Testimonial Desi Prianti

PhD Candidate Gender Studies

Safe place

Desi Prianti: “When I came to Utrecht University about four years ago, I was eight months pregnant with my first child. I chose this university because of its expertise in the field of gender studies as I am researching men and masculinity in contemporary Indonesia. But my pregnancy also influenced my decision. I had lived in the Netherlands before and I felt that Utrecht would be a good city for me, my husband and our soon to be born baby. It turned out to be a very good choice: I can enrich my knowledge with a high-quality research project, there are many Indonesian restaurants around and I feel that the city is a safe place for me to live. No one treats us differently here, we are considered to be just like everyone else.”

“The working environment here feels more international than Dutch.”

Multiple cultural backgrounds

“Even though the university is Dutch and has multiple Dutch study programmes, the working environment here feels rather international to me. I work with a lot of international people, who all have their own cultural background. The only language that is spoken in our office is English – even though some of my colleagues are Dutch. By now I almost finished my PhD, but I am definitely considering coming back here in the future to do another research project. I’ve had a nice experience working here, thanks to the international environment and good assistance from the university.”