20.04.2010
"To me, a clean and healthy environment is extremely important."
"To reach the woods in just a few minutes really makes me happy." (© Baden-Württemberg International)
Until the 1990’s, environmental pollution was not an official problem in Saran Selenge’s home country Mongolia. “Of course, there were problems here and there, but they weren’t all that serious,” Saran recalls. As the country embarked upon a capitalist economy, new environmental problems arose as some industries and individuals started to exploit the rich natural resources of Mongolia. “To me, a clean and healthy environment is so important that I decided to devote my professional life to it,” says Saran Selenge, who studied politics in Berlin before coming to the University of Freiburg.
Her Master’s course ‘Environmental Governance’ deals with social, political and technical issues. Global societal and environmental changes, stakeholders of society, politics and industry, natural as well as social sciences play a role in her curriculum. “Traditional politics leaves the solution of problems up to politicians. Governance means we integrate all the relevant stakeholders of an issue or problem into the solution when we tackle it.”
‘Environmental Governance’ is a unique course in Freiburg, no other European university offers this combination of political and scientific knowledge. Saran is very happy to be able to study in “green” Freiburg, where she can use a bicycle to reach any location within 15 minutes. “To reach the woods in just a few minutes really makes me happy,” the young woman says. For her first degree she studied at the Freie Universität in Berlin. “The place was just too big and too impersonal. Here in Freiburg we know each other, we can talk to the professors whenever we want, and they know all of us,” Saran says avidly.
The Mongolian student has just returned from a three month internship in India. The course ‘Environmental Governance’ encourages students to look at different kinds of countries, but for Saran home is the most important place to apply her knowledge. “People have a right to live in a healthy environment. I would like to work in raising awareness and sensitivity about environmental problems so that we can all do our part to solve them.”
Saran speaks both English and German very well. Currently, she is working hard for her Master’s degree. The support she gets from the programme director and staff seems excellent: “Whenever a problem arises, be it of academic, personal or of an administrative nature, the people in charge are willing to help us.”
“Everything happens for a reason,” Saran believes. Studying in Freiburg is no coincidence; it is just the perfect place for the studies she is interested in – and a very beautiful place to live.
