About our research

Research institute

This Master’s specialisation is tightly connected to the Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences (RIBES), a well-known institute in the field of stress adaptation in plants, micro-organisms and animals. For more than 20 years, researchers from RIBES have been trying to fundamentally understand recovery processes and connect all different components in an ecosystem. This includes studying and predicting the impact of anthropogenic (man-made) stressors, such as carbon dioxide emission and the use of toxic agricultural compounds. Due to this long history, the institute profits from an ample funding and a large research network, both inside and outside academia.

Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences (RIBES)

Research departments

During your Master's you will do at least one internship at one of our research departments. Relevant departments are:

Researchers

Get to know our researchers and their work, you could be working alongside them in this Master's!

Important questions I focus on are: How do global warming and drought affect water quality, and how can negative effects be minimised?
Sarian Kosten
Sarian Kosten Professor - Ecology Read Sarian Kosten's story
I think that you can only learn ecology by doing. Being outside; observing and experimenting!
Bjorn Robroek
Bjorn Robroek Associate professor - Plant-microbe ecology Read Bjorn Robroek's story
I study Earth’s elemental cycles and their microbial and chemical controls. I specifically look at elements that are important to life.
Caroline Slomp
Caroline Slomp Professor - Geomicrobiology and Biogeochemistry Read Caroline Slomp's story
I find it interesting and important to understand why species disappear, so that we can contribute to solutions to avert the biodiversity crisis.
Koen Kuipers
Koen Kuipers Assistant professor - Environmental Science Read Koen Kuipers' story
View all researchers at RIBES

Research projects

When you do your Master's intership, you can contribute to one of our ongoing research projects. Get in touch with the internship coordinator of the relevant department (often listed on the department website) or with the project leader of the project you're interested in.

  • Peatland

    Carbon Connects

    Carbon Connects is an Interreg North-West Europe initiative with a primary focus on peatland restoration. Originally slated for a four-year period commencing in 2018, the project's timeline has now been extended to December 2023.

  • Rosa Boone, Foto door Femke Reijerman

    Towards smart soil-sensing: developing a proxy for soil health

    Rosa Boone is studying how the restoration of soil diversity contributes to the condition of soil. To do this, she's developing a new measuring method that farmers can use to track the health of the soil beneath their feet.

  • Duin met sterke soortenrijke grasbekleding

    Future Dikes

    The Future Dikes project investigates how we can strengthen the Dutch dikes with a species-rich grass covering.

Discover more projects

Research facilities

RIBES researchers make use of state-of-the-art molecular, analytical and microscopy facilities in the modern Huygens building of Radboud University. New greenhouse and growth chambers were specifically designed for RIBES research needs and became operational in 2014. Only a few other comparable facilities exist in the world.

  • Greenhouse, phytotron and experimental gardens

    The modern greenhouse complex of the Radboud University houses growing rooms, climate rooms, mesh chambers, a root lab (phytotron) and an experimental field of 7000 m².

  • Radboud Zebrafish Facility

    The Radboud Institute for Biological and Environmental Sciences houses aquaria where research is done with zebrafish as an animal model.

  • Bioreactors

    The bioreactor facility hosted at the Department of Microbiology is used for the cultivation of microorganisms and microbial communities from the environment.