Academically, the Eurocampus was amazing!
The opportunity to participate in courses taught by leading professors and scholars in the broad field of Intercultural Communication was an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me. Eurocampus exceeded all my expectations!
My name is Farid. I am 29 years old and I am from Iran. I am a second-year student of Communication Management MA programme. This is how students usually introduce themselves in social settings, such as university campus, student events, etc. We exchange name, age, nationality, and area of study, as if these define us. It is such a lazy way to get to know each other, not to mention that it encourages stereotypes. Therefore, I usually try to avoid such descriptions and instead talk about my favourite music, films, philosophies, sports and so on. All the things that inspire me and affect how I feel about life.
I spend a lot of time thinking about many practices of daily life that we simply take for granted and never question. If I learned one thing from my current studies, it is to have a constant critical mind-set towards the world around me, as there is always room for improvement and that is only made possible if we learn to observe and challenge our norms and practices. This also includes the way we perceive cultures and identities. That is of course not the point of this blog post, but one of the many things I have in mind, as a student of Intercultural Communication.
Last semester, I had the chance to participate in a programme called Eurocampus. EMICC (European Masters in Intercultural Communication) is a collaboration network between 10 European universities, which allow students to participate in a joint semester, with courses taught by professors from all of the participating universities. The programme is hosted by a different university each year. In 2022, we went to Utrecht, in The Netherlands. As a student of Communication Management MA programme, we have the chance to participate in the Eurocampus in our third semester.
In Tallinn University, we study about half of our courses in the field of Intercultural Communication. I always had a passion for this particular area of study, so when I learned about the possibility of participating in Eurocampus, I immediately realised that it is a chance I cannot miss. Being able to take part in courses taught by leading professors and scholars in my field of interest was a once in a lifetime opportunity. I have to say that such amazing premise did not disappoint. The Eurocampus went well beyond my expectations.
Academically speaking, the Eurocampus was an amazing ride. Many interesting courses, all within the broad field of Intercultural Communication. A week of discussions over Othering and Essentialism, followed by a week of pondering language ideologies and power relations associated with it, and then learning about diversity in workplace the week after. This is the gist of what we studied in just three, out of the fourteen total mini courses, just to give you an overview of how broad the programme was. Each professor brought with himself or herself not just a different subject, but also a different lens for looking at things. These various approaches to research in the field were very beneficial for me, as someone who is planning to do a PhD. One of the courses even helped me to choose my thesis subject.
Netherlands was the fifth country I had the chance to live in during the last three years, but funnily enough, I had never left Iran before that. In Utrecht, we were a group of 17 students participating in the Eurocampus last year, and we really bonded, going through all the courses together with many different activities, group works, games, projects and hanging out in between. I lived in a student apartment in the lovely neighbourhood of Science Park. The photos depict some of the activities I did during my time in Utrecht.
I woke up everyday to beautiful sunrises, had interesting and funny discussions with friends, had nice meals between classes, took trains to visit some nearby cities, had drinks with friends, and had cooking nights and evening talks.
Eurocampus is coming to Tallinn University this year, which means you do not have to go through the relocation procedures and can simply participate without making big changes in your life. The Eurocampus experience is one that I definitely recommend to Communication Management students, but at the same time, I understand that it is not suitable for everyone. If you are passionate about your field of study, you are eager to make more connections academically, you like to be challenged, and my notes sparked any curiosity and interest, then this is just the right opportunity for you. If you want to know more about the programme, feel free to reach out to me!
