European at York

Celebrating EU staff and students at the University of York

York is a university with global impact. We collaborate with institutions around the world, through partnerships, networks and research. For example, the Universities of York and Maastricht have recently agreed a major partnership for joint research projects, teaching collaborations, knowledge exchange, student exchanges and sharing best practice.

We offer opportunities for staff to train, teach or research internationally, and in the latest Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings we ranked 28th for International Outlook.


We value the richness of thought, debate and challenge that comes when people from around the world gather together to further their education, research or career.

Professor Charlie Jeffery, Vice-Chancellor

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of York, Charlie Jeffery, said:

From its foundation the University of York has been marked both by a strong sense of community, and a commitment to working across national boundaries to deliver public good. Amid all the challenges Brexit brings it is important to say that none of that has changed.

We remain a global institution with a diverse staff and student community. We value the richness of thought, debate and challenge that comes when people from around the world gather together to further their education, research or career.


In 2019, there are 965 European students and 478 European members of staff at York. The #EuropeanatYork series originally appeared on Instagram in autumn 2019, featuring some of the members of our EU/EEA Staff Forum. The series celebrates the diversity and richness of our university.

Share your story using #EuropeanatYork.

Find out more about being #EuropeanatYork:

“I was born and raised in Germany. I first visited the UK in my gap year before university and that’s when I met my now-husband on a night out. I went home to start my degree and ended up transferring part-way through to the University of Strathclyde to be with my husband. I’ve been here ever since.  


I fell in love with the quirkiness of the UK and its open, welcoming culture. I have always loved the English language – having grown up with dubbed films and translated versions of Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings!


I love raising my children here - they have friends from all over the world. The city is stunning, and actually it reminds me a lot of my home town in Germany. And I love being at a research-active University and not having to worry about writing in English – it’s second nature to me now. Regardless of political events in the past couple of years, I still love the UK. I chose to come here and my life is here now. York is such an international city and University, I’m really proud to be part of such a vibrant community.


I lead the University’s EU Staff Forum which is a group for all EU/EEA citizen staff, from any department and background, whether in academic or professional support roles. It’s been a source of great reassurance for colleagues to know that the University as their employer is working proactively to provide support. I am really glad that the Forum has facilitated that.”


Jen Brown, Research Fellow, Centre for Reviews and Dissemination (CRD)

“I was born and raised in France to Moroccan parents, I married a Yorkshire man of German descent, hence the surname! So when people read my name and ask where I am from, I usually pause and think about my reply for a second!


What I love most about my role at the University is being able to create connections with institutions across the globe - it is so rewarding to be able to support those relationships and seeing the opportunities that flourish as a result of the work we do. Whether it’s contributing to setting up international consortia of researchers addressing Global Challenges, work with academic departments in developing international partnerships around teaching or support the Centre for Global Programmes which works hard to offer a wide variety of international experiences for our staff and students.


I arrived in the UK 17 years ago as an Erasmus student and I often think of the people behind the agreement between my university back in France and my UK university - if I can impact on someone’s life, in the same way they impacted on mine, then I’m satisfied.


I always felt so welcomed in the UK. I quickly adapted to the British style of living and working! I even adopted a British sense of humour (to my family’s dismay). In our team we all have experiences of working abroad and most of us speak at least one or two other languages. We’re passionate about intercultural skills because we’ve experienced the benefits of having a global outlook professionally and in our personal lives. Students who go abroad all say ‘it changed my life’, it can sound cheesy but it’s true.”


Sabrina Zissler, Global Partnerships Manager, Global Engagement

“I originally came to the UK from Poland for seasonal work, but soon met my (now) husband and decided to stay in York for postgraduate study. So many things happened in my life during my PhD but it was an amazing experience. When I started my studies here, we were also planning our wedding. Shortly before the wedding I noticed some disturbing health symptoms so I went to the GP. I had some blood tests and was referred for an MRI scan which I had when we got back from our honeymoon.


They discovered I had a pituitary tumour and it was quite large one, so I was put on medication to try to shrink it instead of cutting it out. Soon I got pregnant and so I went off the medication. For the first time in months, I felt so much better. Not long after I had my daughter, I went for another MRI scan and the result truly shocked us - they found that my tumour had shrunk by half. It was amazing, I couldn’t believe my luck. I felt that I could do anything, I had my life back and I wasn’t going to waste a single minute of it!


Soon after all of this, I finished my PhD and got a job at the University. At the very beginning when I came here I remember I really wanted to blend in to make sure that I wasn’t seen as an outsider, but I don’t mind that any longer. Really though, I don’t feel like I’m an outsider because I feel very much part of a community. Over the years I made some exceptional friends who made me feel needed and appreciated and for that I will be eternally grateful to them.


