Placement Report
Centre for East Asian Studies Groningen
Faculty of Arts
By: Yesaya Raditya Christianto (S3921425)
Program Study: International Relations and International Organizations – International Political
Economy Track
Internship Period: 14 April to 31 August 2020
Supervisor: Sonia Mascarell Ordovas
1. Introduction
As part of the one-year Master’s Program in International Political Economy, students must perform a 3 to 6-month internship in the last semester to acquire 10 ECTS. I conducted my placement from 14th of
April 2020 until 31st of August 2020 at the Centre for East Asian Studies Groningen (CEASG) as a research
assistant. The long period of internship is due to the fact that I only work two days per week (around 16 hours per week). This report is written to fulfill the assessment for this internship. It is written at the end of the internship as a material for the home institution to evaluate the student’s performance. A
particular focus is set on the reflection of the activities and the respective learning outcomes. Following the introduction, section 2 and 3 begin with a description of the steps of application, the preparation before the placement, and personal motivations to apply for the internship. Section 4 briefly describes the institutions where I work. Section 5 discusses the tasks that I undertake during the placement, including my working attitude and placement supervision. Section 6 elaborates my reflection throughout the internship. It encompasses the activities, difficulties and personal learnings that I
encountered and/or experienced. In section 7, a deeper reflection on how the placement is linked to the Master’s Program is discussed. Section 8 briefly describes the living conditions in Groningen during the internship and lastly, section 9 provides tips for students who want to explore internship opportunities in CEASG and for those who may face a force majeure during their placements. The report then closes with a conclusion.
2. Application Process
I am specializing in international political economics during the master’s program with prior knowledge of international relations and peace studies from my bachelor program. Thus, upon planning my placement, I sought to find a position where I could practice the knowledge that I have obtained throughout my academic training. Moreover, aspiring to become a research analyst and economist, I tried to find a position that could help me prepare for such a role. The CEASG was not initially my first sought destination. I submitted several applications to a number of think tanks and consultancy companies during the period of January to March, so I would be able to start my 3 to 6 months internship when the spring semester began. However, following the pandemic and lockdown, some of my applications had to be deferred and several of the positions were even cancelled. I contacted several
of my networks here, including my thesis supervisors, who then connected me to CEASG’s director. I got accepted at CEASG roughly three weeks after my initial communication with the director.
The application process in CEASG was straightforward. I sent my applications through my thesis
supervisor which then I was invited for an interview. I had an interview with the centre’s director where I was asked about my interests, work preferences and areas of work. After a few weeks, I was notified that I could help on several projects and paired with my supervisor. The correspondence and task briefing with the centre was fast regardless of the lockdown situation.
3. Preparation and Expectation
I was expecting a lot from the placement program. Being an international student, I hoped to gain real working experience in a Dutch and/or international working culture. Nonetheless, I had to tone down those expectations when the lockdown was publicly imposed. Given the circumstances, I am aware of the consequences and what to be expected when an employer finally accepts my application. I might not be able to gain the same amount of learning experiences or professional exposures as if when people are still working in office. On the other hand, I was very enthusiastic about finding a placement despite the situation. I was very excited when I got a placement in my desired field of work at CEASG. My individual preparation for the internship focused on receiving briefings from the centre’s director and supervisor, mostly about the work from home guidelines and what I am expected to do. I am mainly tasked with assisting a research project on economic diplomacy between the South Korea and the EU. Thus, my current study in international pollical economy and experiences of studying abroad in Japan have been helping me a lot. It seems to me that I had obtained a good place of placement, albeit the situation was generally not friendly to find one.
As for physical preparation, I did not have to search for housing and or arrange a work visa since my work was from home and based in Groningen. In this sense, I was lucky for not having to hassle about financial and other physical preparations, except ensuring good health due to the situation.
4. The CEASG
The CEASG is a research centre that is part of the University of Groningen. Its purpose is to support and initiate interdisciplinary teaching and research on contemporary issues covering China, Japan, Korea and Mongolia. In the same time, it seeks to strengthen and broaden the university’s ties and partnerships in East Asia. In practice, CEASG works revolve around partnership building with various institutions and organizations to conduct joint studies and contemporary research. It also initiates and facilitates grant applications, specifically on Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian and East Asian Studies. The centre is also involved in organizing workshops and conferences about East Asia.
The centre comprises faculty members from several faculties in the University of Groningen. They are the Faculty of Economics and Business, Faculty of Law, Faculty of Theology and Religious studies and Sustainable Society. Through its academic staff, the centre is partnering with the European Studies Centre at Tsinghua University (Beijing), the PNU-Groningen Research Centre at Pusan National
University (Busan), the Dutch Studies Centre at Osaka University (Osaka) and the Dutch Studies Centre at Fudan University (Shanghai), on several research topics. The researches that are being done by its researchers comprise wide range of topics surrounding East Asia, starting from economic related topics such as economic transition and institutional change in Asia to religion in East Asia. More information about its research’s focus can be accessed on its website at https://www.rug.nl/research/east-asian-studies/research/
There are five main departments that are categorized by their area of study in CEASG. They include Korean Studies, East Asian studies, South East Asian Studies, Japan Studies and China Affairs. There are twenty permanent researchers with different research focuses and projects from several faculties in the university. Additionally, the centre also has several visiting fellows from partnering universities.
