Kazue Kudo, Japan

Why Groningen?

It had been my dream to immerse myself in the rich cultural heritage of the Netherlands. I strongly believed that studying in such an international, multilingual, and cosmopolitan milieu would be an unparalleled experience for me. Groningen - a tiny but lovely city - makes me feel relaxed, comfortable and safe. The living cost here is relatively low compared to other cities in the Netherlands; hence, especially for international students, who need to secure a higher budget to study, this is one of the happiest facts of the city. The air is clean because people do cycle (you will be surprised to see how many bicycle lanes Groningen has); Groningen is the city of bikers where you can see more bicycles than people. You will even encounter an interesting traffic sign: “Alle fietsers tegelijk groen (all cyclists in all directions green at the same time).” If you are an international student, the first thing you will do in Groningen is to get your own bicycles and learn the traffic rules of bikes!

Why the University of Groningen?

The University of Groningen was the best choice for me to study for the following two reasons.

First and foremost, I found the high level of the international environment the university offered and academic contributions. Having approximately 25% as a ratio of international students, which was one of the highest ratios in the country, I was sure that the university could provide inspiring opportunities to work with talented students all over the world. And yes, this is very true! I’ve had many chances to work with students from different countries, which can keep me motivated to go to the next level of my academic development. This global environment allows me to build a strong network in the world – something invaluable that I will treasure professionally and personally for the rest of my life!

Secondly, I was highly impressed by the level of education the university offered and academic contributions. Since the university was ranked in the Top 100 universities in the world, what I could learn was expected to be extremely high. Having communicated with several alumni from my master program before an application, I was sure that I liked the education level. Indeed, I must say that the courses in my program are highly demanding but there are no classes in which my scales do not fall from my eyes ! I can continuously learn state-of-art researches and academic/practical trends in the field, which I really appreciate.

Besides, the university provides students with the exciting learning environment and supporting system; we have a study association, student association, “Honors College” which motivated students can learn specific topics outside their program, and “Learning Community” which students can deepen their skills/knowledges on a certain subject (I could cultivated my programming skill thanks to the community) as well as a student support desk, career service and language centre (you can learn 10 languages including Dutch). Even students can participate as members of the Faculty Council! There is no chance that students cannot enjoy their student life at the University of Groningen, don’t you feel so?

Biography

Kazue is from Japan and started to study at University of Groningen in 2020. She finished Pre-MSc Marketing in 2021 and currently follows MSc Marketing Analytics and Data Science; she will complete her Master program this year. Before studying at University of Groningen, she worked for companies in the marketing field in Japan. Her main professional career is related to the domain of PR and advertising, which she really loves. She had experience of studying in the USA during her Bachelor degree and graduated from one of the World’s Top 100 universities in the field of Linguistics in Japan. Having a strong passion for marketing, she has a competence in content creation, project management, leadership, and internal & external communication.

If you have any questions about the application procedure, studying and living in Groningen or anything else, I am here for you! Please do not hesitate to reach me out. I am happy to help!