Tag: Uppsala

SOS IP! Atiena Abed Nia (2020-22, Göttingen – Uppsala)

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Interview conducted by Laura de Boer

Atiena Abed Nia is a fourth semester Euroculture student, having started the programme at Georg-August-University Göttingen and completed her second semester at Uppsala Universitet. At the end of her second semester in Sweden, she also took part in the 2021 Intensive Programme (IP) hosted by Uppsala.

Euroculture Magazine [EM]: What were your general feelings about the IP when you entered the Euroculture program? Were you excited about it, or were you nervous?

Atiena Abed Nia: The first time I heard and read about the Intensive Programme, I was very excited. It sounded like a very special event and the highlight of the Euroculture program. I really looked forward to it, especially to meeting and exchanging experiences with other students, but the closer the IP preparations came, the more nervous I became. This was mainly because our universities started the preparations very early and put a lot of pressure on us with deadlines, which was not that bad in the end because we did everything in small steps.

Continue reading “SOS IP! Atiena Abed Nia (2020-22, Göttingen – Uppsala)” →

The Entry-Level Paradox: Stella Meyer on the pitfalls of post-grad job searching

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Interview by Leonie Glaser

Stella Meyer is a German Euroculture alumna from the 2019-2021 cohort, having studied in Uppsala, Göttingen, and Bilbao. In the following article, Stella tells us about her life as a recent Euroculture graduate. Entering the job market, even with a MA, is not that easy.   

I am an inherently indecisive person. On bad days, it takes ages for me to make a simple decision. As simple as do I want to have an apple or a banana for a snack. I know it doesn’t really matter and is an incredibly unimportant question to dwell on. Yet, it is a classic example of me being absolutely lost and unable to make a very basic decision. Now, the prospect of having to actively choose a career path is downright terrifying for me. I am aware that nothing is set in stone and career changes are not only possible, but normal – if not recommended. Yet, it still feels like a pretty big decision to me. Where do I want to go? What do I want to do? Who do I want to be? And then there are the more practical questions concerning work-life balance, salary, benefits, potential career opportunities and so on. As it turns out, indecisiveness in light of the sheer number of options is not my only hurdle. The industry I am looking to work in comes with its own set of challenges: sky-high expectations and little to give in return. That does not pair well with my own – admittedly also high – expectations and career ambivalences.

Continue reading “The Entry-Level Paradox: Stella Meyer on the pitfalls of post-grad job searching” →

City Lifestyle: Student Nations

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By Leonie Glaser

Besides having a high-ranking university, beautiful old buildings, and being surrounded by nature, Uppsala has a vibrant student life, unlike any other Euroculture City. The reason? Student Nations! This article will tell you everything you need to know about these Swedish traditional clubs – from the stairs in front of Värmlands to the fancy Gasques – a membership at a nation will define your Uppsala student life!

So, what are these nations? Student Nations are old student associations with their own bars, nightclubs, and restaurants, which are entirely run by students. They organise activities and have clubs ranging from choirs to sports, and from theatre to orchestra. The nations in Uppsala date back to 1630 and the names of the nations (for example, Stockholms Nation, Göteborgs Nation, and Värmlands Nation) give away their origin. The clubs were for students from certain areas of Sweden to meet people from their own region and feel a bit like home again. Nowadays, coming from a certain district is not necessary for membership anymore and even international students can join whichever nation they like!

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City Guide – Uppsala

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In this addition of the Euroculture City Guides, Bryan Bayne (American/Brazilian), who spent his first semester at Palacky University Olomouc, will give you an insight into life in the Swedish city of Uppsala, where he attended Uppsala Universitet during his second semester.

The City Guide Project is led by Paola Gosio and Felix Lengers.

Euroculturer Magazine (EM): Why did you choose to study and live in this particular city?

Bryan Bayne (BB):I love Sweden and wanted to spend a full semester there. I chose Uppsala due to its proximity to Stockholm and its reputable university.

EM: What are the aspects you appreciate the most about the city and which ones are those that you like less?

BB: Uppsala has its charms. Its quaint center is charming and its river Fyris is quite romantic. The city is unique in that it feels like a small town, but has a strong international vibe—you can find anything and anyone here. Its inhabitants are very diverse and this is the city’s greatest strength. 

What I disliked most about Uppsala was the suburban feel of the city. Apart from the charming-but-small center, most of the city is comprised of generic suburban landscapes.

Continue reading “City Guide – Uppsala” →

SOS Eurocompetence II! Groningen, Uppsala, Göttingen & Strasbourg

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By Bryan Trannin Bayne

Choosing, starting, and managing a project often are daunting tasks. The Euroculturer conducted a series of short interviews to showcase some of the many projects Euroculture students came up with in the Eurocompetence II course. These interviews were designed to give current and future students an idea of what has already been done and to learn from previous experience.