Currently, it hosts twenty visiting researchers from several partnering universities. The centre is also home to several support staffs and five PhD researchers, who are currently pursuing PhD candidacy at the University of Groningen.
5. Tasks and Activities
5.1 COVID-19 Pandemic and the internship
Throughout the placement I conducted two main tasks that nature focuses on research and writing in several time frames. As a research assistant for Korea-EU economic diplomacy project, my main task covers literature reviews, report writing and desk research. In addition, I was also supporting a separate project on cryptocurrency and football, in which I was responsible for creating the initial database. In both projects, I also took part in finding relevant literature that would help complete the researches. The pandemic and the implementation of lockdown ever since March 2020 had particularly affected my placement towards the end. First, every on-office activity was ceased and moved to work-from-home. The workload and deadline had in general become more relaxed, in the sense that people had to first adjust to the situation and delay in communication with external partners. This is also due to the fact that I was working for my thesis in parallel. In the first project of Korea-EU economic diplomacy, the project timeline had to be shifted from June to August as the centre had to wait several confirmations from its international partners. Thus, my working timeline for the project were prolonged from May to July, to June to August. During this period, I had to conduct several tasks such as literature review and literature renewal for the Korean Collection in the University Library. In the second project of
cryptocurrency and football, the project had to be put on halt, although we had been halfway through the progress. This project was initially prepared for an international conference in Lausanne. However, the conference was immediately cancelled in May following the pandemic. All the work for this project was put on halt. Since May, my work had become limited to only the first project. However, I faced no communication issue working from home, since communication and working schedule with my supervisor and projects’ directors had already been set at the beginning of work-from-home implementation.
5.2 Korea-EU Economic Diplomacy Project
From the start of the placement, I was assigned to assist the Korea-EU Diplomacy Project for background research and initial literature reviews. The project is a continuation of a successfully implemented program on EU-China economic diplomacy, funded by the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). The project is a partnership With Pusan National University in South Korea. It aims to
recognize the importance of economic diplomacy in international relations with a focus on Korea-EU relations. In particular, the project investigates under which conditions the EU and South Korea manage to come to common understandings, but also when, how and why relations sometimes deteriorate. Additionally, it also probes into what are the strategies chosen to solve occurring problems? The development of economic diplomacy between the EU and South Korea is approached through economic, political and legal angles in this project.
In May, I was mostly involved in preparing how the project should take form and how it should be done considering the pandemic. My supervisor and the project director were actively involved in several communications, specifically to divide up the tasks and deadlines. This were done per two-week, or even more, as sometimes initial research could take longer than we were expected. In June, we then delved into our own portion of work as previously decided. I worked on making literature lists and literature reviews for the project up until the end of July. The continuation of the project is expected to begin in August after the project’s joint committee (CEASG, Pusan National University and KNAW) agrees on the initial finding. It is currently being processed. In relation to the project, I am also tasked to write a literature recommendation to update the Korean Literature Section at the University Library.
The supervision for this project was more relaxed than I had expected. Obviously, the timing has shifted from the initial timeline due to the slowing work pace following the pandemic and summer holiday. Nevertheless, my supervisor and I were still communicating through email, should there be any work or change is necessary to revise on the preliminary study.
5.3 Cryptocurrency and Football Research
In parallel with the Korea-EU Diplomacy Project, I was also involved with co-authoring a research paper on cryptocurrency and football research. This research was intended for an international conference in Lausanne, Switzerland, which unfortunately was cancelled due to the pandemic. Although the work was finally put on halt at the end of May, I completed some tasks from April to May for this project. They are mainly preparatory in nature. I assisted two faculty members in preparing a database and conducting a preliminary literature study, which would be the basis of the paper. I did so by scouring to multiple online sources and articles and built a classification system so as to make the database easily accessible and understandable.
6. Personal reflection
The nature of the work at CEASG was an “upgrade” of the academic work conducted in the master's program. It is an upgrade because it still encompassed the academic activities such as researching, writing, and presenting - which I receive throughout my academic training, while also requiring me to think as an administrative planner too. Although I generally did not encounter any difficulties (thanks to supportive supervisors), however, there are more responsibilities than just to deliver a piece of writing or report. I had to carefully manage timelines and communications between members of the project so that the result of the preliminary study could be produced on time. I believe that the knowledge and skills acquired in my master gave me a good base knowledge to successfully execute my tasks throughout the placement.
