Ilze Plavgo

Ilze Plavgo is from Latvia. She graduated with an MA in European Studies in 2009 and is now studying at Maastricht University.

I am currently in the Netherlands, Maastricht University, doing an MSc in Public Policy and Human Development, specializing in Social Protection Design at Maastricht Graduate School of Governance. I have been offered the chance to go to Mauritius this summer to do a research project as part of my studies and thesis, and one of the reasons I have been chosen is my international experience and language skills which I gained thanks to the European Studies and Languages department of the University of Dundee.

Studies at Dundee helped me to become independent and think critically; I was exposed to making decisions independently and to constantly think of what I as an individual want to reach, which helped me to become very determined and motivated in everything I do.Studies at Dundee have also given me the right skills to adapt quickly, to be able to change fields of study as well as my approach. All these qualities have definitely helped me so far and will certainly help me in the future.

I am very grateful for the opportunity to participate in the Erasmus exchange. This exchange programme has without any doubts changed my life and given me the qualities so necessary in my studies and future career.

I was fortunate to spend a whole year in France, Universite Pierre-Mendes France, Grenoble, and do my studies at the Faculty of Law. I gained a lot from being exposed to a different culture and a different educational system, and also mastered my French language skills.

This experience has already paid back: I was accepted to do an internship in Brussels, at the Permanent Representation of Latvia to the European Union, for a whole summer between my third and fourth year of studies, and have now been chosen to go to Mauritius to do a project there with four other students from Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, in cooperation with the Mauritian government.