When I decided to apply for Contemporary Asian Studies (CAS) I was not sure whether I was the right candidate, because of my background in International Communication. I did have substantial China experience, but I had not majored in Social Science for my Bachelor's.

After my enrollment I learned that there was a great variation in the CAS students. Some students had a strong Asia background, whilst others were experienced social scientists. Some were experienced journalists or geographers who wanted to deepen their understanding  of Asian societies, whilst others had spent decades in Asia and came to learn how to conduct social scientific research.

The mix was one of the great strengths of the programme. We didn’t only learn from our lecturers and our supervisors, but we also often looked to each other for support and advise. The variety of backgrounds created a good dynamic in our group that led to lively and high quality discussions with a wealth of different viewpoints.

Since CAS is not one of those Master's programmes with hundreds of students enrolled, there was enough time and attention from our personal supervisors to help us overcome our personal weaknesses. For me, a student who needed much help with the design of her research, this supervision was key. Outside of the lectures, my supervisor always took his time to guide me in my research project. With his help I developed a project that I was very proud of. I enjoyed my research work during CAS so much that I have continued to work in this field.