PRINS is back again: ‘I am proud of what we have achieved’
After twenty weeks of hard work, third-year students of International Studies wrapped up the ‘Practising International Studies’ (PRINS) consultancy course by pitching their major research findings and advice to organisational partners. We were invited to attend the presentations on behalf of the International Development Law Organization (IDLO).
PRINS aims to teach students how to put their academic skills into practice. In groups, they tackle a consultancy issue from an organisation in the international field. The organisational partners vary from RaboResearch to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the International Development Law Organization (IDLO).
IDLO is a global intergovernmental organization exclusively devoted to promoting the rule of law to advance peace and sustainable development. Among its strategic objectives is combatting gender-based violence in all its forms. This is where the students of International Studies stepped in. The project focused on improving access to justice for young women and adolescent girls for cases of online gender-based violence. ‘The consultancy project was definitely challenging, but I'm super happy with the progress that we've made,’ says student Max Adams.
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Proud achievements
Student Maud Bouter also looks back on the past few months with a feeling of satisfaction. ‘I am especially very proud of how we all worked together and what we have ultimately achieved,’ Maud says. The students admit that the process was not always easy. ‘Having a big group of people contributing to a project with so many different elements was at first difficult to navigate,’ Max explains.
But in the end, they are happy to have conquered these obstacles. ‘As a subgroup leader, my role was to coordinate the communications. I have really learned to work together in the last few months,’ Maud says. Max is most proud of pitching the advice to IDLO. ‘It had been a long time since I spoke in front of a crowd, so it was a reaffirmation for me that I can perform well in a public speaking setting.’
Kind team players
Lecturer and research coach Teodora Muis-Gaidyte also underscores that the students have reason to be proud of their achievement. ‘They had to produce a comprehensive report on an important topic with people from different disciplines and approaches. That was challenging, so I am proud of what they have achieved in the past few months,’ she says. ‘The students not only persevered due to work ethics, but also by being a kind team player. Today was a celebration of this teamwork.’
Refreshing perspective
The hard work paid off, says Stefania Kafka, Gender and Law Associate at IDLO. ‘I was impressed with the in-depth reports that the students produced. It was refreshing to gain a different perspective on the issue. They showed us that there are a lot of promising practices, approaches and initiatives out there to address, mitigate and prevent online and technology-facilitated gender-based violence. This research is very helpful, and I already see it as a great resource for our work,’ tells Kafka.