Kristiina Sau | Faces of FEB

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The Faculty of Economics and Business is a faculty with a great diversity of people who all have an impact, big or small, on science and society. But who are these people? Within ‘Faces of FEB’ we connect with different students, staff members and researchers of the faculty and give a little peek into their world. This week: Kristiina Sau, a student ambassador who started her studies at FEB during COVID times. As an international student, how did she deal with the challenges, what helped her most and what recommendations does she have for other students?

1. Could you tell us a bit about yourself?

My name is Kristiina, originally from Estonia. Currently I am a Pre-master Change Management student. Besides this I am an ambassador for FEB with my main tasks being organizing and holding tours as well as supporting my fellow ambassadors with various tasks. I have been living in the Netherlands for around 5 years now.

2. You studied at NHL/Stenden before, how was the transition to the UG during the covid pandemic?

During my bachelor’s at NHL Stenden, I was mostly able to follow classes in person, with the exception of the final half a year. The education was a strong blend of practice and theory, as I worked at the University hotel and catering facilities as part of my studies. When I first started at the UG, I found the studying system quite different. Firstly, due to Covid-19, most courses and events were online. Secondly, the amount of self-study required felt higher than in my previous university. And lastly, some subjects such as Mathematics and Statistics were rather intensively covered, and since they were quite challenging at the beginning, I found myself studying more than ever. However, after successfully passing my exams, I felt more proud than ever and even decided to take up a programming course at the learning communities, which I would have never done before as I didn’t feel very confident in the formerly mentioned subjects.

3. What do you do to make the most out of your time here? Do you have any recommendations?

Since my study felt quite intensive, I began to properly plan out my schedule. Here at the university, Google Calendar is mostly used so I also adopted that. Firstly, I mostly focused on planning in my work and studies but after a month of so, I realized that I also need to plan in my free time and fun activities to keep myself motivated and happy. From that point onward I started to plan at least a day per week to see my friends or meet someone new. Later, I also got an ACLO membership and just recently started playing my favorite sports, badminton. As an international student who also experienced job seeking after graduating from my bachelor's, my greatest advice to students at the UG would be to keep an eye on Nestor for job opportunities, have a goal in mind and go for it. It is also crucial to stress that this is a time to experiment and many of us don’t know exactly what we want. So don’t be afraid to look into learning communities to learn a new skill, you might just like it. And now that the Netherlands is opening up again, do go to the university, meet new people and connect again. There are many fun and exciting activities coming up at the University, at FEB I would advise to have a look at EBF’s programmes such as research trips or becoming a part of their committee to get more experience.

4. What are your plans for the future?

I plan to successfully finish this year of Pre-master’s and begin my Master programme next year. I also want to learn as much as possible about programming and take part in more learning communities in the upcoming year. As an international student I am also looking into a master internship next year, so I will be working closely with our career services and keeping an eye on our student portal. And last but not least, I plan to spend as much time as possible with family and friends and do my favorite sports.