Life as an Islands-Student
Islands are special places that hold so much knowledge, and studying islands gives you unique perspectives and practical tools that are useful beyond island geographies.
Sissal Dahl (Islands and Sustainability student in the Master in Spatial Sciences at the University of Groningen)
While the ISLANDS joint research Master has not yet started, there are already students out there who got a flavour of what the new programme has to offer. ISLANDS MSc builds on the existing Research Master in Spatial Sciences programme at the University of Groningen (RUG), and in particular on the track Islands and Sustainability. Sissal is one of the students who joined this track and reports what her experiences have been so far in her studies:
Hello everyone!
My name is Sissal and I am currently studying the Islands and Sustainability track within Spatial Sciences at Groningen University – now the new International ERASMUS Mundus Joint Master Programme ISLANDS.
I am an islander myself, originally from the Faroe Islands, and was introduced to the world of studying islands during my bachelor studies in human geography. It is therefore both a personal and academic interest in sustainable development trajectories on islands that has led me to this master programme. I know that islands are special places that hold so much knowledge, and studying islands gives you unique perspectives and practical tools that are useful beyond island geographies. When I was looking for master programs and came across the Islands and Sustainability track that is now ISLANDS I instantly knew this was exactly what I want to study. Now, engaging with islands and sustainable development and the community that shares this interest makes me feel like home although being abroad.
The programme has given me the amazing opportunity to do an internship with the University of the Aegean on Lesvos this spring. I am looking forward to experiencing an island environment very different from my home, and challenge myself to put my knowledge into practice. I will definitely share more about the internship and my experiences with you later!