Editorial Office

The con­tent of all EST art­icles pub­lished on this web­site are reviewed by our staff of editors.

Managing Editors and Editors

Foreign Policy and Security & Defence Team

Lok Yin Chan – Managing Editor

Lok is a second-year BSc History and Politics student at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

His research interests include the EU’s policy towards authoritarian regimes with human rights violation records, as well as its strategic positioning amid the multipolar turn of international politics.

Cristina Perez Escolar – Editor

Cristina has recently graduated with a law degree from the University of Murcia (Spain). As part of her degree, she spent one year in Zagreb (Croatia) where she developed her passion for human rights, migration policy and development. She submitted her final thesis analysing the EU’s migration policy in relation to Turkey and is driven to keep working in this field. She speaks Spanish, English and is currently learning French. She has participated in multiple events dealing with international cooperation such as the Mediterranean Student Summit in Morocco and the Model European Union of Spain. In her personal life, she has committed herself to social justice, having volunteered for many years with NGOs like Caritas and as part of the European Solidarity Corps.

I’m a Messi believer and a football lover.
 

Angeliki Markopoulou – Editor

Angeliki is currently in her last year as an undergraduate student of International and European studies at the University of Piraeus, in Greece. She doing an internship at the Permanent Representation of Greece in the EU, at the Economic and Financial Unit.

Her interests revolve around marketing, law, european affairs, sustainability and creating podcasts.

I have been studying Japanese for 2,5 years now.

Ileana-Ancuta (Anca) Grigorescu – Editor

Anca, a native of Romania, made a life-changing decision two years ago when she relocated to Brussels, embarking on an exciting new journey. At 25 years old, she is a young professional working as an Influencer Marketing officer on projects with the European Commission. Anca’s academic history reflects her deep interest in defence and security matters, with a strong passion for geopolitics inherited from her father.

Despite the seeming disparity with her current job, she remains dedicated to researching various countries, cultures, and both historical and ongoing conflicts. Two years ago, Anca pursued an internship at the National Ministry of Defence in Romania, an experience that further fueled her appreciation for the military and her desire to gain a comprehensive understanding of the diverse military and security field.

Woo Hyun Han – Editor

Woo Hyun Han is 21 years old, from South Korea.

He graduated from the International School of Latvia.

He is studying Bachelor of Business Administration in KU Leuven.

Social and Economic Policy

Manuel Pedro Torres Lajo – Managing Editor

Manuel Torres Lajo is a PhD candidate in Political Sciences at Complutense University of Madrid. He holds a M.Sc. in Consumer Affairs from the Technical University of Munich and a B.Sc. in Economics from San Marcos National University (Lima, Peru). His research lines include behavioural economics, development economics, consumption, and public policies, with a focus on Latin America and Europe. Furthermore academic training done by him includes University of Oslo’s ISS on International Development Studies and UN ECLAC’s School of Latin American Development Studies. He has experience in research (both quantitative and qualitative), consulting, teaching, and international organisations. Outside work, he enjoys travelling, reading literature, and learning several languages.

Avid follower of F1, football, tennis and sports in general.

Thomas Coffey – Editor

He is currently working towards his bachelor’s at University College London, but is on his year abroad studying Russian at Maqsut Narikbayev University in Astana. He is from London and takes a keen interest in how economic theories affect economic systems, along with the implications of public policy.

I can open the cap of a longneck with my teeth.

Iorgus-Serghei Cicala – Editor

Iorgus is a third-year undergraduate student of “International Politics and Government” at Bocconi University, and he is currently taking part in an exchange programme at Sciences Po. Driven by a genuine academic passion for policymaking and multilevel governance, Iorgus has written numerous articles centred around EU integration and has recently published a research paper about the 2022/23 energy crisis.

As peer reviewer at the Politikon student journal and chair of a student research committee focused on European politics, he is delighted to edit and coordinate scholarly pieces on regional geopolitical and economic dynamics. Particularly interested in the game theory of peace and conflict, Iorgus seeks to stimulate critical thinking about the incentive schemes and strategic endogenous decisions underpinning security agendas.

Iorgus loves modern literature and is currently learning Greek.

