Arianna Canzi: ‘The Dutch openness and directness really appealed to me’
Alumni
Ten years ago, Arianna Canzi came to The Hague to study International Studies. She now works at a think tank in Brussels. ‘The Hague was an ideal base.’
‘At the age of eighteen, I was certain I wanted to study a degree taught in English,’ says Canzi, who is Italian. ‘Brexit hadn’t happened yet, so I could have gone to the United Kingdom, but the Dutch openness and directness really appealed to me. What’s more, Dutch higher education has a very good reputation and Leiden is one of the best universities in Europe, certainly in the field of international relations. I’m afraid my choice was mainly determined by the fact that I didn’t know exactly what I wanted. International Studies seemed like a nice, broad subject…’
That turned out well for Canzi. ‘I really enjoyed getting to know all those different fields before making a final decision. What’s more, I was able to specialise in the Middle East. I did know from the start that I wanted to focus on either Africa or the Middle East. I ended up choosing the Middle East because I found the geopolitics of that region incredibly interesting at the time.’
Perfect for days out
She would sometimes later come to regret that choice. ‘It’s not the easiest way to learn a language with a different alphabet,’ she reflects. ‘It might also have helped if I’d put in a bit more effort from the start. The Italian education system is quite strict, and I’d wrongly assumed that the Dutch one would be too. It wasn’t until I had to sit a few resits in my second year that it dawned on me that I might need to work a bit harder.’
Alongside her studies, Canzi often went out with friends. ‘The Hague is perfectly situated for trips to other cities. We often went to museums in Amsterdam and I also visited Brussels a few times. On sunny days we’d go to Scheveningen, though of course there aren’t many of those in the Netherlands. It took me quite a few tears to get used to the cold and the distance from my family.’
Internship at Europol and NATO
After her bachelor’s degree, Canzi opted for the Leiden master’s programme in Crisis and Security Management. ‘I extended it slightly so that I could do an internship at Europol. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic struck during that time and I had to do it entirely online.’ During her internship at Europol, Canzi was told she’d been offered another internship, this time at NATO. ‘For that, you have to undergo a security clearance process which takes about a year, so I had plenty of time to find somewhere to live in Brussels. I’ve been living here for five years now.’
Career in Brussels
After two years in NATO’s situational awareness team, Canzi spent a year working for an NGO. She has since moved to a think tank. ‘I’m part of a two-person team responsible for project management, business development and fundraising.’ The skills she acquired whilst studying International Studies are proving very useful in this role. ‘During my studies, I sometimes thought I wasn’t learning anything practical. Now I realise that it’s precisely the ability to switch between different subjects that is the practical skill you learn – and one that I can put to good use in my project management tasks. If you look at what project management and fundraising really entail, and link that to where the funding is going, alongside broader geopolitical trends, you suddenly find yourself dealing with the new multiannual funding framework of the ‘Global Gateway’ strategy and all sorts of trends at European level. At times like that, I’m glad I received such a broad-based education.’