We asked each student the same three questions: What was your Eurocompetence II project? Did you put it into practice? How was your experience? Here are their testimonials:

Virginia Stuart-Taylor – Uppsala 2017 – War on Truth

Our class in Uppsala 2017 decided to plan, fund, and run the ‘War on Truth’ international conference on the topic of fake news, bringing students and locals into contact with leading figures from academia, think tanks, the media, and start-ups from across Sweden and the Netherlands. Held in May 2017, only months after Trump’s 2016 election, misinformation and fake news were crucial issues, making the conference well-attended and a big success. 

The hardest part of working together on the project was the ideation phase and picking a feasible, realistic, and sufficiently stretching project. We looked to examples of previous Eurocompetence II projects for inspiration and scope but also scoped out our own skills, interests, available resources, and pressing issues it would be worthwhile to address. Once we settled on running a conference, the division of roles within the team and execution of our individual responsibilities was easier, and regular meetings helped us make decisions, keep on track and manage the project. Overall it was satisfying to complete such a tangible project as a conference, with our post-conference report being a good physical outcome.

Continue reading “SOS Eurocompetence II! Groningen, Uppsala, Göttingen & Strasbourg” →

My Third Semester: Research track at Uppsala University

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Interview conducted by Felix Lengers

Clara Citra Mutiarasari (2019-2021) is Indonesian and studied Euroculture at Uppsala University in Sweden and the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen in the Netherlands. Before starting the Master, she studied German Studies at the University of Indonesia. She decided to apply for Euroculture because she felt she would gain more knowledge on the topic of migration and migrant integration. She would also like to work in this field in the future. Currently, she is doing the research track at Uppsala University for her third semester.

Euroculture Magazine: What were your expectations when you applied for/started the Euroculture MA and does it match the reality at the moment?

Clara Citra Mutiarasari: There are certainly some things that matched well with my expectation. I expected to meet many inspiring international friends and I did. I also had some fun cultural exchange moments and knowledge- enriching discussion with them. The program also fulfilled my expectation of studying Europe from a multidisciplinary perspective. As expected, I also had the opportunity to experience more independent and egalitarian studying culture in Sweden and the Netherlands; both are completely different from my country. Continue reading “My Third Semester: Research track at Uppsala University” →

My Third Semester: Research track at Osaka University, Osaka, Japan

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Interview conducted by Hannah Bieber

Gaia Regina Nicoloso (2018-2020) is an Italian student who studied a BA in Public Relations at the University of Udine along with an Erasmus at the Universidad de Almería, Spain. She enrolled in Euroculture because she was attracted by the mobility and the idea of being part of an international network. As she feels more European than Italian, she thought this programme would be the perfect setting for her postgraduate studies. She spent her first semester at the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands, and the second one at University of Uppsala, in Sweden. In the third semester, she picked the research track in Osaka, Japan.

Euroculturer Magazine: What were your expectations when you applied/started the MA Euroculture? And does it match the reality at the moment? 

Gaia Regina Nicoloso: I discovered Euroculture a couple of months after I had come back from my 9-months-long Erasmus in Spain, and just before my BA graduation. It looked like an opportunity not only to focus on a more politically oriented perspective that could match my previous studies and those topics that are very relevant to me, but also as the chance to keep the fire of the Erasmus alive. That experience empowered me more than anything else before, and Euroculture resembled the context where I could keep feeling at home and surrounded by active and enterprising people. Beginning the Euroculture adventure was way more than what I expected. The variety of curricula of the different universities and of the students that participate in the MA all over Europe is unique, and I am learning something new from them every day. The intensity of the program – including how demanding the mobility process is – is also something that I probably underestimated before the beginning of my first semester.

EM: What was the most difficult thing you encountered after starting the program?  Continue reading “My Third Semester: Research track at Osaka University, Osaka, Japan” →

My Third Semester: Research track at the University of Strasbourg, France

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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” →

My Third Semester: Internship at the headquarters of UNIDO in Vienna, Austria

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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” →

My Third Semester: Internship at Eurozine

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Interview conducted by Ivana Putri

Béline Hermet (2017-2019, FR) has a background in International Development with a minor in Italian Studies. After a couple of years in Canada, she wanted to go back to Europe. For her, Euroculture was an obvious choice. Apart from her interest in the issues the programme attempts to tackle, she finds additional appeal in the mobility opportunities that the programme offers, which allow her to study in different universities and countries in a multicultural environment with international students.
Béline started her Euroculture life in Uppsala and Göttingen. She spent her third semester doing an Editorial Assistant internship at Eurozine, a network of European cultural journals and an online magazine, headquartered at Vienna, Austria.
Thanks Béline for taking the time to share your experience!

1. So, why an internship?

I know I don’t want to do a PhD, so I was sure from the beginning that I wanted to do an internship to have professional experience and opportunities. I have not yet had the opportunity to do an internship that is of longer duration, and I wanted to get a better idea of what I want to do after Euroculture.

2. Can you tell us what you were doing in your internship? Continue reading “My Third Semester: Internship at Eurozine” →