Current Affairs & Domestic Affairs

Timo Schröttke – Managing Editor

Timo holds a Research Master’s degree in European Studies and specialised in international development cooperation. With a passion for evidence-based decision-making, Timo has actively contributed to the fields of European policy analysis and social development, among others at the European Institute of Public Administration.

Through his experience in quantitative and qualitative research, project proposal writing, and event organisation, he has developed the skills and passion to tackle complex challenges for equitable outcomes.

Paolo Stohlman – Editor

Born and raised in Washington DC, Paolo graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, International Studies and Economics from the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.

In fall 2022, he began his Master’s degree in European Studies at UCLouvain, with a focus on democracy and central banking, and is current in Erasmus at Sciences Po Paris.

Paolo joined EST as an Editor in 2022, and he hopes to help communicate both the successes of the EU and the areas in need of improvement.

I once appeared in a NYT article!
 

Lucia Torlai – Editor

Lucia holds a Bachelor’s in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Venice University and a Master’s in European Studies from KU Leuven. After her Master, she worked as a Development Intern at Bruegel Economic Think Tank.

She is passionate about foreign affairs, particularly EU-China Relations, and EU Environmental and Energy Policy.

She is currently attending an Advanced Master at VUB, with a focus on sustainability and digital policies. She speaks Italian, English, French, and some Chinese.

I love cooking while listening to True Crime podcast. 

Stefana Vizman – Editor

Stefana is originally from Romania, she graduated from the University of Amsterdam with a Bachelors in Political Science and is currently pursuing her Masters degree in Global Studies (Sociology) at Humboldt University Berlin.

As part of her Master programme, Stefana now lives and studies in in Buenos Aires, at Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales. The upcoming semester will take her to New Delhi, where she will conduct research and continue her studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University.

Her research focuses on analysing migration as an integral part of macro social change, and how this reconceptualisation of human mobility can lead to more effective migration policies in the EU.

Human Rights & Environment

Ana-Maria Georgescu – Managing Editor

Ana-Maria Georgescu is currently completing her master’s in European Policies and Public Administration at KU Leuven university whilst on exchange at Sciences Po Paris. Despite coming from a background in English and European law, she opted for further studies in European and International Affairs with a particular focus on the environmental and social dimensions of the green transition in Europe and beyond.

She joined EST in September 2022 as a Writer in the Domestic affairs and current events group and published various works with the EST. Ana-Maria is now taking part in the Legislative Hub project organised by the Romanian Member of the Parliament Simina Tulbure, after completing a shadowing programme at an MEP.

My first job was as a street fundraiser for WWF Romania

Celina Ferrari Nguyen – Editor

Celina Dieu Anh Ferrari Nguyen is a final year Bachelor’s student in Global Governance, Economics and Legal Order student at Esade (Spain), with a focus on International Economics. Having lived in across the world throughout her life, she grew interested in International Affairs, Geopolitics, Human Rights and Security and thus continued to pursue it for her university studies.

Recently, she worked in a capstone project on Private Equity in Sub-Saharan Africa for the European Investment Bank (EIB). Through this experience, Celina grew to value the impact of research and aspires to become a prominent researcher in her field. She aspires to one day work at a Think Tank to continue publishing articles accessible to everyone and be a reliable pillar of knowledge. Celina joined EST in 2023 as an editor and has edited for the Sixth EPR Volume.

Charlie Jones – Editor

Charlie is in his final year at the University of Cambridge studying Politics and International Relations.

He is passionate about European economics and politics, particularly the history of European integration, the role of European identity in shaping politics and the geopolitics of Europe’s relationship to China and the US.

He is hoping to go on to study a masters in public policy or international relations and become an active participant within these spaces. Growing up in the UK, he is always keen to meet people who have other perspectives and life experiences, particularly given the UK’s recent relationship with the EU!

Don’t hesitate to reach out to him to chat about UK universities, or any potential work experience opportunities within European politics.

I am from the smallest county in the UK!

Writers

Arshia Shojaee-Tabatabaee

Arshia is a BA Politics and International Studies student at the University of Warwick in the United Kingdom. Having had previous research positions at the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, the Warwick Think Tank, and at the Universities of Warwick and Monash, Arshia is keen on studying a variety of issues regarding economic security, the key organs of the EU, and the EU-Middle East relationship.

Originally coming from Iran, Arshia lives in the United Kingdom and looks to undertake a university exchange to Western Europe in his penultimate year of university. He speaks English and Farsi fluently while having beginners level knowledge of French and German.

