Hugo Sarraude

About Hugo

Bonjour! My name is Hugo; I am from the southwest of France and 21 years old. I am currently in my second year of the Bachelor International Relations and International Organization (IRIO).

Next to my studies, I try to have a complete social life in which I practice several sports: football, rugby, rock climbing and surfing. I also enjoy making music with my guitar, piano, ukulele or harmonica. I like attending events that are organized by my programme’s study association CLIO, in which I was involved in the photo and multimedia committee last year. Finally, I am now excited to start as a student ambassador for IRIO within the university.

Why IRIO?

After studying French law for almost two years, I was looking for a broader programme where I could fully study in English and that would give me the possibility to learn about various subjects, such as law, economics, history, politics. However, the feature that convinced me to apply for this programme were the compulsory language courses that allow me to learn a foreign language intensively. I picked Chinese and studying this language is so much fun!

The international aspect of the programme is also extremely interesting. You meet people from all over the world and get to know more about different cultures, which is exactly what I needed after spending 20 years in the same town. During your studies, you learn about the world and how it is constructed. You will start to feel closer to this world, which at first seems so unreachable.

In my opinion, one of IRIO biggest strengths is the variety of assignments. You will have to choose your own topics to write your essays, but you will also have to shoot videos, prepare presentations, and write papers in groups.

Why Groningen?

I visited Groningen for the first time in 2018. I did not know at that time that I was going to pursue my studies there two years later. However, I loved the city and its amazing atmosphere. The city is full of national and international students and the opportunities are endless. Everything is reachable at more or less 10 minutes by bike. The student life is really furnished, you have so many places and activities to discover!

Future

My future is still unsure. Since the programme is very broad, your interests change every time you learn about a new subject. I am really interested in learning different languages, and I am also very interested in East Asia and political economy. But for now, I would love to go on an exchange in South Korea for my minor next year.

Golden Tip

If you are interested in studying IRIO, I would advice you to attend the various events organised by the university such as the open days or “student for a day” to form your own opinion on how your future university life as an IRIO student would look like.

Finally, do not stress about your future, life is long, and you will find your passion. Listen to your heart!