Glenn Wijaya, international alumni ambassador 2013-2014, Indonesia

Home country: Indonesia
Program: Bachelor of Law (Honors)
Contact: g.wijaya27@gmail.com

About studying in Groningen
There is a myriad of reasons why studying in Groningen is so enjoyable. It is evident in many ranking lists that the University of Groningen is one of the best universities in the world. This 400-years-old university has, among others, cutting-edge facilities, prominent professors and a great number of international programs that lure many international students to study there. Additionally, the city is famous as it is the world’s best cycling city claimed by many experts. For all of these reasons, people flock to Groningen every year to study and live.

Besides the university and the city, studying in the Netherlands is a dream come true for many Indonesians, including myself. From my point of view as an Indonesian, the Netherlands is more than just a country in Europe famous for its windmills and cheese. Indonesia and the Netherlands have had a long history dating back centuries when Indonesia was a former colony. According to history, many Indonesian intellectuals that finally worked towards Indonesia’s independence in 1945 studied in the Netherlands. Thus, it has been a tradition for many Indonesians to flock to the Netherlands to receive high quality education. Moreover, Indonesians like me are happy to know that the Netherlands feels a bit like home. This is confirmed by the fact that I could easily find Indonesian food or a lot of Indonesians in almost every city. Another unforgettable moment is when Dutch people were amazed when I told them that many Indonesian words originated from Dutch words.

To sum up, I am very satisfied with the whole experience studying in Groningen. Not only did I study law at one of the best universities in the world, but I also experienced living in the Netherlands as the founding fathers of my country did. Thank you, Groningen!"

Biography
Glenn Wijaya was born and raised in Jakarta, Indonesia and he moved to Groningen, the Netherlands, to pursue his undergraduate studies. He obtained the Bachelor of Laws in International and European Law from the University of Groningen in July 2013. During his study, he studied abroad under the Erasmus scholarship scheme at the Faculty of Law and Administration of the University of Warsaw for 5 months. Right after graduation, he then went to Phnom Penh, Cambodia, undertaking a 3-month internship at the Office of the Co-Prosecutors within the Extraordinary Chambers of the Courts of Cambodia - United Nations Assistance to Khmer Rouge Trials.  In 2018, he graduated with a Sarjana Hukum (equivalent of an LLB) from Universitas Pelita Harapan with magna cum laude honor and emerged as the valedictorian of the 2014 cohort. He now works as an Associate at Christian Teo and Partners, a prominent corporate law firm in Jakarta, Indonesia.