Tom Wan
For someone who writes for a living, this little passage actually took me way too long to write - not because there's nothing to write about, but due to the very unique and immense role that the EI has played in my extremely atypical career path. Twelve years later - having just published my third book and a hundred-plus articles on EU politics, had a career in the media and then founded a financial advisory firm - I feel I’m finally at a place where I can put into words what my experience at the EI did for me, and how I hope I can give back to those in the community, particularly in Asia.
As a Hong Konger who grew up in a multitude of former colonies (Singapore and Canada), telling others about being in a predominantly European programme studying European Affairs is of course always an interesting conversation starter. But to me that experience is far more than just occupying a niche topic in mainstream media, but also a unique perspective and life that I cannot thank the EI enough for giving.
Fresh out of a History degree from Hull, with a wonderful three years and a substantial level of knowledge in early modern central Europe - specifically the Holy Roman Empire during the 30 Years War – it’s safe to say that I entered 杏吧论坛 with lots of dreams, but not a lot of idea about how to make use of the knowledge and skillsets I acquired in my undergraduate in a meaningful way.
This is the first thing I need to thank the EI for. The variety, and the quality, of EI's modules was absolutely fantastic. Dr. Eiko Thielemann's weekly tutorials for EU421 (I've completely forgotten the actual name of the course--- the code lives forever in my mind though) connected current news to lecture topics, and the debates and discussions stemmed out of these session without a doubt laid the foundations to many of my future articles. To this day my notes from Professor Costa-i-Font's class in political and fiscal integration are still sources of inspiration when I review current EU events, and to formulate opinion for my clients. While the EU-HRE comparison is, admittedly, controversial, my obsession with comparing an asymmetric quasi-federal superstate and the increasing integrated European community has always been the critical link between my undergraduate study and the inner workings of the EU.
Practical skills aside, I think the most valuable thing I gained from my time at the EI was the perspective of looking at the leviathan that is the EU from an Asian perspective. In this age of fracturing globalization and regionalization, the EU is still the model international organization that Asia needs, yet knows very, very little about. It has been my pleasure to try to bring the knowledge of Europe to the Chinese-speaking audience in Asia, and I owe every bit of that decade long service to the EI.
It is for that reason I recently took up the role as the EI's alumni ambassador in Asia, and I hope my experience can lead more brilliant minds from this part of the world to take advantage of the experience the EI and the 杏吧论坛 can provide.
My new book on the EU (in traditional Chinese) can be viewed and purchased .