As a prospective student, Isabelle considered pursuing a degree in either European studies, Political Science or Law, but, no matter what, the programme would have to have a strong international orientation. In the end, she opted for a law degree, as she felt this would offer her the best prospects for her future:

'When I was eleven years old, I wanted to become Minister of Foreign Affairs. In selecting a university, the decisive factors were whether any international Master's programmes were offered, and how internationally orientated the Bachelor's programmes were. The University of Amsterdam fulfilled both these criteria, so I pursued my Bachelor's degree there and afterwards continued with the Master's programme in Public International Law.'

'After I selected my Master's programme, I assumed I had finished with the selection process, but this was not the case. Students in the programme can choose from an array of electives in the curriculum. Subjects included the law of war, international criminal law, human rights, refugee law - among others.'

'Career-wise, a position within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the United Nations would be perfect for me, as this is where all these subjects come together. Equally, I would like to work for an international law firm.'

'To me, the future is in public international law. It is a field of law to which you can still contribute something. It is not yet as fully crystallised as national law is. It allows you to be innovative: what could be added, what could be improved? It's not surprising that the programme is of a high academic character.'

'Most of my fellow students in the Public International Law programme came from abroad. This definitely added value to the programme. You meet people with very different ways of thinking and living. For example, there was a student from Moldavia who didn't adhere to the theory of evolution. To us, that's remarkable in a university student. With so many different people, there were many interesting and challenging discussions to be had.'