I was just Yildiz
Politician and consultant Yildiz Akdogan was the only woman in her political science year group with a different ethnic background. It was never an issue, which gave her a great sense of security during her time as a student. Her university days shaped her character and future, especially when she realised that grades were not the be all and end all.
What is your favourite memory from your university days?
I switched from Germanic philology to political science, and that was a key turning point for me. I was very interested in the political debates of the time, and I also had a bad experience with one of the lecturers on the Germanic studies programme, which made the decision to start again and enrol on the political science programme easier. I loved political science and the academic environment on the degree programme, with so many active young people and motivated and skilled teachers. Even though I was the only woman with a different ethnic background in my year, it never became an issue. I was ‘just Yildiz’ and a student like everyone else. Nobody put a different label on me. This gave me a sense of security, and I felt recognised for what I contributed as a student both academically and socially. I was also a writer for the student magazine Delfinen.
Who was your favourite teacher and why?
I had many great teachers, some of whom motivated us to study more by involving us in courses and meetings outside of our studies. I can’t name just one teacher, but I really enjoyed Lars Bo Caspersen’s sociology lectures, just as I was very entertained by Mette Skov, Georg Søren and Mehdi Mozaffari’s courses on foreign policy and security policy, and I gained a whole new insight into methodology and statistics from Søren Riisbjerg Thomsen and his colleagues. If I had to name one subject from my Master’s studies that also inspired my political work, it would be Gorm Harste’s course on nationalism and state building, where I was praised for reading the German sociologist Jürgen Habermas in German.
What advice do you wish you had been given as a student?
I don’t come from an academic home. In hindsight, I can see that I put unnecessary pressure on myself to perform as the family’s first university student. Sometimes this was at the expense of my social life, because I had to understand many new things in an unfamiliar and new world. If you don’t come from an academic background, my advice would be: Find a mentor from the years above you who can help you ‘settle in’ to the academic world. My second piece of advice would be : Enjoy your time as a student and enjoy your friends – these are the best years and they go by so quickly.
What is the most important thing you learned from your time at AU?
Aarhus University shaped me and led me in a direction that I probably didn’t plan. I realised a little too late that grades are not the be all and end all , and that it’s actually the whole formative experience of university that matters. It benefits you – also in later life. I also made some great friends at AU, who are still a big part of my life.
What are your current interests?
I’ve been interested in politics since my time as a student and I still am. At the moment, I’m more interested in local politics in the Municipality of Copenhagen. I’ve decided to engage less in public debates for a while, but I look forward to writing more in the future. I also give a few presentations on topics such as Turkey, equality and current affairs. In addition to that, I love my new job as a senior consultant at Danish Standards.