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Just before Christmas, five students of the Master’s Degree Program ‘Studies in European Societies’ took part in the Dutch-Russian research seminar ‘European Policy’ for MA students (Radboud University Nijmegen, the Netherlands). The seminar was conducted in the format of ‘think tank’ where young scholars from the Netherlands and Russia jointly develop new projects, search for creative ideas and solve practical problems. This year, the student team is studying political strategies and tactics of creative spaces in European cities.

The first working week of the think tank was organized in August 2014. Back then, the students developed the design of their project and jointly tested different working methods: brainstorming, group discussions, interactive lectures and more. In December, they met once again to discuss the progress of the national teams and plan their comparative empirical research.

Alexandra Mineeva, one of the project participants, shares her impressions on the seminar: ‘The second working week was really interesting and productive. We had an interview with our client, the Dutch Institute in St. Petersburg, in order to specify our research questions and met Yosha Wijngaarden, a researcher from Rotterdam who helped us with methodological issues. As for the social program, we spent a wonderful time in Honing Fabriek – a creative space in Nijmegen that our study focuses on. What is more, we visited Rotterdam, enjoyed the modern architecture of the town and entered into the spirit of Christmas market in Dordrecht.

I enjoyed being around the fellow students who are so passionate about our research. There was also the extra benefit of networking with tutors and researchers from the Netherlands. Now I can’t wait for our third working in Saint-Petersburg in spring to meet our Dutch friends again and develop a fine policy paper together!’