Robbie first came to Slovenia in 2016 to study cognitive science on the MEi:CogSci master’s programme. She started her studies in Vienna before coming to Ljubljana on an Erasmus+ scholarship one year later. Her interest was captured by the work done on the philosophy of mind in Ljubljana, so she stayed to complete her studies here. Coming from the Scottish countryside, she also found Ljubljana a much more pleasant place to live than the bigger, busier Vienna.
Besides studying, Robbie has worked in Slovenia as an English teacher, to varying degrees of success. Whilst excelling in one-to-one tutoring, she has sucked rather hard at teaching Business English to groups of demanding professionals. Thus realising that her skills perhaps lay in other areas, she moved on to exploring youth, community and cultural work.
This journey began with her co-creation of a project about the lives of female migrants in Europe – Her Stories. Through a process of international cooperation, including groups from Austria, Romania and Italy, the project culminated in the publication of a collection of biographical stories and folk tales, compiled and composed with the help of migrant women.
Through this project, Robbie forged contacts in the NGO sector in Slovenia, which eventually led her to Litija, and the organisation Društvo Lojtra. With Lojtra, she completed a short On-the-Job Training programme, where she learned the ropes of NGO project work, focusing on informal education initiatives about environmental issues.
Finally, she came to MCL with the desire to increase her knowledge and experience in youth work and cultural projects. She hopes to draw from her broad range of interests in creating workshops and activities that are fun, interesting and (most of all) effective in equipping young people with useful skills. She’s really looking forward to working with the team on activities involving visual media, music and environment. She’s already learning a lot from them and can’t wait to see what more is in store.