A Masters student has had such success with her dissertation she has been invited to meet the Prime Minister of Serbia and hand him a final copy.

International Applied Communications student Wendeline Besier from Holland spent two weeks in Belgrade in Serbia collecting research for her dissertation that looks at how the image of Serbia influences its public diplomacy.

During her visit she interviewed several government officials, including the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Serbia, a European Union Intergration Officer and the President of the PR Association of Serbia to name a few.

Wendeline said: ìI was surprised at how many people were happy to be interviewed by me. Serbia is in a transition period and is trying to be as open as possible so it was a good opportunity to take.î

She decided to focus her dissertation on Serbia and its image after visiting the country as a child when it was the former Yugoslavia and then going back years later after it had been affected by war.

ìI suddenly felt very aware of how it had changed because of the conflict and I realised people were surprised and often shocked that I wanted to visit the country and it made me consider its public image and the knock on effects of this.î

Wendeline noticed there was little research that looked at the link between public diplomacy of how ìa country communicates with citizens in other societiesî and the image and reputation of that country.

She said: ìI considered how much of an influence this can have on international world politics, especially as Serbia is keen to become a member of the European Union.î

Wendeline was allowed to speak to the media advisor for Prime Minister Vojislav Koötunica who will arrange for her to meet him.

Wendeline added: ìIím hoping I will be able to return to Serbia when my dissertation is completed and hand over a copy in person to the Prime Minister which will be a great opportunity for me.î

Wendeline came over to UClan for a semester as part of her Masters and completed the first half at UCLanís partner college in Utrecht, Holland. She is hoping to return to her home country after her studies.

Wendeline added: ìI am going to look into corporate communications but also governmental work which is something I have only become interested in since researching my dissertation.î

More info
MSc International Applied Communication
Find out more about Serbia from Wikipedia

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