I had to tone down my expectation because of the pandemic. Even at the beginning of the internship, my supervisor and the EU-Korea’s project director had warned me that the amount of activities would not be as much as they were before the lockdown. The university closure and the lockdown in South Korea have significantly reduced the amount of pressure for the work as timelines were getting more relaxed. I was initially thinking of being exposed to a high-pressure working environment, where there were a number of stresses, following the testimony of some friends who had conducted their
internships. Despite the reality, however, I am grateful to still be able to find an internship and learn a lot of professional experiences in this unfortunate circumstance without that much stress and pressures. First, although I previously said that the tasks in my work share similarities with academic tasks, the nature of writing for a research project was quite different than the writing tasks in school. Professional academia requires particular formalities when writing papers, e.g. the elaboration on theory and methods, but still retains clarity and straightforwardness. Moreover, since one of my projects was a continuation of a previous study for a wide range of audiences, I had to stick to the guideline so as to ensure that the delivered products are easily comprehensible. Moreover, the task of writing a literature recommendation is new to me. I had to, in my capacity, conducted my own research about how to write one and tailor the document according to the need of the Korean-EU Project and the focus of the centre. All in all, the whole experience has taught me advanced academic writing and research more deeply.
The second knowledge that I feel useful is the ability to manage expectations and adapt to the situation. I had a high expectation for my involvement in Cryptocurrency and Football Research, because it would have been my first time co-authoring a research paper for an international conference. The conference’s cancellation taught me that it is okay to self-treat myself sometimes. I was disappointed and sad upon hearing that the project was put on halt since I was enthusiastic to complete the project. I learned from my supervisors that things could go out of our control at times and it is fine to accept it, rather than being hard on ourselves.
Another area that I felt improvement was my communication skills. Having to have work at home had definitely pushed my communication ability beyond its limit. As someone who sometimes still finds direct communication as already difficult, the work from home situation has taught me to communicate more effectively and in more understandably through written communication. Generally, I notice that my formal writing ability has become more fluent, especially in expressing myself professionally and reacting eloquently to unexpected situations.
7. Link to Master Program and Career Outlook
My tasks during the placement clearly align with what I have received from my master’s program. My background in international political economy had positively contributed to my performance during the placement. It helped me to quickly understand contexts, backgrounds and even critically assess findings without having to receive an extensive briefing. On the other hand, considering the fitting educational background and working requirement, I had the opportunity to understand my weak points and improve them. For instance, I have become aware that my understanding on certain topics or methods are still limited and I must continue to be curious and never stop learning.
As previously indicated, I could use various skills and knowledge that I developed through my placement for my future career. Working in a professional academic setting, I realized that sole reliance on
academic skills is not enough to succeed in a professional working environment. I learned about extensive interpersonal communication ability, and professional ethics of being consistent and
persistent, which both could complement my academic knowledge in my field and help me succeed in the professional world. Knowing certain concepts and methods are useless if I cannot properly
that knowing the right people/contact would help you to succeed more quickly than you had imagined. Finally, this placement offers me clarity about what I want to do in the future. Through this experience I have become more certain that I want to pursue a career as a research analyst or economist.
8. Living Conditions in Groningen
There is not much to describe about the living conditions in Groningen since I am already living here as a student. The pandemic might have been a blessing in disguise in this matter. I was able to save a lot of money as I did not have to move and/or commute to other cities. Housing price in Groningen ranges from 200 to 600 euro depending on size and location. Living cost is generally between 150 to 200 euro per month, which may differ per lifestyle.
9. Advice for Future Students
My placement in CEASG was unexpected, in the sense that the centre was only accepting student staff rather than intern before the pandemic hit. According to the centre’s director, I was the first student intern that they have. I must admit that my application process requires a connection, in this case my thesis supervisor, before I proceed to the formal application process (CV screening and interview). However, based on my communication with the centre’s director, students are generally welcome to try to apply as a staff (potentially intern in the future) by sending an email to the centre, inquiring about any working possibilities. Due to its project-based works, only when there is an ongoing project, then the centre would take several students to become staff.
It is important to be proactive in a working environment. In my experience, asking for tasks and
questions helped me integrate quickly to the team. Additionally, it also helped me to quickly understand my tasks and generate reliable outputs. Although the amount of work would differ depending on the project, it is important to show your intent to learn, seriousness and commitment to actively support the team. Being proactive in networking also helps to land a job like what I am experiencing in this placement.
My placement at CEASG was a great experience which exceeded my expectations, considering the pandemic situation. It helped me to develop many valuable skills and abilities that I believe would be useful for my professional engagement. Through this placement also, I was able to explore the types of jobs or tasks a research analyst would do in practice. Moreover, it has also illuminated me on how my knowledge in international political economy – which may first sound abstract, could be flexibly used to interpret several real-life events. In any case, I support the obligatory placement as it could help prepare students for their future professional life.
