable environment to study. It is especially the case of Euroculture, when we debate on subjects such as politics and society on a European and global level. On a more personal level, this is always a great opportunity to meet people from other countries and continents, and to have a chance to discover new languages, new cultures, great people and great food, of course!
EM: Why did you choose the research track? Continue reading “My Third Semester: Research track at the University of Strasbourg, France”
Interview conducted by Hannah Bieber
Emilio Dogliani (2018-2020) is Italian and studied Euroculture at the University of Göttingen, Germany, and at the University of Strasbourg, France. Before applying for the master’s degree, he did a BA in European Languages and Cultures at the University of Groningen, Netherlands. He applied for Euroculture because the programme allowed him to combine politics and culture and gave him the opportunity to do an internship, but also because he wanted to study in Germany and practice his German. He chose the professional track for his third semester and did an internship at the Commission of the Bishops’ Conferences of the European Union (COMECE) in Brussels, Belgium.
Euroculturer Magazine: What were your expectations when you applied/started the Euroculture MA and does it match the reality at the moment?
Emilio Dogliani: When I applied for Euroculture, I expected the programme to be very strict and with in-depth and specific courses that would allow me to learn a bit more about political sciences and European institutions, in a very international environment. The international dimension of the programme certainly was there, I continued in fact to work and study with many people from abroad, as I had already done during my BA. The focus on political sciences and the depth of the courses lacked a bit, as far as I am concerned. I expected the courses to be very specific and the workload to be pretty heavy, since Euroculture is in the end a Master’s. However, I found that the interdisciplinary aspect of the Programme, which is a plus compared to other monothematic MAs, was in some cases a hindrance to the knowledge that we as students could acquire. I also expected the evaluation methods to be more strict and knowledge-based, as almost all students come from very different academic backgrounds, but in the end the skill-learning seemed to fairly prevail on the topics learnt.
EM: What was the most difficult thing you encountered after starting the program? Continue reading “My Third Semester: Internship at COMECE, Brussels, Belgium”
Interview conducted by Hannah Bieber
Gulnur Telibayeva (2018-2020) is a Kazakh Euroculture student. Upon the validation of her Bachelor degree in International Relations at the Al-Farabi Kazakh National University of Almaty, Kazakhstan, she applied for the Euroculture MA in order to delve further into the question of European integration. She spent her first semester in Strasbourg, France, and her second semester in Uppsala, Sweden. For her third semester, she did an internship at the headquarters of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) in Vienna, Austria.
Euroculturer Magazine: What were you expecting from the Euroculture MA, and did it meet your expectations?
Gulnur Telibayeva: It was the first time that I moved so far away from my family and hometown for so long: it’s been a huge mix of emotions, expectations and fears. I remember how excited I was for the degree itself. Naturally, it’s a very comprehensive Master, so I had prepared myself to think about my own priorities. My aim was to focus mainly on the topics of politics and cultural diplomacy. Since there’s a wide range of classes and a lot of freedom for your research paper choice, I have been pretty satisfied with the knowledge I have been gaining. I guess I didn’t expected that much individual and independent work. But this is probably due to simple differences in education system backgrounds. It gets tough, but it’s completely worth it!
EM: Did you struggle with something after starting the programme? Continue reading “My Third Semester: Internship at the headquarters of UNIDO in Vienna, Austria”
Interview conducted by Hannah Bieber
Richard Blais (2018-2020) is a French Euroculture student who spent his first semester in Olomouc, Czech Republic and his second semester in Groningen, Netherlands. He did a double bachelor degree in History and English Civilisation, language and literature in Paris, France. Upon graduating, he did a one-year civic service at a house of Europe in Bordeaux, France. He applied for the Euroculture Master because of his interest in social sciences and the international aspect of the degree. For his third semester, he did an internship at the Alliance Française of Edmonton, Canada.
Euroculturer Magazine: What were your expectations when you started the Euroculture MA and does it match the reality at the moment?
Richard Blais: I imagined myself moving a lot. And I was not disappointed! Moving around Europe implied a lot of expectations of course, like meeting new people and discovering new cultures. And as cliché and corny as it sounds, it really widened my own horizons! Doing the Euroculture degree helped me to meet a wide variety of students who had the same tastes for discussions, political issues, international culture, arts, and so on. It helped me gaining a more international profile which is probably what I sought when I enrolled in the programme.
EM: What was the most difficult thing you encountered after starting the programme? Continue reading “My Third Semester: Internship at the Alliance Française of Edmonton, Canada”
The Euroculturer 