One of the reasons I applied was that CEU offers good scholarships. Before that, I have finished my undergraduate studies in the US so I wanted to jump from one scholarship to the other and to continue my academic development. On the other hand, CEU has exceeded all my expectations in terms of colleagues and professors, but mostly in terms of the atmosphere which was quite open for discussing different ideas, and it was all very different from what I had ever had the opportunity to experience.

CEU offers students the opportunity to engage in different ways at the University during the studies. I had the opportunity to work in the Open Society Archives, which is part of the University and I was an assistant in the process of archiving television material from Serbian, Croatian and Bosnia and Herzegovina during the nineties. This was a very interesting experience – to spend so much time with materials from the area where I come from, but on the other hand to study completely out of context of Serbia and the Balkans.

What I find the most positive in the academic system that exists at the CEU is that it is open to arguments; it is open for discussion, which can sometimes even be controversial; it is open to different opinions and ideas and lessons are very dynamic. What is even more interesting is the relationship between professors and students. With my professors at CEU, I was able to sit down and discuss various topics over a cup of coffee and there were no barriers. Therefore it was easier for me not to agree with them in some situations and just to have much more constructive conversations, that is - to have conversations, and not only listen to professors’ monologs.

What I found interesting during the presentation of new students is that one professor remembered that I was the only person who wrote in my application that migration policies and issues related to refugee influxes are some of the topics I am interested in. He immediately approached me and we started talking. Eventually, he became my mentor for the thesis. I think it is important that students know from the beginning what they want to do, what is important to them and to explore those topics in a way it does not bore them after a few months of research. This will then make the relationship with the supervisor much easier, it will create positive experiences with teachers and create a fertile atmosphere for some serious academic work.