Arshia has met (and upset) every major political leader in the United Kingdom!

Andri Stavrou

Andri holds a Bachelor’s degree in French with European studies from University of Cyprus, a Master’s degree in Political Science from Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and an MBA from the Open University of Cyprus. During her master’s thesis at the ULB, she focused on the American Foreign Policy in Iraq.

She completed her internships at the Diplomatic Missions of Cyprus that based in Belgium where she focused on Public Diplomacy and EU Foreign Policy and at the Institut Emile Vandervelde (IEV), study centre of the Belgian Socialist Party.

Throughout her academic and professional career, she developed a keen interest in International Affairs and mainly Foreign Policy. A Native Greek speaker, she is also fluent in English, French and Dutch and a bit of German.

 

Alex Collado Menendez

Alex Collado is a 20 years old International Relations student at the University of Deusto in Bilbao, Spain. He collaborates with many European organizations and organizes projects for European citizens.

His main areas of interest include international law, security issues and diplomacy. He has been working as delegate of his university to the European alliance UNIC and currently he is working for EDIW NGO.

When I was a kid I wanted to become a politician.

Aoife Coyne

Aoife Coyne holds a Bachelor in English Literature and Spanish from Trinity College Dublin and a Master in European Studies from KU Leuven. She had held various communications and media roles in the NGO sector in Brussels and has also completed a Schuman traineeship in the European Parliament Liaison Office in Dublin.

Her areas of interest include EU-MENA relations, migration, conflict studies, postcolonialism and political communications. Aoife’s Master thesis was titled ‘Colonial memory in election campaigns of Vox and Lega: Representations of migrants in exclusionary populist Twitter discourse.’ Aoife speaks English, Spanish and Irish.

Bruno de Sousa

Bruno is a graduate in Political Science & International Relations from the Université Libre de Bruxelles, specializing in Security, Peace, and Conflicts.

Fluent in Portuguese, French, and English, he is currently mastering Spanish. Driven by a passion for the field of Security and Defense, Bruno aims to excel and contribute significantly in this domain

He likes to go the gym and playing card games.

Chiara Marino

She is a bachelor’s graduate of International Politics, Law and Economics at the University of Milan. She has recently started the Master of Science in Economics (MSE) offered by the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies and the University of Pisa.

In her previous publication on the Student Economic Review (SER) of Trinity College Dublin and her bachelor thesis, she focused on environmental issues and their impact on the labour market in developing countries. She is passionate about economic policy and is strongly interested in finding new approaches to economic analysis.

She loves classical music, playing the violin is one of her ways to relax and find her peace.

Egemen Aray

Egemen is a second-year International Politics and Government student at Bocconi University. He is from Istanbul, Turkey. Egemen completed high school at Kabatas Erkek, a historically prestigious Turkish high school that only admits the top 0.05%, while also taking classes from Yale faculty, publishing a George-Washington-University-affiliated research, working with Professor Michael Parkin from Oberlin College, and being awarded the Diverse Voices Scholarship by the School of The NYT faculty.

He interned at the Freedom Research Association last summer and currently is part of the editorial team of Vesaire, an Istanbul-based independent publishing platform. His academic interests include political psychology, elections, campaigns, and US & EU & Turkish politics.

Fabio Telarico

Born in Naples (Southern Italy), Fabio Ashtar is fluent in Italian, English and Bulgarian with a working knowledge of French, Macedonian, and Serbian. In 2023 he started his PhD in Statistics at the University of Ljubljana (Slovenia), where he has been working in various research-related positions since 2021. Besides being a researcher, he gives occasional guest lectures and speaks regularly at international conferences. Moreover, he is actively cooperating with the European Liberal Forum, a think tank affiliated with the Alliance of Liberal and Democrats in Europe (ALDE).

Fabio Ashtar holds a BA in Political Science and International Relations from the University of Naples “l’Orientale”, with a thesis on Bulgarian monetary policy in the 1990s, and a Joint MA in Southeastern European Studies from the universities of Graz (Austria) and Belgrade (Serbia), with a thesis advocating for fiscal reform in Bulgaria. For more information visit: fatelarico.github.io/

If I could only watch one film for the rest of my life that would be Henry Koster’s Harvey (1950) with James Stewart and Peggy Dow.

