Janina Bau

After my undergraduate in European Studies at the University of Passau, I was sure to do my master’s outside of Germany. As I already did several exchanges to several countries, the desire to go abroad came back. After spending a lot of time asking friends who are studying abroad and conducting some research online, I decided to apply for the Master of Political Science at the University of Antwerp. Since I have never been to Belgium and Antwerp before, I didn’t know what to expect. This turned out to be the best decision I could have made.

After I was admitted I started my studies in September 2022 as the only German in our class which was a new experience and has deepened my knowledge on other countries, also outside of Europe. The international environment and the warm welcome during the orientation week at the University has been a great experience. My classes were very much practice oriented, which also challenged me in a way and led to the development of important skills, including presenting in front of an audience, negotiating deals in a European framework and writing policy papers on political topics currently being discussed on a European level, also giving insights into how politics work. Especially the negotiation simulations as part of the curriculum and the exchange with people working in the EU or for NGOs sharing best practices has been helpful and improved my soft skills further.

The support of the university staff, has been helpful in pursuing my goals and professional career. After my graduation in July 2023, I started an internship at a European Association focusing on research management. After my internship I was promoted to EU Projects Officer, now managing EU-funded projects on research and research management. The master’s programme has equipped me with the necessary skills to pursue this career, which had a significant impact on my professional development. I can only recommend this programme!