Alulmni dreams #13

Graduating from the BA International Studies with specialization in East Asia, Aron James Miszlivetz got hired at a think-tank dealing with EU-China affairs.

After this, he became an Erasmus coordinator and Chief of Staff for the Director of International Relations at Corvinus University of Budapest.

Currently he is following a postgraduate degree in EU International Relations and Diplomacy at the College of Europe!

Alumni dreams #27

After graduation Maximilian Römer (麦礼安) went to Beijing as a Yenching Scholar where he did a Master at Peking University and researched environmental issues in the context of China's Belt and Road Initiative.

He became a guest commentator on CCTV news and a guest columnist at a Chinese news outlet, commenting on Sino-European relations. Just recently him and his friends started a blog about the Belt and Road initiative!

He is now doing a second Master in Public Policy Analysis at the Hertie School of Governance in Berlin.

Alumni dreams #50

Cathy Chen is pursuing a MA in Global Affairs at Yale University! After the BA she assisted in organizing the first state visit of the Dutch King to China and the largest Dutch trade mission at the Consulate General of the Netherlands in Shanghai!

Cathy then joined the European Parliament in Brussels to manage sustainability campaigns and organizing the European Youth Event, connecting 7,000 youths with European policymakers to discuss current issues.

Recently she worked on public-private partnerships for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development at the United Nations in New York City, focusing on green infrastructure development and capacity building in Africa.

Alumni dreams #55

During her BA, Frederike W. Wistuba discovered her interest in conflict- and security-related issues. She chose to consult for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in the PRINS course as part of this degree.

After graduation she thus decided to stay at Leiden University to do the MA International Relations with a focus on Global Conflict and Security. During which she worked as a Student Fellow at the Peace Informatics Lab at the Centre for Innovation, a "do-tank" at Leiden University.

To specialize further in security-related topics including terrorism and radicalization, Frederike is currently pursuing a second MA degree in Intelligence and International Security at the War Studies Department of King's College London.

Way to specialize Frederike!

Alumni dreams #102

Iris ten Hoopen had already shown interest in sustainability, the circular economy and water management by selecting the minor Sustainable Development. This extended by her consulting on water management in the PRINS course. The step to pursue the Master Environment & Resource Management followed organically.

After her Bachelor Iris volunteered as Community Manager for the Dutch Dunes Preservation Organization. Simultaneously she did an internship for the China Business Center the Netherlands, managing and facilitating a trade delegation to Beijing and maintaining contact with high profile officials.

She also worked for our university whilst yet another opportunity crossed her path: an internship for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the Consulate-General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Shanghai. This led her to China, her country of birth. 

Iris is finishing up this internship, working at the Economic Department mainly on Sustainability/Circular Economy and CSR. Next steps are a graduate internship and writing her thesis.

A role in government and sustainability suits you Iris!

Alumni dreams #110

Veronica Burgstaller thinks the greatest thing about International Studies is its interdisciplinary nature, meaning its quite unpredictable in which directions her peers all went/are going. 

After writing her BA thesis on modern Korean literature, she decided to continue pursuing her interest in East Asia with a Research Master's in East Asian Studies at the Ruhr-University Bochum in Germany!

Veronica started her exchange year at Sungkyungkwan University in South Korea and is now in the second semester. She is taking an intensive Korean language program and can see her Korean skills rapidly improving.

Besides she has a part-time job translating and reviewing from Korean to German, the texts will be fed into the Naver translation page.

Veronica will have to return to Germany to complete her thesis, but after having lived in South Korea for a few months, she can see herself living in the country in the near future! 

Enjoy living your dream Veronica!

Alumni dreams #118

Since graduation Olivia Lin interned at the Consulate General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Shanghai, assisting in the organisation of the royal state visit of their Majesties King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima of the Netherlands to China and the parallel economic mission!

