Börje Fjällström of Sweden is following the unique double diploma Master's programme in European Studies at the UT.
And why is this programme unique? He answers: 'Courses are taught in tandem by the School of Business, Public Administration and Technology (at the UT) and the Institute for Political Science (Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster) in Germany.
'Why did I decide to pursue the double diploma programme? I already have a Swedish bachelor's degree in political science and wanted to do my master's in another European country. I was studying the different programmes being offered across Europe, and finally decided that the double diploma programme in European studies was the one for me. This decision was based on the fact that I could be admitted on the strength of my bachelor's degree in political science for the master's programme - I did not have to take a bachelor's degree in European studies.
'The advantages of this programme are that I can study at two Universities in two countries at the same time, which is a great experience. The programme leads to a double Master's degree in European studies which enhances my future prospects because I would have a Swedish BA-degree, a Dutch MA-degree and a German MA-degree - University degrees from three different European countries. This will hopefully give my career an edge in the European labour market because of the experience I will have gained from the three different countries.'
After finishing high school, Börje studied at the Univeristy of Karlskrona, Sweden, for a year where he says he was 'fed up'. He wished to do something 'compelety different' so he went to Germany and worked in a restaurant for a year to improve his German and then worked as a marketing trainee for Bosch in Stuttgart. Back in Sweden, he studied Political Science and completed his BachelorÆs from Växjö University. He also did a short stint as a fork-lift driver for a couple of months.
Börje is currently in the first semester; the programme has three semesters. The first two semesters comprise different EU-related courses viz. European union law, European economic policies, European security, European institutions, welfare states and social policies etc. The third semester consists of a research project, which will be presented in the Master's thesis.
So how are lectures arranged at the two universities? He replies: 'During the first semester most of the lectures were at the UT. When we were in Germany, it was mostly for a seminar of two-three days. In the next semester I will have to take my courses in Germany because as far as I know most of the courses offered atthe UT are in Dutch. The courses in Germany are in English so I might move to Germany - but only if I find a room that I like; otherwise I will commute regularly between Enschede and Münster.'
Hometown: Tidaholm, Sweden
Languages known: Swedish, English, German
Favourite food: Italian
Favourite music: synthetic music of the 70s and 80s
Favourite movie: Clockwork Orange
Last book read: On Swedish history by Jan Guillou
Best part of living in NL: easy to get around
Worst part of living in NL: dont like fried food and the Dutch fry everything!