Gaia Marchesini

Gaia Marchesini holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, International and Economic Studies from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and a Master’s degree in European Studies from KU Leuven. During her Bachelor, she spent a semester as an Erasmus student at the Goethe University of Frankfurt.

Through her Master, she deepened her interest in the European Union’s decision-making process, EU foreign policy, as well as East Asian politics and EU-China relations.

She is an Italian native speaker and she is passionate about learning new languages: she speaks English and German and has a conversational level of Chinese and French.

Hannah Handzar Maldonado

She is an undergraduate Law student at King’s College London and Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona. She is currently studying a dual law degree after which she will graduate with both an LLB, qualifying law degree for England and Wales, as well as the equivalent for Spain, a Grado en Derecho.

Harm van de Plassche

Harm Roelant van de Plassche is a Political Science master student at the University of Amsterdam, specialising in Political Economy. He completed a bachelor in History at the University of Leiden (Cum Laude) and has worked part-time for the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Defence.

He speaks Dutch, English and Italian fluently and has an advanced to basic level in French, Spanish and Portuguese.

I have read War and Peace four times.

Helen Kurvits

Helen is originally from Estonia and completed her BA in International Relations at the University of Groningen and her MA in International Relations with a focus on security at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

Next to her studies, she has interned at the Permanent Mission of Estonia to the EU, at the Division for Southeastern Europe in the MFA of Estonia as well as at the Permanent Mission of Estonia to the UN in Geneva where she focused on human rights issues.

Currently, she is conducting research at the Georgian Foundation for Strategic and International Studies in Tbilisi where she focuses on EU – Georgia relations. She has been a writer for the EST since January 2023.

Irina Tontcheva

Irina is a European politics master’s graduate from University College London, where she specialised in the enlargement process of the EU. Previously, she studied International Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands.

She has completed internships at two Vienna-based NGOs, the UNCAC Coalition and the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organised Crime. Both of these professional experiences have expanded her expertise on corruption and organised crime, as well as her insight into UNODC’s work, specifically the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) and the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organised Crime (UNTOC).

Given her academic background, Irina is passionate about bridging her research interests and delving deeper into topics relating to the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy, Justice and Home Affairs, transnational security and human rights. She is currently undertaking a traineeship at the UN Section of the EU Delegation to the International Organisations in Vienna.

Other than politics, Irina is interested in history, fashion and art.

Jim Welsink

Jim Welsink is an enthusiastic student currently pursuing a Master’s degree in European Studies at University of Twente.

While his academic journey started with a Bachelor’s degree in Spatial Planning, he soon discovered an deep interest in policy and politics and continued with a Master in Public Administration.
After finishing this he wanted to specialise more in European affairs as he developed a passion for the topic.

This year, in order to add to this passion he will write about topics of his interest for the EST.

I recently started learning Chinese

Juliette Helfi

Juliette Helfi is an Environmental Policy master student at Sciences Po’s Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA). She holds a dual B.A. in European Social and Political Studies from Sciences Po Paris and University College London. She previously specialized in Latin America, economics, and political science while studying in Poitiers for two years.

Afterwards, she spent two years at UCL in London, where she focused on international relations and global politics. Her areas of interest include environmental policy, Environmental Social Governance (ESG), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), European politics, international relations, and the governance of emerging technologies.

Her research projects and internships at think-tanks and in the consulting sector have equipped her with advanced research skills and solid knowledge in sustainability, international relations, rule of law, and democracy.

Juliette loves listening to psychedelic Turkish Rock.

Karen Apreevi

Karen is a graduating student at the International Black Sea University situated in Tbilisi, Georgia. While majoring in international relations, he has developed a rather deep interest in related disciplines such as political science and sociology. One of the most intriguing areas of study for him are authoritarian and hybrid political systems, their inner-workings and democratization prospects.

Being a Georgia resident, Karen’s dream is to contribute to the nation’s Euro-Atlantic integration as a future professional. For the time being, however, he aims to further popularize his field within his community, while simultaneously gaining new knowledge, improving his research and writing skills.

Laia Simó

Laia is currently enrolled in an LLM in international and European law, specializing in Human Rights. She graduated with a Bachelor’s in International Relations with a minor in EU and Foreign Policy. She previously interned at the Human Rights Department of the Red Cross and worked as a Research Assistant at the European Business Council from Africa in Brussels.

