Cecilie Spanggard Hahn-Petersen, 26, first semester student
“I have an education as Arabic interpreter from the Royal Danish Defence Academy and a BA in Political Sciences from the University of Copenhagen. I was about to do my master’s the same place when I read about a new masters degree in international security and law at the University of Southern Denmark, which immediately caught my attention. Having always taken a big interest in international politics, the master seemed to be the perfect combination of elements from this discipline and international law, which is highly relevant if you want to work in an international organisation or company, for example. I hope and believe that this master programme will give me the best opportunities to achieve a career in the field of international security and defence policy. The fact that my fellow students come with very different backgrounds, both academically and nationality-wise, is really inspiring and has been a great asset to the programme, since it adds many more perspectives to the discussions. Plus we have a lot of fun together, which is important to me because it creates a great learning atmosphere both inside and outside the university.”
Anuradha Amrasinghe, 32, first semester student
“I am originally from Sri Lanka, but did my BA in London in International Politics. I find war interesting, and therefore, during my BA, I was searching for a university where I could get a thorough understanding of international security and law issues. I found that the master programme in International Security and Law at the University of Southern Denmark offered me the best study content that will make sure I will not only obtain a good understanding of these issues, but also good job prospects in the future. My fellow students in the programme have diverse professional backgrounds and come from around the world; Norway, Germany, Ethiopia, Chile and Slovenia, to name but a few. I think, personally, I have the best opportunity to shape my future in this setting through this programme.”
Jens-Christian Hedegaard Thomsen, 31, first semester student
“As an officer in the Danish Defence, I have been actively involved in several international, military operations that have given me a thorough understanding of some of the world’s conflicts as well as practical experience in solving them. But for some time, I have had a desire to widen my horizon and get an even better understanding of the underlying causes of the crises and conflicts in order to be more able to solve them. Also, I wanted to grasp why there is such a gap between the academic approaches compared to the military approaches to conflict management. That is why I was very pleased to see this new master programme in International Security and Law at the University of Southern Denmark, which provides me with the exact knowledge I had been searching for. The programme provides me with the opportunity to combine my practical experience with academic knowledge in a great learning environment together with fellow students of very different backgrounds. With a master degree in International Security and Law I will most certainly enhance my possibilities of acting both in the academic and practical domains of international conflicts in the future, and thereby – hopefully – bring those two worlds closer together.”