In April 2024 our students went on a whirlwind two-day trip to Brussels. Here is Dr Sarah Lieberman’s photo diary.

Good morning!
The students from Canterbury Christ Church University politics degree and law degree courses are heading to Brussels on a field trip.
Early start, but everyone made it, looking forward to a full but varied few days.

At Canterbury Christ Church University we often discuss the attributes needed to be a graduate. I believe graduate qualities come with new experiences, political discussion, immersive art, appreciation of design, culture, literature. It also comes with travel, resilience and enjoying the company of others.

Today our law and politics students visited Mini Europe, the Atomium and the Brussels Design Museum in the rain, with enthusiasm and a good sense of humour. I think they are almost ready to be graduates.

We had an early start and a packed schedule on Wednesday in Brussels. Our first session was a fascinating talk on NATO by Ross Mckenzie, looking at NATO’s organisation, defence capabilities, and career opportunities.  The information we gained on international defence was amazing, but just as important was the employability and careers aspect.

Our second engagement of the day was with Sandro Calaresu and Konstantinos Graspas from the European Commission and European Defence Fund. They told our students about working in Brussels, about how the EU institutions coordinate and most importantly reminded them to think globally and spread their wings.

Finally, we took our students to visit the UK Mission to the EU in their beautiful residence building. We had talks from their staff about overseas civil service positions. John Maas then took us to the Swedish Canteen where soldiers were helped during WWII. Then on to the Palais de Justice for a lecture on civil and common law practices and a look into Brussels Court system.

After sampling the highlights of Brussels nightlife, it was home again on Thursday. Everyone slept well after all that immersive learning!