A global education

Frank Dikötter

“At my university in Switzerland, students rather than their tutors decided when they were ready to take an exam”

What was life like as a history student in Switzerland?

I wasn’t exactly a model school student – I spent a great deal of time in detention, so when I announced my decision to go to university, my family and friends found it rather amusing. But once I got there I did well, mainly because I was left alone, with no teachers looking over my shoulder to tell me what to do. Attendance in many cases was not even obligatory. Students, rather than their tutors, decided when they were ready to take an exam. I used the opportunity to read widely and voraciously.

What was the most interesting topic you studied?

I read Russian literature and fell in love