AWC Podcast Episode 7: Maëlie Olouman

"I really learned about European Union when I arrived at the university on my third year. And to me, this is really sad because it's something that impacts our daily life. And we don't know about it; I'm pretty sure that if we go out of the studio and we ask, do you know what the European Union is? Everyone knows that it exists, but not that many people would be able to actually tell you what European Union does for us on a daily basis." —Maëlie Olouman

This is the seventh episode of the AWC's podcast, featuring Maëlie Olouman, a doctoral researcher at Sorbonne Paris Nord University, with AWC staff Michelle Awad.

Maëlie holds a Master's degree in International and European Law and is currently pursuing a PhD in European Law, where she researches the interconnectedness of EU security and cybersecurity frameworks across member states. At the time of this recording, she was also a Research and Innovation Projects Manager at CentraleSupélec, supporting researchers with applications to European, national, and international funding opportunities.

Topics discussed include Maëlie's unconventional path of pursuing both professional work and doctoral research simultaneously, her surprising finding that Brexit was not the main barrier to EU security cooperation, the persistent lack of EU education among European citizens, common misconceptions about European Union governance, how EU funding can support research at any scale, and advice on embracing failure as a learning experience.

Maëlie reflects on the disconnect between EU policies and public understanding, the tension between national sovereignty and European cooperation, and the importance of making European institutions accessible and demystified for researchers and citizens alike.

Thank you to Martin Kilbinger for creating our episode music!