Kiril Zekin (Bulgaria)
Kiril Zekin was born and raised in Sofia, Bulgaria. In 2010 he received his Bachelor degree in Southeast European (Balkan area) Studies from the Historical Faculty of the Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski.”
Kiril's student experiences in that time determined to a great extend his professional and personal interests. In Sofia he was working on the historical, political, economic and cultural connections between the Southeast European peoples, states and cultures. Furthermore as a BA student he became well acquainted with the region of the Balkans, taking part in several educational journeys: (1) intensive summer language course in Istanbul, Turkey (August 2008); (2) Modern Greek language and culture seminar at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (August/September 2009).
Kiril says that the year 2009 proved to be an amazing one for him, since back then he won an Erasmus Mundus scholarship from the European Commission. That’s how his adventures in Greece were followed by a unique exchange study to the University of Belgrade, Serbia. His exchange study experience provoked his interest in the topic of the integration of the Western Balkans into the EU and precisely then he made the decision to find an international Master’s programme which could let him do more research on that particular theme. That’s how he became an Euroculture student.
As a graduate, I think that Euroculture is certainly an extraordinary Master’s programme of a very high excellence. It is hard to compare it with any similar Master, not only because it possesses prestigious formal accreditations, but also because of the spirit of community it creates among students and professors as well as its unique opportunities for studies, research and mobility that are offered to the participants.
Personally, I am very happy that I had the chance to join this community of fellows and that I realized wonderful educational opportunities, which I would not been able to attain otherwise. As an Euroculturer my path included: (1) my home institution - the prominent Dutch university placed in the heart of the old northern city of Groningen, the Netherlands; (2) the prestigious Georg-August University located in the picturesque German town of Göttingen, Lower Saxony and finally (3) the once in a lifetime chance to study in America as an EU exchange student at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI), USA.
Thanks to Euroculture I was able to continue and develop my studies, to expand my personal interests, to broaden my horizon and to meet friends from all over the world. On top of that I received two Master degrees as an acknowledgement of my dedicated studies and now I am truly proud as a graduate of Erasmus Mundus Master in “Euroculture – Europe in the wider world”!
As an Euroculture Ambassador, I would welcome any questions and inquiries sent to me by people originating from my region and being interested to join in the Euroculture project.