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Introducing… Anne Craanen (2016 UCL Summer School student)

By utnvher, on 9 February 2017

For this edition of the blog we’ve decided to publish another student interview, but this one is a little different. Anne from the Netherlands completed a module on the 2016 UCL Summer School and has just accepted a place on a master’s course beginning in September. We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Anne and we hope you will read on to find out her story…

 

Hi Anne, tell us a little bit about yourself!

My name is Anne Craanen, I am 22 year’s old and I am from the Netherlands. I am currently studying PPLE, (politics, psychology, law and economics) at the University of Amsterdam.  I am a politics major, so the other three subjects are kind of there as my minors. I am in my third year and graduating this summer after which I will be doing my master’s at UCL!

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Anne at the Flaxman Gallery, UCL

 

What were you doing before?

Before I started my final year in Amsterdam I went to the International Summer School at UCL. I also went to an international school before university and so always love to go abroad. I have been to London multiple times (as it is so close to Holland) and it is my favourite city. Unfortunately however I wasn’t able to go for my bachelor’s degree and so when I heard of the summer school, I was very excited. It was a kind of last minute decision, but I really wanted the opportunity to get the feeling of what it was like to study at UCL.

 

Tell us about your summer at UCL. What were the highlights?

At the summer school, I took the subject Understanding and Countering Radicalisation and Terrorism. I had always been specifically interested in this area from a political perspective, but I never thought you could learn so much at a summer school. The teachers are all experts in their field, so you learn so much from different people with different perspectives, which is one of the main highlights. Secondly, the people you meet are very diverse and it was really nice to make new friends. For me, the best thing about the summer school was that you genuinely get a feeling of what it is like to study at UCL. You get access to the library, you roam around the campus and you study at a really high level (it was higher than at my home university). Finally, you get to live in London for three weeks, which is a highlight in itself. The summer school also gave you the opportunity to go to musicals and explore cities like Oxford at a very cheap rate, so that in itself is a reason to go.

 

What do you think you will do after this? Where do you see yourself in 3 – 5 years?

I am delighted to say that I have just been accepted a place on the MSc Countering Organised Crime & Terrorism at UCL!

The summer school had a huge impact on what I am going to study at master’s level. I already knew some of the teachers and I had a great understanding of what I was going to be getting myself into on the programme. I didn’t have any doubts, because I was already acquainted with the subject area, UCL and with London. Before the summer school I thought countering terrorism could be one of the areas I was interested in and after the summer school I was certain this is my area of interest. I think that if you want study at UCL and the summer programme is an option for you, it’s the best way to get acquainted with the university.

I am not much of a long-term planner, but I hope I’ll be inspired to do more research in this field after the master’s programme. At the UCL summer school some of the teachers were still doing research in a particular area and at the same time working for the government or other counter-terrorist agencies, so I hope to do something like that. I could also see myself doing a second master’s, but I am not sure about that yet. My sister also applied for a UCL master’s programme, so I hope we will be able to explore the city for more than just one year! For now, I am just looking forward to this September, when I can start my masters!

 

 


 

 


 

 

 

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