York is just fantastic, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else. It’s quiet enough and it’s busy enough, just a good mixture of the two. Both of my children are British and we have relatives back home. I’m hoping that in the future I can still go to Poland and be able to come back and be let in to the UK rather than trying to get a visa every time.”


Dr Dominika Butler, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Biology

Mario

Masters in Molecular Medicine

Department of Biology, Wentworth College

“I graduated from medical school in Italy and I took a year off to get my Masters. The plan is to work in Naples as a heart surgeon, when I go back home. I received a postgraduate scholarship from the ONAOSI Foundation - an Italian foundation which provides support to orphans in Italy and also offers scholarships to medical doctors and pharmacists who work for the public health system. It’s mandatory for every medical doctor and pharmacist to pay into the foundation each year and in return there are opportunities for funding for research and study.


Studying in York, for me, has meant staying in a kind of relaxed dimension. Having the opportunity to be completely focused on my studies has been really amazing - it’s probably one of the biggest privileges for a student. Everything in the city is close so you can ride a bicycle to get everywhere which is cheap, healthy and environmentally friendly. It’s completely different to our universities in Italy - we don’t have as much green as you have here. Having all the departments together on the same campus helps you to meet other students; you have this intercultural, but also interdisciplinary environment, which is really useful.


In the future I hope that it never becomes hard to cross the border, as a student, as a tourist or as a worker - I’ve really valued the opportunity to study here and I would encourage others to do the same.”

“I’m originally from Milan, Italy, but I did my PhD in the UK and have been here since 2011. Something that has surprised me about the UK is how people cope with bad weather and the cold. I still remember one of my students waltzing into my office without a coat, on a snowy day, and claiming not to feel the cold! 


Being a European in York has certainly been very interesting. My department is very international and very European too - we welcome students from many different countries each year, which is great.


I teach both English and Comparative Literature, and I like to show students how writers and literatures of different countries and nationalities have influenced each other, or have been communicating with and respecting one another throughout history. Putting English literature in the context of European and World literatures, so to speak – I think this is the real strength of York’s English department, and certainly one of the things I am most proud of as a Lecturer from Europe teaching and researching at York. I feel extremely lucky to be able to do the job I love.”


Dr Nicoletta Asciuto, Lecturer in English Literature, Department of English and Related Literature  

Dr Casper Kunstmann

Postdoctoral Researcher

Electronic Engineering

“I’m Danish and I’ve been in the UK for five years – we moved from Liverpool to York last year. My wife is from Yorkshire and we met when we were studying in Denmark. Culturally Britain and Denmark feel very similar and Yorkshire people are like people back home - very down-to-earth and friendly. York is quite flat and the campus is very green, and that reminds me of home.


My department is a fairly small department but they're very supportive, engaging and active. It doesn’t feel like a big University even though it is. Many of the people I work with are European or from further afield and I don’t think any of us feel any different to our UK colleagues – we are all part of the same community. I think that’s the beauty of academia really - it’s so international.


Sometimes as an academic I do feel like I’m in a bit of a bubble and with Brexit, it feels like it’s all happening on the outside. I try not to worry and I don’t feel personally affected by it but I don’t like the negative atmosphere it’s creating. I’m happy that it’s not impacting on my daily life - I’ve only encountered friendly and nice helpful people here and that’s obviously really great.”

“The European Union gifted ‘freedom of movement’ upon me for no special merit other than being a citizen of a member country, so I used it to come live and work in York, where things work a bit differently. Early-career scientists in the UK have such intellectual independence and that’s something I especially value. 


I was born in Bilbao - a great little city at the top of the Iberian peninsula. Once a northerner, always a northerner, although originally I arrived in the south of the UK (Oxford)! Soon I discovered the north, and got a position as a postdoctoral research assistant in York Structural Biology Laboratory - a group I had always admired for its ability to punch above its weight. Multicultural collectivism is at the centre of YSBL’s ‘secret sauce’… underpinned by an almost compulsory coffee club! Of course, I miss my friends and family back home, but I also class myself as Yorkie who misses York when he goes abroad. Every return gives me butterflies as soon as I see ‘Welcome to York’. 


Part of what I do is training and working with my students - I also absolutely love the things they can teach me. I have learnt never to dismiss the power of a basic question. It’s fair to say I have not regretted coming here for a second.”


Dr Jon Agirre, Royal Society University Research Fellow, York Structural Biology Laboratory (Department of Chemistry)