2018 - 2019
MARCO POLO FUND
Study / Traineeship report
This form needs to be completed by every student who has received a scholarship from the Marco Polo Fund.
Last name*Please write your name as shown in your passport Lidia
First name*Please write your name as shown in your passport González de Diego RUG registration number (S) S3819043
Please enclose a 2 page report on your experiences abroad, using the following headings: 1. Your study programme or your internship programme
2. Language
3. Finance and other conditions
4. Preparation and contacts with the faculty before, during and after your stay 5. Housing
6. Culture 7. Free time 8. Travelling 9. Other
I hereby give permission to the International Office to
publish my report on Study Info to inform future students X Yes No Future students may contact me for additional
information X Yes No
Signature Participant
……… Date:
1
REPORT: My experience
- Your study programme or your internship programme
I am a Geopolitics and connectivity master student. The placement fitted exactly was I was looking for. However, although it does have a big international outlook onto it, it is of upmost importance an interest in the region, international security and/or international economy since those are the three big pillars of the daily work.
Within the relevant carried out by us, the interns, it can be find: Assist with the planning, administration, and execution of Osgood Center experiential learning programs. Contribute to other higher education program planning and assistance as needed. Develop self-directed learning goals and a professional development plan to measure one's own learning progress and achievement to gain academically from an exceptional professional experience. Attend conferences, seminars, forums and other international-themed events to learn about issues relevant to Osgood Center programming and their own academic goals. Lastly, the development of conference briefings and other events.
- Language
English. After completing a master’s programme in English, that should be no problem. Oddly, even if a positive trait for the position, it is not that relevant to master any other languages too.
- Finance and other conditions
Making a living in Washington, DC, is expensive. Make sure you have some kind of grant to help during your stay.
Unless you have no budget whatsoever, you will most probably end up in a shared bedroom. That is completely normal in Washington, DC, especially if you are looking for a place to stay in the city center.
- Preparation and contacts with the faculty before, during and after your stay I personally did not have much contact with faculty members other than my placement supervisor. I had to ask for help regarding some doubts I had about the Marco Polo grant at the IRIO office.
- Housing
Not only is housing expensive, but you need to be aware of scams. Thankfully, I was informed while doing the arrangements by my placement supervisor in Washington, DC. Not even platforms such as Airbnb are free of scams. My advice is to stay in some university’s dorms (such as the George Washington University, which is perfectly situated at the heart of the city), and if you plan of staying for over a couple of months, try and find something while you are living there; that way you can visit the place, meet the hosts, etc.
2
- Culture
The American culture is widely known. However, contrary to the rest of the United States of America, you will not need a car. Public transportation works perfectly well (although a bit expensive).
- Free time
There is a lot of desk research, where you set the time it takes you to fulfill it. The staff at the Osgood Center really wants you to get to know the city and how things work in the capital of the United States of America, therefore, if you work hard and plan ahead, you will be able to have some free time to explore and might even get tickets from the organization to attend different museums, activities etc.
- Travelling
Flying around the USA is expensive. But take advantage of the buses and trains running across the East coast. My experience is they are safe, moderately cheap and efficient. - Other
Very safe city. That is probably most of Europeans’ concerns when traveling to the States, however, Washington, DC’s city center is very safe.
Make sure you completed all the paperwork before you fly (VISA etc.). Otherwise, they may deny you the entrance to the country.