After, she finished her 2nd bachelor, volunteered at UNICEF and the Red Cross, and was board member in the BAIS alumni association. Olivia then interned at the Dutch Parliament in the Labour Party while chairing the Young Socialists in The Hague and Leiden, the Labour Party's youth department.

Then she started the MSc Crisis & Security Management with Leiden Leadership Programme Honours track and was a working student in Cyber Risk Services at Deloitte Netherlands. She also was a junior research and policy analyst of the cybersecurity division at the UN International Telecommunication Union in Geneva! 

Now she is finishing her master while working with the EastWest Institute on their Cyberspace Program, The West Wing Think Tank and as volunteer at the Internet Society. She hopes to continue to work in cybersecurity and international relations after her studies.

Extremely productive Olivia!

Alumni dreams #124

Solveig Helene Ruud graduated from International Studies cum laude with an internship at United Network of Young Peacebuilders and specialization in East Asia. Right after graduation she moved to Seoul to do a Masters in International Studies, majoring in International Peace and Security at Korea University.

Since her arrival, Helene has also been operating as the Head of the Association of Norwegian Students Abroad (ANSA) in South Korea. This semester she is combining her thesis on the impact of gender on youth peacebuilding with an internship at the Norwegian Embassy in Seoul!

As South Korea just hosted the Olympic winter Games and Norway is a significant winter sports nation, a lot of her work has been related to the Olympics. Taking care of all the Norwegian guests that visited the country but also closely observing the political situation on the Korean peninsula as a part of her internship.

Seems like a perfect mix of theme and region Helene! Enjoy!

Alumni dreams #141

Having discovered how much he enjoyed philosophy during his time in the BA International Studies, Mekebeb Berhanu enrolled for an MA in Legal and Political Theory at University College London (UCL) upon graduation.

During his master, he was amazed at how the multidisciplinary nature of the BA degree allowed him to flourish, and the robust foundation it gave to engage meaningfully in a subject he was passionate about.

Since the MA, Mekebeb has been working as a freelance writer, using research, analytical and writing skills developed and refined during his bachelor. As a result he has successfully managed to write for a variety of clients in the Charity, Finance, Tech and HR sectors!

For the foreseeable future he will continue to write, as it allows him to combine his desire to write professionally with his passion for travelling.

Sounds like the perfect mix Mekebeb! Enjoy (the writing) life!

Alumni dreams #161

After graduating from her BA, Yidan Li went on to do the Master of International Relations and Diplomacy at Leiden University and received her diploma this summer!

She says that in the BA the exchange to Sophia University Japan was a truly valuable experience, empowering her not only in terms of language skills, but also her international profile. After graduating Yidan went to UNDP for a research internship, and the skills picked up during the BA, such as project skills, academic skills, all became her assets!

Yidan is currently interning as a start-up analyst at Get in the Ring, a venture capital company connecting start-ups world-wide with opportunities provided by corporations and governments. 

Her daily job includes talking to startups, market research and making connections. The BA significantly contributed to her inter-cultural communication skills, which have been very useful. In the future she would like to build a career in the finance sector.

Happy pursuit of your goals Yidan! Here she is proudly presenting her inspiring work!

Alumni dreams #165

Hans Horan went on to do his MA in Asian Studies at Leiden, continuing to specialize in East Asia's political economy. While completing his MA, he interned at Leiden Asia Centre as a researcher for the project 'Slaves to the System: People for profit, North Korean forced labour on a global scale'. This project focused on revealing how North Korean labourers abroad were systematically abused order to fund the North Korean regime.

After the internship Hans became 1 of 4 Dutch scholars accepted to the MIRAI program (via the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs). During this program, he met with the RIKEN Centre for Advanced Intelligence Project, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and scholars from KEIO university! During meetings they discussed Europe's growing role in Japan's future (economically, diplomatically and in terms of defense).

Hans is now working as a political risk researcher at the AKE International where he provides political and security analyses of the Asia-Pacific region to clients!

Go Hans! Here he is (on the right) enjoying time with the other MIRAI scholars in front of the Japanese Diet (parliament)!