Alumnus Jerome Friedrichs

After my studies in History and German Literature, I wanted to do something more practical and concrete. If I'm completely honest, I don't think I knew exactly what I was getting into when I started the GPRE programme, but what really attracted me was the trinational nature of the Master's and the prospect of living in three different – possibly even four – countries within two years.

Our year was unfortunately the first and possibly the hardest hit by COVID-19. For us, the pandemic meant that we spent two of our three semesters studying mostly online, at a time when no one really knew how this would work and Microsoft Teams was an application none of us had ever heard of before. I therefore really enjoyed a field trip to the Sudetenland at the end of our semester in České Budějovice, as it meant not only getting out of our own room, but also meeting our fellow students.

At the European Association of Development Agencies, EURADA for short, in Brussels. During my internship, I worked on various tasks in a number of Erasmus+ projects and was tasked with some research. In general, I gained a good insight into the world of European projects and the missions and motivations of European associations.

To anyone who is curious about working on projects at European level and is interested in intercultural communication and regional development issues. Above all, you have to be prepared to adapt to different university systems, move around a lot and overcome the challenges that each semester throws at you. This is not always easy, but I found it to be an incredibly rewarding experience.

At the European Association of Development Agencies (EURADA) in Brussels.