Herewith I would like to introduce myself to you: My name is Yannek (22) and I am a second year Psychology student. Having lived in India for eleven months after graduating high school, and having left my native place Hamburg in Germany once again, I can tell that becoming part of a new culture may not be that easy. Even though I expected the cultural differences between Germany and the Netherlands to be quite minor, there were many unexpected novelties for me. This is particularly true for all the students coming from even further places with even greater cultural and linguistic differences.

Especially a top-ranked and internationally renowned university like ours’ should be well-equipped to channel this diversity into fruitful collaborations and creative research. However, this requires a proactive stance on part of the University of Groningen and that is what I will work on to improve in the coming year, given that I will be elected for University Council. It is important to stress that these elections will give the Groningen students a unique possibility to voice their interests through one of the highest university bodies and that all your suggestions and ideas are highly appreciated. Choose Lijst Calimero if better integration, responsible representatives and quality of education are of your concern.