Iva Kopraleva, alumna MA European Studies (Research)
The Research Master European Studies (RMES) programme at Maastricht University allowed me to fully immerse myself in the academic environment of the university and to experience first-hand what it is like to be a researcher.
I was expected to realise a number of individual and group research projects and through this I truly and consistently developed my analytical, research and writing skills. In fact, the research I did as part of my Master’s thesis is currently under consideration in the peer-reviewed European Foreign Affairs Review (with my Master’s thesis supervisor prof. Maarten Vink as a co-author). As part of the programme, I managed to both study and do a research internship at Sciences Po Grenoble in France, which additionally enhanced my expertise in EU affairs. I have greatly benefited from the experience and knowledge I obtained during my studies at Maastricht in my professional development. After my graduation, I successfully completed a traineeship at the European Parliament and was subsequently recruited by the European Council of Foreign Relations, a pan-European think tank which focuses on analysing EU’s role in the world.
Iva Kopraleva (Bulgarian)
Project coordinator Sofia Platform
Sofia, Bulgaria
Year of Graduation: 2014
