Professional development

“The honours programme taught me how to look beyond the boundaries of my own field. In an interdisciplinary think tank, I worked together with lawyers, biologists, psychologists, and a neuroscientist on increasing the resistance to climate change of vulnerable areas in deltas. The programme taught me that an interdisciplinary perspective is necessary for finding solutions to the so called ‘wicked problems’. This experience is also applicable for my work in the province of North Brabant as there are only a few problems that a specialist can solve alone. In addition, experts can sometimes lose themselves in their own field, but in the honours programme, I learned to pick the brains of others and work together towards a solution.

The programme also provides a significant advantage for the labour market. During a job interview, you can show that you have learned to collaborate with various disciplines and that you are prepared to learn from other people and specialisations. The programme challenges you to leave your comfort zone which is exactly how you will develop the most. It also shows that you are prepared to get the most out of yourself.

What I cherish most about the programme is the great collaboration with other members of the think tank. It has been a while since I earned my honours certificate, but I still regularly meet up with my honours friends. It was a really wonderful group that I worked hard with every Tuesday evening. It was also quite nice that the professor who was involved in our research enjoyed the collaboration as well. The moment that we presented our research to the client (Deltares) at the end of the year is something that will live long in my memory!”