She has a keen interest in Human Rights issues and diplomatic relations, which is why she is also part of the Human Rights Legal Cleaning and the MUN competition team at her University. 

Magdalena Landa

Magdalena Landa Fabián is a Spanish graduate in Political Science and Public Administration by the University of Valencia (UV) and has studied at the University of Bologna (UNIBO) and the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM).

She is currently studying Law as a second degree at the UNED and holds a Master’s Degree in International Crisis Management and Prevention at Carlos III University of Madrid. Among other jobs, she has been a Strategic Consultant Intern in a Public and Regulatory Affairs Consultancy at European level in Madrid.

The last event in which she has actively participated is the European Youth Summit 2022 as a representative of the Democracy Commission and she is a member of the association Team Europe. Magdalena is a native Spanish speaker, fluent in English, Italian and French. Her professional goal is to work for international cooperation and security through ensuring peace, preventing terrorism and safeguarding human rights.

Morena Saione

María Morena Saione has a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations, graduated from the National University of Rosario, Argentina. She has been researching the Middle East, in particular Saudi Arabia and the Gulf Monarchies since 2018. She has participated in various study centres analysing current affairs in the Middle East.

She is a native Spanish speaker, fluent in English and Italian. Since she was a teenager she has been interested in international relations and, later, in research and divulgation as a means to answer current questions and generate new ones. If I can generate in those who read me some questions about the world around them, to get out of their ideological corset, my work is done.
Her goal would be to continue on the path of research and work in the area of international cooperation and security.

I am awful at sports, my hobby has always been Model UN.

Maria Zheleznova

Born and raised in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, Maria has been travelling to Europe for study trips since an early age. Quickly she realised that sooner or later, she will move there.

The turning point of this determination was an Erasmus+ mobility to London, United Kingdom, where she was studying in UCL, one of the best universities in the world. Having a strong interest in social sciences throughout all her formative years, in 2018 she graduated from Political Science program.

At 21 she moved to Italy to pursue a Masters degree in the University of Bologna, the oldest university in Europe. Currently she is undertaking her second Erasmus+ mobility in Zagreb, Croatia.

Maria Melina Vinueza Vasquez

Even though she was born in Ecuador, she has been connected to the European context from a very young age. As an undergraduate, she spent a year of her career in the Grand École “Albert Le Grand” in Angers-France. After such fulfilling experience, she obtained her Bachelor’s degree in Political Sciences and International Relations in her country.

In order to keep enriching her professional background, she decided to study a Master’s degree in Public and Cultural Diplomacy in the University of Siena, Italy.

Notwithstanding her desire to become a diplomat, she would like to be a professional dancer to be the live of the party in every event.

Marie Mink

Marie is a 20-year-old girl from Germany who moved abroad to Amsterdam for her bachelor‘s degree in 2021. She loves to experience new cultures, learn new languages and meet people from all over the world.

She has always been interested in researching, writing and staying informed of important world events. That is why she applied for a writing position with the EST. With the EST, she is part of the Foreign Policy Team and has been since January of 2023.

Mariona Campmajó

Mariona graduated from an MSc in International Public Management and Policy at the Erasmus University Rotterdam, after also obtaining a Bachelor’s in Political and Administration Sciences.

She is currently working as a junior expert for a governmental agency in Brussels, where she contributes to making businesses more competitive and engages them with EU networks, projects and funding.

In her second year at the EST, she is excited to making diverse EU topics more accessible to young individuals by employing policy analysis and fostering critical thinking.

Muhammad Rauhan Rasheed

I am Muhammad Rauhan Rasheed, a versatile early career researcher with a Bachelor’s in International Relations from NDU, Islamabad. I have written a Bachelor’s thesis titled Wolf-Warrior Diplomacy: Origins, Conduct and Impact.

I am currently an MS Development Studies student at NUST, Islamabad. I am intensely interested in South Asian politics, China’s foreign policy, ethnic conflicts, and European affairs. I have experience in research writing for several organisations and working as a climate activist in Pakistan.

I went to films to sharpen my analytical skills.

