Area Fair 2020
On the 23 October, an online version of the Area Fair took place. At the Area Fair the various regions and languages that students can choose from to specialize in at International Studies present themselves. Also, students can ask questions to some of the lecturers teaching the courses and to fellow students who have already chosen their specializations.
After this year’s Area Fair, we asked a student who attended the fair a few questions. We asked Lucie how she liked it, what her experiences were and what she thought of the online version of the fair. Below you’ll read what she said:
Lucie Blum, from France
'The Area Fair really pushed me to realize that we have to make an area choice soon, and it was nice to interact with teachers. I am also quite reassured about the idea of working as a woman in regions where misogyny is, for whatever reason, more developed than in Europe.
I think the fair helped me choose my region. I am not completely sure yet, but at least I have more knowledge to base my decision on. I am still really lost about the language though: the Indonesian presentation unfortunately never started.
So my next step is to try and follow a class of Indonesian. And I will also try to document myself more about what happens in South Asia and South East Asia, and in the Middle East. I also want to really check the Alumni files to be more sure of the doors each area opens.
I think the online area fair was useful, but I find it a pity that we could not really have small or more private interactions with the teachers and students. And it is also harder to feel a real connection with the teachers from behind a screen. In the end, I am happy the fair took place, but it would definitely have been more guiding if corona had not banned us from campus!'