Over 80 Linguistics & Literary Studies students, alumni, and staff gathered to celebrate the new graduates and decades of developments of the programmes of Linguistics and Literary Studies on 27 June.
Prof. Katja Lochtman, director of the MA programmes, opened the evening: âTonight is a celebration. A celebration of our current students and alumni, our shared love of language and literature, and the vibrant international community we have built together under the umbrella of our two masterâs programmes: MUMA â the multilingual Master in Linguistics and Literary Studies, and the Master Taal- en Letterkunde, also called TALK.â.
Welcoming students with over 50 nationalities, the Linguistics and Literary Studies/Taal-en Letterkunde programmes nurture a multilingual and multicultural learning environment. This was appreciated by the alumni, who looked back on their study years with fond memories. âOne thing that I will always take with me for the rest of my life is the MUMA programme; it is super diverse, super internationalâ, said Nadia Ramdhanie (USA), alumna of the English-taught masterâs programme, specialising in multilingualism and foreign language acquisition. âI met tonnes of new people from all over the world, so I never felt like I was alone at any one point. [âŠ] I really appreciate the chance to experience that while being so far away from homeâ. Echoing her words, is current student Rajnin Farzana (Bangladesh), who applauded the diversity she experienced at VUB. âI made a lot of friends from all around the worldâ.
More than an intimate get-together, the alumni took the opportunity to reconnect and share stories about their post-graduate career paths. Some people advanced into doing research, some became teachers, translators, communicators, while for other, the professional journey took an unexpected turn.
Theresia Feldmann (Belgium), alumna of the Dutch-taught Master Taal-en Letterkunde, and currently a research associate at the Representation of Belgium to the European Union, said: âThis is something I never thought I would do after studying literature, but this is exactly the job I like.â She showed her gratitude towards her professors in Dutch linguistics and literary studies: âI feel like the training here prepared me well for this job.â
MUMA-alumna Madeleine Corley (USA) also shared her memories, but in a unique way: she performed three songs she composed during her studies at VUB. âIt was a very stressful time, releasing the first song. I was anxious all day, but again, the MUMA programme and a lot of my classmates and professors were like âThis is coolâ," Madeleine said before her performance, crediting the VUB community for supporting her first steps as a songwriter.
The event also paid homage to the VUB heritage: It opened with a guided campus tour of the architectural history of VUB, led by a member of the Center for Academic and Liberal Archives (CAVA). It also featured an engaging trivia game, revisiting fun facts about the development of the Linguistics and Literary Studies programmes, and people who contributed to their success.
First organised in 2023, the Alumni Night highlights the achievement of the graduating students and opens a home-coming space for generations of alumni to connect and share ideas. This yearâs event also marks the first generation of graduates from the Bachelor of Arts in Linguistics and Literary Studies (MUBA).
Linguistics and Literary Studies at VUB have been home to language and literature enthusiasts from all over the world. Following the success of the long-established MA and BA in de Taal-en Letterkunde, the Master in Linguistics and Literary Studies was founded in 2014 and has since welcomed students from all over the world. The Bachelor in Linguistics and Literary Studies (MUBA) was launched three years ago, making it the third English-taught bachelor at the VUB. The programmes are truly multilingual and offer courses in up to nine languages: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Russian and Mandarin Chinese.
See the full album on the VUB MUMA Flickr account.
Feeling inspired? Discover the Linguistics and Literary Studies programmes at VUB!
More info:
- muma@vub.be (Multilingual Master);
- muba@vub.be (Multilingual Bachelor);
- talk@vub.be (Dutch-taught programmes)