Post on 13-Apr-2017
Wietse WiersmaBSc Soil, Water & Atmosphere
“The traveller sees what he sees, the tourist sees what he has come to see.” - Gilbert K. Chesterton
Living the life of others, experiencing culture shocks and
challenging myself while working on issues that lie close to my
heart. For a long time I know I want to take a gap year, and to make
the most out of that, I want to get out of my comfort zone and
submerge into one of the endless forms of livelihood that people on the
planet have established. I was looking for an internship that would allow
me to work on food security, through land and water management,
since that is the path I have defined for myself. I found this opportunity
at the International Water Management Institute in Gujarat, India,
which is where I will be working and living next year. It’s the logical
next step both in my career and in my personal development, and I am
looking forward to doing things I can now not even imagine.
Half a year after the start of our academic career, we already had to decide on whether to participate in a programmethat would change our future. Even though I enjoyed my own studies a lot, in the Honours Programme I could reallydevelop myself and explore my capabilities. Looking back, there seem to have been three ‘phases’, according to which Iwill show you what I have learned from these two years of Honours work, even though that might be difficult to describesometimes. When I started, I was searching for the things which were closest to my heart. Then I went on defining whatI had to do to enable myself to work on those issues which could leave me fascinated, desperate or curious. Finally Iwas applying what I found important into projects and my life in general. I hope you enjoy my poster story, please cometalk to me if you have any questions!
Phase 1: Searching
Phase 2: Defining
Phase 3: Applying
Searching for the goal of science in a
series of interactive writing workshops.
Iris Hertog and I are very good at talking
about vague concepts and ideas we have, in
such a way that we understand each other
and arrive at some useful outcome.
We combined our shared interests in writing,
and the function of science in society. We
wanted to learn how we could tell what we
knew to a broad audience, without sounding
like overrated intellectuals. ‘Writing for
Society’ was a series of workshops in which
students ‘translated’ a scientific paper into
an easily readable article for De Groene
Amsterdammer, a Dutch opinion magazine.
Exploring religion and spirituality, their role in my live, and learning why
there has to be some sort of absolute truth. Together with a few students I
participated in privatissima from ‘Thomas More’: in a small and personal setting
we had discussions with professors in philosophy and theology. The conversations
we had with the teachers, as well as students amongst each other, shone a light
on the things we do not always talk about in science.
Lecturing about the hydrological properties of my
place of birth in a World Heritage church. I found
out that transferring my knowledge to people who are
interested, is one of the things I find important. That is
why I dedicated my first Honours Card to a project which
started as a case study of the area I was born and
raised, De Noordoostpolder. I defined research questions
and learned how difficult it is to want to understand
everything. Yet, by the end of the project I could tell a lot
about the hydrological characteristics of my polder.
I contacted the local library and the regional water
board, and both were interested in co-organizing the first
NOP University. In the idyllic church of Schokland I gave
my first real lecture for about 50 people, which was
definitely one of the most exciting things I had done so
far in my career! I learned a lot about giving
presentations, especially for an audience which doesn’t
have the same background. It’s a skill I hope to develop
further, as I believe it is a strong tool in making science
work for the good of society.
The future: Internship and Master
In one or two years, my plan is to start with the Master
International Land & Water Management. I hope to have made clear
that I learned a lot in the past few years, but that I an nowhere close to
finish learning. I am curious to find out what will come on my path and
which role I can and will play in this world.
The Yellow Brick Road of my Honours Programme. The Meat Roof
has been with me during most of my Honours adventure. I remember
the evening we came up with this idea and the quiet euphoria we felt
about its potential. Instead of reading the same book and taking the
same exams as many students from earlier generations did, this project
allowed us to come up with something new. We combined relevant
scientific literature, interviewed experts in the meat production chains
and even visited a slaughter-house.
In the Meat Roof I could apply knowledge from Soil, Water and
Atmosphere. It was awesome to think about challenges like
urbanization, food security and social fragmentation, and to see the
surprised looks people gave me when I tried to explain the concept of
‘The Meat Roof’. Working on this project with my colleagues has been a
wonderful all-inclusive learning experience!
Roleplay negotiations about sustainable
development. With International Develop-
ment Studies, Anouk Mulder has a lot of
knowledge I wish to have. We both did our
exchange in Vancouver, Canada, and at
some point we were discussing what the
most effective way of developmental aid
was: through businesses, NGO’s,
governments? We were looking for a way to
materialize our desire to improve the world
in some sense, and came up with the idea to
make it an Honours Activity.
The concept of roleplay was new to me, as were much of the social science
insights in general. We chose chocolate as case study to learn how the actors
in the cacao chain negotiate their interests, and how development might often
be based on the compromise that comes out. From organizing this event, I
learned that negotiating is powerful, and that changing something in the world
is a slow and difficult process, yet definitely worth it.
Writing an essay about mountain food security. Here I applied much
of what I had learned to two of the most important concepts: mountains
for their natural beauty and extremity, and food security for its challenges
and possibilities for improvement, to which I will devote my career.
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