International Relations

Five years ago I enrolled in the Research Master's programme in Modern History and International Relations at the University of Groningen. It was a small-scale programme that gave you the opportunity to develop further in a specific field of research in a group of 10 students. That appealed to me, as did the interesting modules that were offered alongside the regular programme, such as 'Euroculture' and the summer school 'Democracy and Transitional Justice'.

With the combination of academic depth and the option of doing a placement, the Research Master’s programme was a good preparation for the job market. Before I finished the programme I had already found a job as public relations officer for the Dutch Labour Party’s MEPs in Brussels. The flexibility of the programme and my thesis supervisor’s good supervision made it possible for me to graduate with honours alongside my work.

I currently work as a research fellow for Europe at Clingendael, the Netherlands Institute for International Relations in The Hague. With the European Union facing significant challenges, it is a special time to be working at the Europe cluster at Clingendael. My research is on European administration, European integration and European Neighbourhood Policy. In the future I would like to do a PhD on one of these topics.

After gaining my Bachelor's degree in History I started the Research Master's degree programme in Modern History and International Relations at the University of Groningen. My History programme was rather broad-based and I knew that this Master's programme offered a lot of room for personal preferences and specialization. During my Master's I specialized in African Studies and International Development.

In the first year I followed several research seminars on Africa, and in the second I started a placement at the African Studies Centre in Leiden. In this centre I helped disseminate knowledge and understanding of African communities and developed all kinds of tools, such as a mobile app. I then moved to the UK to complete my specialization. I liked it so much that I decided to stay and write my Master's thesis on school systems in Congo (DRC). My thesis analyses a potential new development in the provision of education by non-state actors such as religious institutions. This is a topic that will lead us to debates and questions such as: 'Can we use religion for development cooperation?'

In the future I would like to work for an international advisory centre, or perhaps as an operational manager for an NGO – preferably a development organization, so that I can use my knowledge and expertise to analyse and help improve local policy.

I am a second year student in the ReMa Modern History and International Relations. Thus far, the programme has met the expectations I had prior to my arrival in Groningen: academic and intellectual rigor, freedom to pursue personal interests in depth and the acquirement of the methodological tools imperative to conduct high-quality research.

The interdisciplinary nature of my programme appeared as a natural continuation of my growing interests. Having arrived in Groningen with little or no knowledge of IR theory, I was quickly immersed in it and immediately recognized its value to my own interests. The content of the programme is supplemented by the diverse backgrounds of the participating students. We all approach the same topic from divergent perspectives, providing fruitful debates that challenge our preconceived notions of our disciplines and encourages critical thinking.

I gathered a lot of new 'intellectual' knowledge during my internship, as the viewpoints and issues you learn about in an UN office in India are very different from what you learn at a Dutch university and in the Western culture. Moreover, I developed my ability to work individually as a researcher, but also as a colleague in a multicultural team.

What I also find very valuable is my personal learning. For example, I learned how to - as an intern and a foreigner - adapt to and behave in a demanding working environment and to live in a country and culture I did not know and sometimes found incomprehensible or even awful. Hence, I think students should do an internship, if possible abroad, because it is one of the biggest boosts you can give to your personal as well intellectual development, which makes it challenging, but also very interesting, valuable and useful.

I really liked that I was moving out of the ‘ivory tower’ into the ‘real world’ for a bit and got an insight into a part of the international political (development) system in practice. This allowed me to further my ideas about what future career I might want to pursue. I also very much liked that I could use this opportunity to investigate a topic which I find really interesting, but that I also got tasks from my boss that dealt with topics I would never have delft into myself. Furthermore, I was really lucky, because I got many opportunities to meet interesting people, to participate in conferences and seminars and to travel in order to better fulfill my tasks. Of course I also enjoyed the periods of travelling prior to and after my internship a lot - India has much to discover!

The Faculty of Arts also offers a one year master’s degree programme in International Relations .