To whom it may concern I am privileged to write in support of my friend and student, Ruta Vaidya. Ruta studied in my classroom within the Erasmus Mundus programme: Masters in Journalism and Media Studies within Globalization from the European Perspective at the University of Hamburg, Germany in 2008. During this time I witnessed her tremendous growth and development. This development came not only in the area of journalism and media studies, but in maturity and character as well, as she enjoyed the opportunity to learn from her peers and her professors. In this time, Ruta has shown determination and motivation in completing her academic tasks both inside and outside of the classroom. I sometimes advised her on her thesis, regarding the glocalisation of children’s cartoon networks, which I found very innovative and of high academic relevance and value. She has on all occasions proven her ability to rise up to challenges and tackle problems while independently researching and writing reports, always carefully and creatively reflecting about the ideas her master’s thesis was based on. Ruta quickly learned to manage her time, work in group-situations under strict deadlines, and to recognize the importance of a strong work ethic, persistence, and intellectual integrity. She has spent two years in the Master’s programme, featuring students from many different countries. The Master programme is a joint programme by universities from all over Europe. It thereby not only brings together students from different cultures, but it also forces those students to study in at least three different European countries. As an Erasmus Mundus requirement, Ruta has travelled to and lived in three different countries - Denmark, The Netherlands and Germany, to study journalism and media globally and from the European perspective. Students have to be willing to engage into a new environment every term, something Ruta did with great joy and success. Cultural awareness and sensitivity are one of two attributes necessary for a student to excel in such an environment. Ruta surely possesses both of these qualities. This is evident in her inquisitive and friendly relations with others, her interest in foreign countries and learning about different cultural and social practices. Her knowledge, understanding and experience in that area, convinces me she’ll do justice in a PhD programme. As her proposal revolves around glocalization of children’s channels in India, I am sure she is well prepared to carry out a successful research in this field. I recommend Ruta with absolute confidence. She has made me proud, and I am sure will continue to do so as she grows in your academic program and beyond. Thank you for the opportunity of correspondence, Sincerely, Dr. des Dott.ssa Sara Nofri

To whom it may concern I am privileged to write in support of my friend and student, Ruta Vaidya. Ruta studied in my classroom within the Erasmus Mundus programme: Masters in Journalism and Media Studies within Globalization from the European Perspective at the University of Hamburg, Germany in 2008. During this time I witnessed her tremendous growth and development. This development came not only in the area of journalism and media studies, but in maturity and character as well, as she enjoyed the opportunity to learn from her peers and her professors. In this time, Ruta has shown determination and motivation in completing her academic tasks both inside and outside of the classroom. I sometimes advised her on her thesis, regarding the glocalisation of children’s cartoon networks, which I found very innovative and of high academic relevance and value. She has on all occasions proven her ability to rise up to challenges and tackle problems while independently researching and writing reports, always carefully and creatively reflecting about the ideas her master’s thesis was based on. Ruta quickly learned to manage her time, work in group-situations under strict deadlines, and to recognize the importance of a strong work ethic, persistence, and intellectual integrity. She has spent two years in the Master’s programme, featuring students from many different countries. The Master programme is a joint programme by universities from all over Europe. It thereby not only brings together students from different cultures, but it also forces those students to study in at least three different European countries. As an Erasmus Mundus requirement, Ruta has travelled to and lived in three different countries - Denmark, The Netherlands and Germany, to study journalism and media globally and from the European perspective. Students have to be willing to engage into a new environment every term, something Ruta did with great joy and success. Cultural awareness and sensitivity are one of two attributes necessary for a student to excel in such an environment. Ruta surely possesses both of these qualities. This is evident in her inquisitive and friendly relations with others, her interest in foreign countries and learning about different cultural and social practices. Her knowledge, understanding and experience in that area, convinces me she’ll do justice in a PhD programme. As her proposal revolves around glocalization of children’s channels in India, I am sure she is well prepared to carry out a successful research in this field. I recommend Ruta with absolute confidence. She has made me proud, and I am sure will continue to do so as she grows in your academic program and beyond. Thank you for the opportunity of correspondence, Sincerely, Dr. des Dott.ssa Sara Nofri

To whom it may concern I am privileged to write in support of my friend and student, Ruta Vaidya. Ruta studied in my classroom within the Erasmus Mundus programme: Masters in Journalism and Media Studies within Globalization from the European Perspective at the University of Hamburg, Germany in 2008. During this time I witnessed her tremendous growth and development. This development came not only in the area of journalism and media studies, but in maturity and character as well, as she enjoyed the opportunity to learn from her peers and her professors. In this time, Ruta has shown determination and motivation in completing her academic tasks both inside and outside of the classroom. I sometimes advised her on her thesis, regarding the glocalisation of children’s cartoon networks, which I found very innovative and of high academic relevance and value. She has on all occasions proven her ability to rise up to challenges and tackle problems while independently researching and writing reports, always carefully and creatively reflecting about the ideas her master’s thesis was based on. Ruta quickly learned to manage her time, work in group-situations under strict deadlines, and to recognize the importance of a strong work ethic, persistence, and intellectual integrity. She has spent two years in the Master’s programme, featuring students from many different countries. The Master programme is a joint programme by universities from all over Europe. It thereby not only brings together students from different cultures, but it also forces those students to study in at least three different European countries. As an Erasmus Mundus requirement, Ruta has travelled to and lived in three different countries - Denmark, The Netherlands and Germany, to study journalism and media globally and from the European perspective. Students have to be willing to engage into a new environment every term, something Ruta did with great joy and success. Cultural awareness and sensitivity are one of two attributes necessary for a student to excel in such an environment. Ruta surely possesses both of these qualities. This is evident in her inquisitive and friendly relations with others, her interest in foreign countries and learning about different cultural and social practices. Her knowledge, understanding and experience in that area, convinces me she’ll do justice in a PhD programme. As her proposal revolves around glocalization of children’s channels in India, I am sure she is well prepared to carry out a successful research in this field. I recommend Ruta with absolute confidence. She has made me proud, and I am sure will continue to do so as she grows in your academic program and beyond. Thank you for the opportunity of correspondence, Sincerely, Dr. des Dott.ssa Sara Nofri