About the author:
Natalia Kirsanova, a PhD student in Business Administration at the Central European University (CEU) attended the Europaeum Spring School in Oxford on Transatlantic Futures from 13-15 April 2026. She joined 35 other graduate students from Europaeum member universities who came to Oxford to talk and hear about various transatlantic topics.
She has written a travel diary summarising her time travelling to and taking part in the Spring School.
From Linz to London, and Oxford
I started my journey to Oxford a day earlier in order to catch an early morning flight from Vienna to London, as I am currently based in Linz. And I have to admit, I was a little nervous. It was my first time travelling to the UK, and doing so with a visa added an extra layer of uncertainty. I had mentally prepared myself for a serious border control experience, but everything went smoothly, and the officers were very kind. A reassuring start to the trip.
My first impression of London was surprisingly comforting. For the first time in a while, I found myself understanding everything around me: announcements, signs, conversations. Living in Austria, where my German is still a work in progress, I’m used to catching only parts of what is being said. So arriving in an environment where everything felt linguistically effortless was, in a strange way, very relaxing.
The first official day of the Spring School began with something quite simple, but surprisingly meaningful by sharing a meal with participants from all across Europe.
Coming from different universities and disciplines, we quickly realised that this was not just a European group, but a truly global one. Conversations moved effortlessly and it felt like a small, informal “global seminar” just over breakfast.
The main part of the programme was a mix of intense discussions, diverse perspectives, and many informal conversations in between sessions. What struck me immediately was how international the group was. Conversations quickly moved from research in Europe and the US to perspectives from South America and Asia which is far beyond what we often imagine when we speak about “transatlantic” relations.
One of the highlights for me was meeting a participant from the University of Helsinki, and we started discussing a potential collaboration on LNG in the Nordic region. This was particularly exciting, and I really hope that something concrete, such as a paper will come out of this exchange.
Throughout the programme, I was constantly reminded that even though we come from very different disciplines: economics, political science, law, we are often trying to understand similar global challenges, just from different angles. That made the discussions especially engaging and inspiring.
On my final day, I was beyond excited to explore a bit of Oxford itself before heading back to Heathrow. I spent the morning with a participant from Berlin, visiting a local museum and experiencing a bit of British tea culture.
What stayed with me most was the atmosphere of the city. I noticed how many young people were around, and how much energy Oxford seems to have, an energy driven by research, collaboration, and new ideas. In a way, I could feel this throughout all five days of the programme.
I am extremely grateful to the Europaeum and to everyone who organised the Spring School. It was not only an intellectually enriching experience, but also a truly inspiring one, and, in many ways, a life-changing one.
