If I were to plan a trip with friends to Portugal or Spain this summer, the first website I would check for accommodation options is Airbnb. If you are more than 3 or 4 people, renting out a flat to share could save you a lot of money. For those who are not familiar, Airbnb
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“Velvet Revolution” that won without a single bullet fired
Imagine people from various backgrounds – students, teachers, journalists, artists, soldiers – laughing, dancing and hugging one another. Envision a sea of flags with red, blue and orange colours fills the main square. Picture ordinary people who stood up for the transparent and accountable government. Imagine a united nation that managed to fight against almost
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Facebook, Cambridge Analytica, Russia, US elections – all of these have lately been connected by one word – scandal. More specifically, data privacy scandal. The news about Facebook is not getting any better. Last Tuesday, Facebook’s chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, was scheduled to testify before two congressional committees amid the growing objections over the company’s
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We all have that one friend who knows exactly how much the dollar will cost in a week, a month or in a year. And there is always another friend who also knows, but has a completely different story. Which of them do you trust? As some of you might know, I come from Ukraine.
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Five million nights have been booked on Airbnb in the past six months alone. 30 million rides have been shared on Carpooling.com. This year, two billion dollars worth of loans will go through peer-to-peer lending platforms. Mind blowing numbers, don’t you think? A couple of years ago, renting an apartment or a bedroom is a stranger’s house seemed like a
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Revelation of a life of an international student
As my Bachelor approaches to its end, I found myself reflecting back on the last years. Moving abroad for your studies is an amazing experience. Usually, it means having a lot of “new things” in your life – new country, new culture, new people and new challenges. I was only 16 when I first landed
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Do you remember your first thought on the morning of 8th November 2016, when Donald Trump won the US presidential elections? Well, I do. And to put my thoughts into appropriate language, I remember thinking: “This did not just happen!”. I believe that the majority of people in the world felt the same way. Changing
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Crises in Syria, North Korea, Iran… Yet those are just the most visible flashpoints in a world driven by conflict – look beyond them and there are plenty more troubling spots that could escalate globally. Every day, people are fighting to the death for the ideals they believe in. Some are fighting for independence and
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Is a Master's Degree worth it?
Whether or not graduating school is worth the cost is a subject that’s rife with controversy. Depending on whom you talk to, getting a master’s degree or another advanced degree is either a great decision or a huge waste of time. The choice to attend graduate school is easy for future doctors and lawyers: they must
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First ever TEDxUniversiteitVanAmsterdam edition. What was it like?
I enter the CREA Theatre, find a spot in the middle of the second row, face the well-known red TEDx sign, and I wait there with bated breath for the commencement. I was both excited and intrigued. Last Thursday was meant to be inspirational and transformative. And I am not just talking about the 2,5-hour
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Who is benefiting from the collaboration?
«Hurray! It works!» lit up my phone screen as I received a message from my friend. She was referring to the no-visa regime for Ukraine. «They asked for nothing but my passport at the border! And I didn’t have a single visa in there». The amazement of being able to travel to 30 Schengen zone
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