Nakoma Hartwig

During her five-year higher education journey in the UK, Nakoma earned a BA in History and Politics from Scotland, followed by a Master’s degree in Security and Development from the University of Bristol.

Her academic journey honed her interest in EU Foreign Policy, particularly focusing on the EU’s role in international security and development beyond Europe. Recently, she has directed her attention towards conflict prevention and the dynamics of multilateral forums in today’s complex geopolitical landscape.

Nakoma is thrilled to join the EST team, where she can continue fostering engaging discussions on European policy and delve deeper into the EU’s role within the emerging global order.

Pola Zabuska

She is a third-year student of BA International Studies at Leiden University, currently participating in a semester-long exchange at Deusto University in Spain.

She was actively engaging in the promotion of European Affairs at the university by being Secretary of the Europe Committee and organizing various events and embassy visits. Her interests are focused on sustainability, social inclusion and human rights.

In the summer she was an intern at the Polish Ministry of Economic Development and Technology, at the Agenda 2030 and Sustainable Development unit, conducting research about Sustainable Development Goals, the European Union’s green policies and United Nations work in the area.

I watch all kinds of sports: from darts to biathlon.

Asimina Melissi

Asimina Melissi is an undergraduate student at the department of International and European Studies at the University of Piraeus. During the course of her studies she has chosen to enroll in classes about European policies, the law and integration process.

What is more, her academic interests lie on the European Neighbourhood Policy and the Eastern Mediterranean region. She is currently enrolled in the internship programme of EPACE (Enhancing Public Awareness and Engagement in the EU) at the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy, that aims to increase citizens’ awareness and participation in deliberative democratic processes.

Last but not least, she has produced podcasts for the EST and conducted interviews with academics, researchers and experts on the field of European policy making.

Victoire Tissinié

Currently studying a Master in International Relations at the LUISS in Rome, Victoire’s interests lie in the field of Security, more specifically counter terrorism and intelligence.

After graduating from a Bachelor in European Studies at the University of Amsterdam, she spent a gap year in Madrid where she gained professional experience as an intern in two different NGOS.

Multilingual and passionate about international affairs, Victoire wishes to both put into practice the knowledge she acquired and further it throughout her experience as a writer for the European Student Think Tank.

She learns the language of each country she moves to.

Wissal El Hamaoui

 

She is a political sciences and international relations student.

Passionate about global affairs and international news, she express this interest through writing articles debating international affairs and through attending international conferences in this sense.

I got most the ideas of my articles in the last minutes before sleeping.

Alessia Calarese

 

 

Alessia recently graduated from the University of York obtaining a Bachelor’s Degree in Social and Political Sciences. During this time she developed an interest in political sociology, encompassing a wide range of topics from identity to sustainable development. Her focus lies at the intersection of politics, international relations, and social change. In her current professional role, she aspires to contribute to current discussions and innovative solutions for a more equitable and socially conscious world.

Giulia Ripamonti

My name is Giulia and I am a student of European Law at Leiden University. I hold a Bachelor’s in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics from the University of Amsterdam, with a major in international and EU Law.

I am particularly passionate about human rights within the ambit of Europe’s Area of Freedom, Security and Justice, specifically within the legal framework regulating migration, asylum, border control, police and judicial cooperation at the European level. Indeed, my Bachelor’s thesis concerned the potential for a common European legal framework for Search and Rescue activities in the Mediterranean. I am currently presented with the opportunity to further explore this subject being a research assistant at Leiden University, contributing to a project concerning EU integration on search and rescue at sea.

I think working as an editor for the EST resonates with my hobby of singing in a choir: cooperation is key in achieving something bigger.

Victoriano Vicente Botella Berenguer

 

Victoriano Vicente Botella Berenguer is a distinguished professional in the fields of international security and geopolitics. Victoriano, who is currently pursuing the last semester of the Erasmus Mundus International Master’s degree in Security, Intelligence, and Strategic Studies, has a thorough awareness of global security concerns and ways of dealing with them while specialising in the European Union, its security architecture and the Middle East as a region. His educational background is extensive, with a Bachelor’s degree in International Studies and a minor in Business Administration. Victoriano’s professional experience includes editorial positions and research internships, during which he has made substantial contributions to our understanding of security and geopolitics. He is fluent in Spanish and English, with an intermediate level of French, and his experience is supplemented by participation in major conferences and publishing activities.

