Christiaan de Beukelaer

Upon completing a BA in Musicology at the University of Amsterdam, I decided to pursue my studies at the K.U.Leuven Instutute for Cultural Studies. This choice turned out to be excellent. With great interest did I deepen my cultural knowledge and understanding, both at the practical and theoretical level. Aside the classes and projects of the course, I have spent about two months in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso to complete my internship at Afrik'heur, a local NGO that focuses on the interface between culture and development. This is also the main theme of my MA thesis in Cultural Studies, which I presented at the International Conference for Cultural Policy Research in Jyväskylä, Finland.

Captivated by the correlation between culture and development, the inclination to continue along this line grew steadily. Encouraged by Cultural Studies professors, I applied for an Advanced MA in Cultures and Development Studies (CADES), also at the K.U.Leuven. In support of my participation in this program, I had the honor to be awarded an Excellence Scholarship by the Fund Roger Dillemans. This scholarship has made is practically possible to continue my studies, and equally encouraged me to pursue further research and study.

I did not seem to get enough of research. It is therefore a great pleasure to be offered the possibility to pursue PhD studies under supervision of Professor David Hesmondhalgh at the University of Leeds. This research constitutes a scrutiny of the possibilities of the development of the cultural industries in the 'global south.' Through fieldwork on different locations, I will study the ways local cultural actors cope with the fragile balance between culture and economy.

It is in large part thanks to the intellectual and practical help and support of the Institute for Cultural Studies faculty that I have been able to sail this course. As such, both during and after my time as a student, I have greatly benefited from the strong social, intellectual and overall inspiring climate at the Institute for Cultural Studies!