Laura Spitaleri

I'm originally German and Italian, but I have done all my studies in Groningen. I came here because I wanted to study in English, and German universities didn't offer English-taught programmes at the time. Dutch universities did, and they also had an outstanding reputation, which drew me to the Netherlands. I chose Groningen because it is relatively close to Germany.

My experiences here have been very good. I like the city, it has a nice atmosphere and there's always a lot to do. The University of Groningen also suits me well. I find the lecturers here are quite open and approachable. Interaction with them is relaxed and informal and they are always willing to help and counsel students.

After completing my BA in Psychology, I enrolled in the Master's programme of Applied Social Psychology. The best part about the programme, in my opinion, is the way it combines theory and practice. The course Designing Interventions is a good example. We started off by learning all the theories involved in intervention design, and then we were each assigned a real, existing situation to solve by designing an intervention of our own. The solutions were all aimed at changing people's behaviour: getting them to engage in car sharing, for example.

Other than the courses, the thesis is a major part of the programme. We are free to choose our own topic to research, and if we want to, we can even choose to combine a thesis and an internship. There is a lot of flexibility in that respect. I opted for just the thesis. I know research isn't everyone's favourite part of the study, but personally, I really wanted to use the opportunity to study in depth a subject of my own choosing.

My thesis deals with immigration. Through online questionnaires, I examine tolerance and intolerance in the context of migration issues. Migration is a topic that interests me greatly, so I'm hoping that I can continue to do something related to immigration after I graduate. Perhaps in a research project, but I haven't decided yet.