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Vismantė Dailidėnaitė - Political Analysis (Russia and Eastern Europe)
Vismantė Dailidėnaitė - MA Political Analysis (Russia and Eastern Europe) 2017 - 18
“Being a guileless girl from the Baltics, I could have never imagined that I would spend time studying in one of the world’s leading universities – it was like an episode from Cinderella’s tale. I happened to do Masters in Political Analysis (Russia and Eastern Europe) at UCL SSEES just last year. It was a truly enjoyable experience as I had a chance to dive into the depths of surreal disinformation campaigns, sing Если у Вас нету тёти at the Russian class, discuss the most pressing political issues in the region, see the video of the President of Turkmenistan rapping with his grandson and do many other great things. Masters at UCL was never about prestige for me – it was truly about experiences and possibilities. Well, I also have to admit that I found it very intriguing to hear the rumours that SSEES was “a den of spies” during the Cold War – it certainly added some motivation to apply and to look for the profile of Kim Philby or Sergei Tretyakov walking down the corridors. When I successfully graduated, I decided to pack my expertise and experience and go back home to change the world – well, at least start from applying my knowledge to do something positive to my beloved Lithuania. Right after submitting my Master’s dissertation, I got accepted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania to serve as a diplomat. I am pleased to be able to combine my true interests with challenges that career in diplomacy offers – with all the perks of being able to travel, meet various people and serve my own country, first and foremost! There are so many cliché advices that students often get. However, I think that there is no universal rule applicable to every single person.
Everyone has to find his or her own way. If you are more of a nerd person – feel free to spend your weekends in the library and feel perfectly fine about it (by the way – the library of SSEES is one of the most resourceful places in terms of regional literature). If you are more like a party animal – go and enjoy uproarious events and socials (I am not of the latter type to be honest, so can’t elaborate on that too much :)). One thing I know for sure – if you happen to choose UCL SSEES, you already have a great future written in the stars!
Oh, but maybe there is one tip that I would like to share – make sure you study languages. SSEES provides the best opportunity for that. Language is the road map of culture, it is the gate to enormous variety of experiences, visions of life and hearts of people.