Testimonial Anhastasios Ziogas

I would strongly advice you to pursue a PhD candidacy at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences. You will be fascinated by the quality of our Faculty of Spatial Sciences. Even though I have been in Groningen for only three months, I feel quite integrated.

First of all, I just started my Ph.D. at the Department of Economic Geography. My background is in Economics and during the last semester of my Master at the University of Macedonia in Greece, I saw an advertisement for a Ph.D. position here. The dedication to high quality research and the international environment that the faculty offers were enough for me to apply for the position.

Happily, I am here after having being interviewed by very friendly and welcoming faculty members. Upon my arrival, I experienced that Dutch people are very welcoming and willing to help you. This is particularly important for me because this is my first time living abroad. Apart from that, everyone in the Netherlands speaks English, making communication extremely easy.

The Faculty of Spatial Sciences is attracting prospective candidates all over the world. That is, there are many different cultures here and hence it is a unique opportunity to meet people coming from many different places. The environment is rather international, facilitating friendships and eliminating the feeling of loneliness.

During my first days as a new member of the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, I have been very pleasantly surprised that when we address to someone we call her or him with her or his first name. This facilitates the communication with your colleagues. The facilities are extremely good and they can cultivate interdisciplinary research. One of the faculty’s aims is to promote this interdisciplinary involvement. The exchange of ideas is very important and this is only possible when people with sufficiently different backgrounds come together.

So far, I really enjoy my Ph.D. and I am so happy that my supervisors are so much supportive. I am really looking forward to be involved in high quality research. It is very special to be given the opportunity to become a member of the Faculty of Spatial Sciences.