What do you like about the programme/specialisation and why? How has the programme/specialisation challenged you?
I study biomedical sciences with a specialisation in molecular medicine. I really like that the programme has different specialisations so we can focus on a certain topic from the beginning. Compared to my previous studies, this specialisation was really challenging since the schedule was very busy and all the exams were made to reflect our ability of critical thinking and applying the knowledge.
What do you think about the atmosphere in class?
There were quite a lot of international students in my specialisation so there was a lot of diversity and we could share our knowledge from our previous studies. I never had any conflict with a teacher, almost all of my teachers were very nice and kind, always trying to help us and guide us.
What do you find most challenging in your Master’s (specialisation)? Have you encountered any obstacles?
It's the amount of work we have to do, including the self study assignments. It can be heavy and stressful, but you have to get through it. In the end it was worth it, because thanks to the flexibility of the programme I finished all my courses during my first year and now I can focus on internships.
Are you currently doing an internship? Or what is your thesis about?
It was a bit stressful to find a place for my internship, but I did mine for 8 months at the Radboudumc Department of Kidney Physiology where I studied the correlation between a certain gene in a rare genetic syndrome and renal magnesium absorption. For the second internship I found a start-up at Utrecht UMC where I am going to work on cancer panels for 6 months. For my literature thesis (1 month), I wrote about the mutation prediction tools reliability for proteins that aggregate in Alzheimers disease.
Why do you think it is important that there are people with this degree? What are your plans once you have received your Master's degree?
I think this degree provides a very good start for the future researchers in many fields of science and since we can choose from three profiles, it also introduces other ways to work in STEM, not only in research. I think when I receive my masters degree I would like to work at a research company.