Moroccan Scholar Finds New Home in Luxembourg: A Digital History Journey

"In August, it will be two years since I moved to Luxembourg for my doctoral degree in digital history," says Ferdaous Affan in an interview with Paperjam. Before arriving in Luxembourg, she reveals that she worked as a communications officer at the Moroccan Press Agency in Morocco and as a library assistant at the Yves Saint-Laurent Museum in Marrakech. She holds an engineering degree in data and knowledge management. "Before that, I did two years of preparatory classes in business and finance, but then I went on to the Rabat School of Information Sciences, where I specialized in records management and archives, as well as data science and knowledge management. And also librarianship."

An interesting offer opened the doors of Luxembourg to Ferdaous. "I prefer digital humanities. So I had a taste of what a doctorate is, but I wanted to do it full-time. In Morocco, there is no funding for a doctorate; you have to finance it yourself. But I wanted to devote my time solely to my doctorate, so I started looking online. I searched in French-speaking countries: Belgium, France and - in this case - Luxembourg. And I came across a very interesting offer from the C2DH, which was launching a new doctoral training unit called Deep Data Science of Digital History (D4H)," she recounts.

She explains that there were seven doctoral positions, all related to digital history. "I found the project very, very interesting. It matched what I was doing in my studies, but also in my work. I applied and was accepted." Today, she is very happy to continue her studies in Luxembourg. She has also fallen under the charm of this European country. "I was struck by the difference between Brussels and Luxembourg. I couldn’t understand why. I had spent some time in Brussels, as I have family there. But even the air was different! In Luxembourg, I was amazed by the architecture of the Upper and Lower City."

She adds: "Then I took the train to Belval to meet my supervisor, and the contrast was striking. I had the impression of being in a steampunk city, both industrial and developed. It’s futuristic. The blast furnaces, but also the colors, the red building that comes out of nowhere! It was a big difference. I thought Belval would be another city with an old architecture. It’s good. You get used to it. It’s a nice place to live." When asked if she had a culture shock, Ferdaous answered in the negative. "I can’t say I had a culture shock, because Luxembourg is such a multicultural country. There are so many people of different nationalities. It’s something I’ve experienced here at the C2DH among my doctoral colleagues... they come from Germany, Switzerland, Ukraine, the United States, China. All countries are different.

She continues: "[...] I changed cities in Morocco, I’ve traveled a lot in Europe, I have family living in Belgium, and I expected to feel a culture shock when changing countries... but everything went smoothly. I really enjoy my life here. It’s a quiet country, which I like." What she appreciates most about this country is its openness to people from different cultures and countries. "I really don’t feel like a foreigner here. And my Luxembourgish colleagues are the nicest people to work with. They are very helpful. It’s one of the things I like the most: the people here are generally welcoming and ready to help."

Ferdaous’ wish is to stay in Luxembourg. "[...] I would like to continue working in the academic field, but I’m not opposed to the idea of working, for example, in a museum, a library, archives, etc. But I would like to stay here. I think life in Luxembourg is very, very good... but it will depend on the opportunities!"