At Home in Europe

Christina Moldt, a graduate of the European Studies with Cultural Studies orientation and supplement in Social Sciences, makes career in Brussels

From 2003 until 2006 Christina Moldt studied the Bachelor`s degree in European Studies with Cultural Studies orientation and supplement in Social Sciences at TU Chemnitz. Born in Oldenburg, she ended up in Brussels, where she joined a part-time Master in “Governance & Development Policy”. During her studies in Chemnitz, Christina Moldt was involved as a volunteer in the field of EU integration and international politics. Among other things, she was a member of the Young European Federalists (JEF), AIESEC and a member of the delegation to the National Model United Nations (NMUN) in New York. “At that time I have participated with enthusiasm in the NMUN project, and even today I find myself marveled to be able to actually make a similar type of work every day `in reality´ for the European Union,” said Moldt.

During an internship at the European Parliament as a part of the Bachelor`s degree, she was offered a position as parliamentary speaker in the same office, which enabled her a seamless direct entry to the Brussels career after her Bachelor`s degree in Chemnitz. During her three and a half years of work in the European Parliament, she came through the procedure of officer selection, so-called concours, and has been working at the European Commission since the beginning of 2010, at the Head Office for Development & Cooperation – EuropeAid, in the Press and Public Relations. “My job is unbelievably exciting. One needs to be very flexible and constantly respond to the latest events. I have colleagues from the 28 EU member states, plus 17 partner countries of the EU, and, last but not least, through the usage of such working languages as English and French we have a very international and cosmopolitan atmosphere,” said Moldt. As a secretary for Press and Public Relations, Christina Moldt is also often confronted with critical questions from journalists or groups of visitors. Although that is the most exciting thing about this job, she has to be confident and come up with the appropriate arguments and facts. “In our work area we care about the so-called neighborhood countries, namely the eastern and southern neighbors of the EU, such as Egypt, Azerbaijan, Lebanon or Syria. Together with these countries, we develop assistance programs in different sectors such as education, the environment and energy. A major focus of our work is also on the support of NGOs and civil society actors,” explains Moldt. Especially the war in Syria and the Arab Spring give these development programs a very special meaning. “These situations are very moving, and one receives the chance to witness a lot of developments and negotiations at first hand. In the Syria crisis, for example, our EU assistance programs help to relieve the suffering of the population and the refugees, especially the children,” said the TU Chemnitz graduate.

Christina Moldt can also see her future in Germany, since she has her friends and family here and misses the North German cabbage. At the moment, there are still many exciting tasks and challenges in Brussels, but the 29-year-old also does not want to miss such culinary delights as Belgian waffles and the world´s best fries. “Through my job here in Brussels, there is also the opportunity to work for a few years in an EU office in one of our partner countries and to witness concrete development work on site, which is a quite exciting option for me,” says Moldt.

According to Christina Moldt, after the degree in European Studies, committed and open-minded graduates have to make only few worries, if they have already gained the first experience during their studies through internships or extracurricular activities. “At the moment, here in Brussels are several fellow students from my year, who are working in various EU-related jobs. Even outside the traditional EU focus I know a lot of friends from university, who are staying in a very exciting positions.” Christina Moldt has very many fond memories about her study period in Chemnitz and praises an excellent supervision, the international orientation of the studies and the personal atmosphere in the European Studies “family”. “I am always pleased that Professor Niedobitek regularly stops by in Brussels with the European Studies students as a part of his excursions and I am always very happy to pass my experience to the subsequent generations”, said Moldt.

For more information about the European Studies and graduates, please visit the online portal http://www.europastudien.de.

(Author: Damaris Diener, Translation: Nataliia Boiko)

Katharina Thehos
02.07.2014

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