Peter Sczigel, Hungary

• Current Position: Graduate Student at the Peking University
• Scholarship: Scholarship of the Scholarship Foundation of the Republic of Austria
• Duration: 10/2016 – 07/2018
• Motto: Never give up! – Sosai Masutatsu Oyama

Curriculum Vitae

After having done a Bachelors in International Relations at the Corvinus University of Budapest, Peter Sczigel has graduated from the Master of Advanced International Studies (MAIS) program of the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna in 2018. His main field of interest is China and particularly EU-China relations. Next year, Peter will be a scholar at the highly selective international Yenching Academy program of Peking University, where he will be learning about China’s international relations and its political role in the 21st century. Apart from having gained experience in the diplomatic and public sector through working at the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, the Prime Minister’s Office, and the Permanent Mission of Estonia to the OSCE, Peter has also greatly benefited from being President of AEGEE-Budapest, the Budapest local of an all-European Youth NGO for one year. Apart from his native Hungarian, Peter speaks fluent English, French, Spanish, Chinese and German, and is currently learning Russian.

Reflection

My master’s program in the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna was an incredible experience, both in a professional and personal sense. Not only could I enrich my knowledge about contemporary international and European affairs, but could also do an internship at the OSCE, something that students from other universities have much less chance of doing. Moreover, through getting to know fellow students from all over the world, I have grown much more tolerant and aware of other cultures, both from within and outside of Europe. As an aspiring diplomat, the quality of the academic courses, the opportunities to gain practical experience through internships at the international organizations in Vienna, and the cultural mix of the Diplomatic Academy were all key elements in my education. When starting the Masters, I wanted to enrich my knowledge of China and my command of the Chinese language, and indeed, since then, I have managed to do a B2 Chinese language exam, and from next year, I will be continuing my studies at Peking University. I believe that without this master’s program, I would have never gotten such possibilities in my further education and future career, and I am very grateful that I had been offered such an opportunity to study at the Diplomatic Academy of Vienna.