Ervin Bejan

Ervin Bejan: "After finishing my political science B.A. in Hungary, I sought an English-language programme in the same field. Mainly, I was considering the universities of the Netherlands and Belgium and was glad to be admitted to the Political Science Master of the University of Antwerp. I was looking forward to beginning my studies and exploring the impressive campus and the wider surroundings of Antwerp.

I liked that the programme struck an optimal balance between compulsory and elective courses and theoretical and practical ones. Besides introducing various perspectives of political actors, it provided a solid methodological basis and plenty of opportunities to develop in-demand skills. One of my most memorable courses was the 'Interest Groups' class, which provided me with sound knowledge about lobbying and several challenging tasks to put the terms and techniques I read about into practice.

I also found it extremely valuable that the professors encouraged students to interact and cooperate, which gave me the experience of working in international groups. These occasions also improved my communication techniques and workload management.

After graduation, I immediately started working as a policy analyst and made excellent use of the briefing and drafting skills I acquired in the programme. Since 2023, I have been working as a policy officer in charge of institutional and general affairs at the Hungarian Ministry of EU Affairs. Besides preparing the Spanish-Belgian-Hungarian trio presidency and coordinating the 2024 Hungarian presidency of the Council of the EU, my portfolio involves the management of EU-level legislative files and other initiatives. My everyday tasks require a fair amount of teamwork and analytical capacity that my Masters programme helped me develop. Based on my positive experience, I encourage future Masters students interested in political science to choose this programme."