Sofie Raven

About Sofie

My name is Sofie, I am 19 years old and since 2020 I have been studying International Relations & International Organization (IRIO) at the University of Groningen. In my spare time I play tennis at tennis club Veracket, do a committee at the study association Clio and take part in activities of my student association Dizkartes.

Why IRIO?

I chose IRIO because I am interested in how the international world works. I would like to learn how countries and international organizations interact with each other, how international cooperation arises, and what causes international conflicts. IRIO seems the best study for this, because it has subjects on history, politics, law and economics. Because of these different perspectives, you gain insight into all aspects of the international world. Moreover, these perspectives result in a varied programme that is never boring! I am also very enthusiastic about the foreign language as part of the IRIO programme, because I believe foreign language skills can be very useful in an international career. Ultimately, an international career is my ultimate goal and the IRIO study seems like a good starting point to achieve that.

Why Groningen?

The main reason I wanted to study at the University of Groningen is because they offer IRIO there. After weighing my options for a long time, I came to the conclusion that I found a combination of history, politics, law and economics the most interesting and useful for my future. As there is no other programme in the Netherlands that teaches this specific combination, I decided to enrol at the University of Groningen. Meanwhile, I have fallen completely in love with Groningen. It is not a very big city, but it is full of students, so there is always something to do!

Future

I would like to have an international career in the future, after finishing my bachelor IRIO, of course. In the third year you can choose your own minor and hopefully I will be able to study abroad for six months for the first time. After the bachelor I would like to do a master abroad to specialize further in one of the focus points of IRIO. Eventually, I hope to work in diplomacy one day, but that is still some time away. Firstly, I am going to enjoy student life in Groningen!

Golden tip

There is a reason so many students suffer from stress during their degree choice! Thankfully, there is a lot of information on the internet that can guide you in your final choice. You could, for instance, look up the courses featured in a degree programme to find out whether you are interested in the overall programme. With all that information, you can compare the different programmes and use this information to decide which programme’s open days you wish to attend to sample the atmosphere and ask questions. In the end, you will definitely find a programme you like!