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Monthly Spotlight, March 2025
21 March 2025
In this edition of our monthly spotlight we feature Dr Elettra Carbone and 2024-25 European Institute Student Ambassador Ben Rettinger.
In our Monthly Spotlight, we feature an academic and a student from the UCL community with an interest in Europe. If you are interested in being featured in a future edition, or would like to recommend someone, please contact us here.
Ben Rettinger
Ben is in his second year of a Bachelor's degree in European Social and Political Studies and serves as President of the UCL European and International Social and Political Studies Society. Raised in both London and Berlin, he grew up in a relatively international and politically engaged environment.
In his profile, Ben writes:
I see Europe as a blueprint for international cooperation. If 27 Member States, speaking 25+ languages and having countless diverse cultures can reach compromise, then so can other countries. I’m interested in seeing what ways we can use the EU to bring peace to the rest of the world, for example through its economic might and External Action Service.
Elettra Carbone
Dr. Elettra Carbone is Associate Professor in Norwegian and Scandinavian Studies at SELCS, UCL. In 2020 she joined the UCL Art Collections Advisory Group and is also one of the directors of the non-profit publisher Norvik Press Ltd, a council member of the Anglo-Norse Society and deputy editor of the journal Scandinavica.
Elettra writes:
Language education and multilingualism in the UK and beyond are issues I feel very passionate about. I come from a family of language enthusiasts. My parents taught me that languages are not only useful but fun to learn, as they can open the door to different cultures. I think that this enthusiasm and respect for language learning are essential in any education system