It was a quite spontaneous idea to do my Master's abroad, but the University of Amsterdam ticked all the boxes of what I was looking for in a Master’s programme in International Relations: a good and well known university, a study programme that met my interests and an international environment. After moving to Amsterdam, I felt a bit overwhelmed, but after a few weeks of figuring things out, I felt more and more confident in this new environment. I have always been interested in topics related to international security. At the UvA I found a very supportive academic environment to pursue this interest and to find out, what specific part of this very broad field was the most interesting to me.

During this process – even though it was such a short period of time looking back at it today – I was always given the right amount of freedom and guidance from my lecturers. I felt like they understood me and my interests better than I could myself at that time and they always pointed me into the right direction. In my thesis, I covered a niche topic related to the international prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing – the implementation of measures based on the FATF Recommendations. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental body established in 1989 that combats money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats. It has published a series of Recommendations, an international framework of essential measures that countries should have in place in order to prevent, detect and punish these threats.

When I think about my year at the UvA today, I remember many hours spent at the library, but also lots of fun with my classmates. And for me the hard work really paid off, because when I received my diploma the following autumn, I had already signed a contract to work in the ‘Know Your Customer’ department at one of the biggest banks in Austria. After a little over a year I ‘changed sides’ and started working at the Austrian Ministry of Finance. At the Ministry I am working on the national implementation of international recommendations and directives, such as the FATF Recommendations or the EU’s own Anti-Money Laundering Directive. My work at the Ministry includes assistance with the drafting of legislature and legal opinions, and with the implementation of technical concepts and programmes for the prevention of money laundering and terrorism financing – some of the aspects I had also analysed in my thesis.

Due to my background in international relations, I am also working with international assessments, such as the review of members of the FATF. In my thesis, I included the first review report of Austria. About one and a half years later, the second Follow-up report of Austria was discussed at the FATF headquarters in Paris, and I was invited as a delegate of the Austrian Ministry of Finance, speaking as a national expert on beneficial ownership. This was definitely the highlight of my career so far.

My advice to future students would be: hang in there! You may feel overwhelmed by everything from time to time, but your hard work will pay off afterwards. You will learn so much, meet great people, and will definitely grow as a person.