Introducing The English Café lecture series: Once a fortnight, 6 – 7 pm

Join us as Altissia’s Elise Renson beams in from beyond the border. Born and raised in the outskirts of Brussels, Elise speaks French, Dutch, English and German. She navigates between all four with ease, for at Altissia she is an Account Manager for the Belux (Belgium-Luxembourg) and DACH (Germany-Austria-Switzerland) markets. Having spent an Erasmus semester in beautiful Berlin during her BA days, she attests to the efficacy of immersing oneself in a target language in settings that are laid back. But it’s not just her Master’s in Multilingual Business Communication that keeps her speaking in tongues. She will give us some insight into aspects of Belgian history that have shaped its present-day kaleidoscopic culture.

Associate Professor, Dr. iur. Karina Zalcmane is the Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Development at EKA University of Applied Sciences in Latvia. Her publications include “The subculture of football fans and its place in the delinquent culture” (2018); “Sports Criminology” (2022) and a co-authored work entitled “The Problematic Issues of Sports Law in Latvia: Compliance of Labour and Tax Legislations from the Sustainable Development Perspective” (2021). A veritable polymath, she is also a Lawyer; a member of the International Association of Sports Law and Women in Sports Law; previously had a stint studying mechanical engineering and she is also – wait for it – a dance teacher!

In his academic career, Andreas Giesbert has gone from Hegel to AI, with pit stops in board gaming land and feminist theory. He’s hardly feeling blue, though, for he recently became a member of the Mount Zion Memorial Fund, a US-based charity that revamps churches in America’s rural south. In his presentation he will share some original recordings and interviews with blues music maestros. Music and history lovers – make a date with The English Café!

“Sa parlare italiano!” A degree in Italian Philology coupled with a binational MA in Comparative Literature and three semesters in Udine and Bergamo will tend to do that. Thankfully, when she visits the The English Café this coming November, Hagener Kerstin Langhein of the FernUniversität’s International Office will set aside her expertise in Italian and stick to English. She will give us the scoop on how to select the perfect uni, what to keep in mind concerning ECTS and, most importantly, how to secure funding for a life-changing study-abroad experience (german). You won’t want to miss this!