Herbstausgabe 2010 - Fachverein Jus | Universität Zürich ...

Leben im Alumni-Haus
plan I think. Much fewer students want to go abroad to study
on Erasmus-programme for instance in Britain. They mostly
just stay in England. Britain is a big country, so I guess it is
not really bad that they do not want to, but I think that for
Europe to develop as a common economic area, it is good
that university students have a willingness to spend at least
one year of their university study in another European country.
I see more of an interest on the part of Swiss students in
doing that. I think that is very good given the fact that Switzerland
is not even in the EU!
But what I have been surprised at the most is the
Swiss’ internationality. If you are in Britain reading a newspaper
article about Switzerland, you usually read about minarets
and things like that, so you might come to Switzerland
thinking «Oh, the Swiss are inward-looking!» but I find that
most of the students I meet are very international! They have
travelled to many countries, they want to study abroad, they
speak different languages and I think they are much more
cosmopolitan than students I have taught in other countries.
Do you have a recommendation for our students
for a successful career?
Success, I think, is linked to happiness. But it has to
be linked to practical things to. Essentially, you have to have
a job or a career you think is meaningful and that you can
make a living on. But I would not simply go into a career just
for money. I know many people at my age in London who work
in the financial sector and who make a lot of money compared
to academics or what people in other parts of the economy
earn, but many of them do not have a good work-life
balance and they are also not happy with their life in general.
There are many people in their late forties or fifties who have
made a lot of money and got a nice house, but feel that their
life has not been fulfilled. They work long hours and now,
with the financial crisis, they do not even feel that their work
is appreciated by society. If they could have started their career
all over again, many of them may have gone into another
line of work and not have gone into the field where they
thought they would make the most money.
I would not take a career path simply because of
the financial rewards. You should think about success being
linked to having a balance in your life and also doing a job
that you feel is appreciated by society. Now of course there
are different types of people, some might just want to get a
lot of money and that is fine, I am not saying that this is a bad
thing, but I would advise students to think about what makes
you happy. What makes you feel that your work is rewarded
and appreciated in society? Based on that decide on the career
path.
I know private practising lawyers or bankers who
have decided that they do not like the private sector anymore
and who made the move into government. They work more
in a policy role now, making a lot less money, but are now
doing something that they feel is societally very beneficial. I
think that if you are doing something you are not happy with,
do not be afraid to change! When you are not happy and if you
can make a career change, definitely make it and do not be
shy about doing it!
Thank you very much for this interview!
Im Frühjar 2008 eröffnete die Alumni-Stiftung der
Rechtswissenschaftlichen Fakultät nicht unweit von der
Universität an der Sophienstrasse das Ius Alumni-Haus. Das
Haus bietet eine Plattform für den wissenschaftlichen Austausch
und ist eine Begegnungsstätte für Zürcher und internationale
Studierende, Dozierende, Alumni und Studentenvereinigungen.
Zudem befinden sich im Alumni-Haus 16 möblierte
Zimmer, die für internationale Studierende, welchen einen
der Double Degree Master-Studiengänge der RWF absolvieren,
vorgesehen sind. Derzeit wird das Haus noch von Erasmus-
und Zürcher Jus Studenten bewohnt.
Im Gemeinschaftsraum, der vom berühmten Architekten
Santiago Calatrava entworfen wurde, befindet sich
eine kleine Bibliothek, die einen Grossteil der fürs Studium
relevanten Literatur umfasst. Oft finden sich Bewohner
abends zusammen, um über Fälle zu diskutieren und verschiedene
Lösungsansätze zu vergleichen. Für Prüfungen
wird gemeinsam repetiert und die Studierenden helfen sich
gegenseitig, den gelernten Stoff möglichst gut zu verarbeiten.
Selbstverständlich kommt im Alumni-Haus auch
das übrige Studentenleben nicht zu kurz. So isst man ge-
meinsam zu Abend, geht zusammen zum Sport oder trifft
sich zu Fernsehabenden. Den Studenten bietet sich die
Möglichkeit, Kommilitonen aus allen Teilen der Welt kennenzulernen.
Sei es bei Diskussionen über die verschiedenen
Rechtssysteme, einen anderen Unialltag oder sei es bei Gesprächen
über die unterschiedlichen Kulturen der Heimatländer.
Die Schweizer Studenten werden gern gefragt, welche
Regionen der Schweiz sich besonders für einen Besuch
eignen; so kommt es auch immer wieder vor, dass ein Einheimischer
gemeinsam mit einigen Mitbewohnern eine kurze
Reise in die Schweizer Berge unternimmt.
Andernorts berichten Erasmus-Studenten nach ihrem
Austausch häufig, dass sie nur zu anderen internationalen
Studenten Kontakt hatten. Dieser kulturelle Nachteil wird
durch das Zusammenleben mit Zürchern bewusst vermieden.
Dabei wird von den Erasmus-Studierenden besonders
geschätzt, dass sie sich für Auskunft bei administrativen
Schwierigkeiten schnell und unkompliziert an die hiesigen
Studenten wenden können.
Das Alumni-Haus ist schweizweit das einzige Haus,
das ausschliesslich Jus-Studierende beherbergt und das
den Bewohnern durch die Gemeinschaftsräume die einzigartige
Chance des kulturellen, juristischen Austausches ermöglicht.
30 Studium Studium
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