Master en gouvernance européenne

Who are you and where are you from?  My name is Fabian Gal. I grew up in Germany but half of my family is from Hungary. What did you study beforehand?  Before joining the European Governance Master Programme I studied European Studies at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland.

Why did you decide to join the European Governance Master Programme ?

After my undergraduate degree I felt that I still had to deepen my knowledge and improve my skills before finding a job. Determining factors for joining the University of Luxembourg were its bilingual and multi-disciplinary approach as well as its international teaching staff.

What did you enjoy most about the programme ? 

Working as a student research assistant with one of my professors really was an enriching experience that I wouldn’t have liked to miss. I really got to do interesting tasks, meet interesting people from all over the world and develop my professional skills. And all of this in a friendly working environment. Moreover, I really enjoyed researching and writing my Master thesis while doing an internship at the European Court of Auditors (ECA). The readiness of ECA staff to be interviewed and the academic support from my supervisor made writing the thesis very fascinating.

What is it that you do now and did the degree help in your career path?

At the moment, I am working as an Administrator in the Commission for Territorial Cohesion policy and EU Budget (COTER) at the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) in Brussels. I believe that my Master thesis helped me a lot in getting this job and to perform daily tasks such as policy analyses. After my graduation I used my Master thesis to get into contact with people in the field of Regional policy. Eventually, it also helped me during the job interview to prove that I have the skills required. 

How did you like Luxembourg?

 Luxembourg is a nice place. Due to its small size a lot of things are very accessible. I like the fact, that Luxembourg is a European capital, which attracted very interesting, high-level speakers to conferences that we attended. 

 What were your best memories?

 I really enjoyed spending time with my student colleagues, be that in the academic context to prepare for group projects or during after lecture get-togethers.