“Make the most of your study, take extra classes where you can!”
Kenan Cruz Çilli (25) graduated from International Studies in 2019 and since then has continued to deepen his knowledge of the Middle East, and the wider world.
“I had a very good time during the International Studies bachelor’s,” says Kenan Cruz Çilli, looking back fondly to the three years he was part of the International Studies programme. Living in The Hague, “a perfectly sized city for students, with an international vibe”, cycling, spending sunny afternoons in parks or at the beach, meeting people from all over the world: “I still miss all that.”
And of course, there also was the bachelor’s programme itself. Kenan is of mixed Portuguese-Turkish origin, and although he was born in London, grew up in Turkey. “I was really interested in the Middle East, also because I grew up in the region. International Studies seemed like a natural choice, and I moved to The Hague to start the programme when I was 18.”
Know as much as possible
Here, he got to improve his Arabic and learn Hebrew, but he wanted more. “When I’m really passionate about something, I want to know as much about it as possible. So I feel like I really put myself out there to absorb as much new material as I possibly could. I also took extra elective courses in Leiden, delving into new subjects such as Ottoman Turkish. And I took other extra courses too, some connected to the Middle East, and some of them just random, simply because I felt they were interesting, such as an introduction to Hinduism. That is something that is brilliant about Leiden University, there are no real restrictions to taking the classes you want to take,” Kenan says. “In fact, at International Studies we were even encouraged to make use of that opportunity.”
Kenan stresses that this wealth of available courses to choose from is something very valuable. After International Studies, he continued his studies with a Master’s in Middle Eastern studies at Oxford University. “In the UK you are more limited to a specific package of courses, which you can’t really expand.” Passion and curiosity have proved to be driving forces in his life, and he feels all of his acquired knowledge is useful, even if he does not get to apply all of it directly.
Personal and intellectual development
“I did my International Studies thesis, as well as the thesis for my Master’s degree on the politics of cultural heritage, looking at how heritage sites are instrumentalised by states to push political messages or discourses. This is something you see all across the world, when for instance the restoration of a historical building or monument is used to push a very specific narrative about a country, while erasing alternative histories. I find this very interesting and was happy I got the chance to really delve deep into this subject.”
Opportunities like this are important for one’s personal and intellectual development, he says, urging current International Studies students “to make the most of your study. Take extra classes where you can!” After Oxford, he spent some time working as a freelance journalist, again specialising in the Middle East, and then decided to move to London. “A fellow student from my Master’s programme in Oxford was working at M&C Saatchi, and told me there was an opening. She put my CV forward, and I was invited for a couple of interviews.” Landing a job at a prestigious firm like that can’t have been easy, but Kenan makes it sound like it was a breeze. M&C Saatchi is an international communications agency with offices in all continents, working for and with actors like governments, civil society and the private sector on pressing issues including climate change, human rights and equality.
The importance of networking
“I am a senior analyst, focusing on the Middle East. My job involves keeping up with the news cycle, using traditional and social media. I monitor developments in the region, and what is being written and said about them,” Kenan explains. He likes this line of work, as it gives him the opportunity to increase his expertise of the Middle East and to make use of his Arabic and Hebrew language skills. “Moreover, I love writing and I love journalism, and in this job I can practise those skills.”
Stressing that he found his current job through a network contact, Kenan has a word of advice for The Hague and Leiden students: “Remember that socialising is also a form of networking, so do make use of all those opportunities to meet new people during your studies. In the future, you will keep coming across many of those people again and again, and those contacts may turn out to be very valuable.”