Paul O’Brien

 

Paul is a master’s student studying Governance and Public Policy at the University of Passau in Germany. Having completed his Bachelor’s in Mathematics and Political Sciences from The University of Freiburg, he spent some time in Brussels and Belgrade gaining experience in European Policy making. Having grown up in Luxembourg with parents from Ireland, Paul has always been passionate about European politics and the processes involved in European integration. Model United Nations has also been a big part of Paul’s previous experience, having held a number of positions at numerous conferences including having headed the organizing team of Freiburg’s first international MUN conference.

Beatriz Raichande

Beatriz is an International Relations’ graduate from the Social and Political Sciences Institute of the University of Lisbon and holds a Master’s Degree in International Economics and European Studies from Lisbon School of Economics & Management, also from the University of Lisbon. She is passionate about EU economic, trade and energy policy, and everything related to the debate on European Strategic Autonomy.
With a great academic record, Beatriz’s Master’s thesis, which analyzed EU’s economic dependence on lithium and li-ion batteries, was published as a working paper for the Office for Strategy and Studies of the Portuguese’s Ministry of Economy and Maritime Affairs. She hopes to develop a career in research and EU Affairs and contribute to Portugal’s public policy.
Beatriz is fluent in Portuguese and English and is currently working on learning Spanish and French proficiently..

She learns the language of each country she moves to.

Ryan O’Connor

 

She is a political sciences and international relations student.

Passionate about global affairs and international news, she express this interest through writing articles debating international affairs and through attending international conferences in this sense.

I got most the ideas of my articles in the last minutes before sleeping.

Alice Thomas

 

Alice lives in Glasgow, Scotland and currently works in the Internationalisation Team at the University of Glasgow Law School. She holds a BA in Sociology from the University of York and an LLM in Professional Legal Practice from the University of Law. She has also participated in study abroad opportunities in Lithuania, Canada, Japan, Kosovo and China. Most recently, she was awarded a scholarship from the Estonian government to study a summer course at the University of Tallinn. In her spare time, Alice volunteers for a start-up which aims to help European lawyers improve their English-speaking skills.

 

Kristina Welsch

 

Kristina is currently finishing her Bachelor’s degree in Political Science with a minor in communication science at LMU Munich, Germany.

She is passionate about political theory, political and social psychology, interdisciplinary work and political education. Her thesis dealt with the concept of the political centre being (at) the heartpiece of democracy and an middle-class illusion at the same time. Having worked as an assistant to a professor, she is experienced in working with many kinds of (scientific) texts.

Kristina is fluent in German, English and French.

Amelia Kalecinska

 

 

Amelia is a BSc Computer Science student at VU Amsterdam. She has a keen interest in EU policies, specifically those related to technology and AI regulations. Beyond academics, she is actively engaged in discussions, advocating for responsible and ethical AI practices.

Sibilla Gosso

 

Sibilla is a young Italian professional interested in intercultural communication, international cooperation, and human rights. She concluded her studies with a Research Master in Middle Eastern Studies at Leiden University, where she is currently based. Her research focused on the relationship between Italian and Lebanese leftist parties in the 1970s from a global perspective. Her experience as a European student has strengthened her interest in the EU project and international cooperation. Recently she has been exploring different aspects of intercultural communication through experiences in volunteering with Service Civil International (Netherlands) and working for the Leiden International Centre. In her free time, she is committed to learning Dutch and improving her Arabic.

Cora Crew-Gee

 

Cora is originally from the UK, has lived in New Zealand for some years, and now resides in Japan.

They graduated from the University of Leeds with a BA in Politics in 2023. During their degree, they took a strong interest in women’s and queer rights, as well has how social policy ensures protections for (or works against) marginalised groups.

They are currently working on their Japanese language skills via their day job in a hotel in Kyoto. Their aim within the EST is to continue to immerse themselves in European political discourse and keep up to date with current affairs.

Daniele Sorato

 

 

Daniele is an Italian student who is currently finishing his Master’s degree in International Relations at the University of Bologna, while also holding a Bachelor’s Degree in International Studies and European Institutions from the University of Milan. He speaks Italian, English, Spanish, and German, to go along with some lackluster effort in adding new languages. He joined the EST in 2024 because of his interest in human rights, international politics, and editing.