Qatar University (QU) Mass Communication students at the College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) have returned from a successful study trip to The Netherlands and Belgium.The group visited various key places and institutions such as the European Parliament, European Union (EU), Peace Palace, Namega City, Nijemegen - Holland’s oldest city, Institute of Sound and Vision, the country’s largest TV and audio archive, and Rotterdam Port.In The Netherlands, at the Peace Palace, the students toured the Small Hall of Justice and the Japanese Room and in Nijemegen, visited the primary school which in 1944 was the scene of a German massacre of over 50 school children, and where a commemorative swing was built as a monument. The group also participated in discussions at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Dutch policy in the MENA Region.Following a train trip to Belgium, the students visited the EU headquarters in Brussels and heard a lecture and presentation about the organisation. They also toured the European Parliament.The students had the opportunity to meet with Al Jazeera’s Belgium correspondent Labib Fahmi who spoke on journalism and future possible careers. They also visited famous Belgian chocolate houses.Part of the trip programme was the production of a shared online blog forum in which the students presented and shared their experiences, views, stories and photos.The students taking part in the trip were Aisha Ali al-Khulaifi, Alya Ibrahim al-Basti, Aisha Ali al-Jassim, Reem Rashid al-Kuwari, Maha Hussam al-Kharaz, Maram Majdy Hussein, Laila Murad al-Ghoul and lecturer in the CAS Department of English Literature and Linguistics Iglal Ahmed.Student Maha al-Kharaz said of the experience: “This was a golden opportunity for us as we learned so much about journalism, interacting with people from different cultures, and most importantly, we learned about ourselves. This trip helped us a lot in our personal and academic development and I strongly encourage my colleagues to take advantage of such amazing opportunities in order to help them develop and grow.” Her comments were echoed by Alya al-Basti: “The trip was a new start for me personally as I gained so much and learned about responsibility, creativity, and valuable tools about journalism that I can apply to my own studies. As aspiring journalists, we are grateful for the opportunity and hope that more trips of this nature can be organised so other students can have this experience”.