Student testimonial
Student Martijn - MSc International Land and Water Management
“I first studied Global Sustainability Science in Utrecht, a broad English-taught bachelor's degree in environmental sciences. My thesis was about the flood risk in an area in Morocco. I found that so interesting that I subsequently wanted to do a master's degree in water management. I chose Wageningen University because it focuses on sustainability and the environment in a broad sense and because I thought it would be fun to study at another university after Utrecht University.”
“It turned out to be a very good choice. I really enjoyed working together in groups and I also enjoyed the informal, pleasant atmosphere. Through all that group work, I got to know many other students and I immediately felt at home in Wageningen.”
In the group projects you learn to use each other’s qualities’
Many different angles
“The International Land and Water Management Programme (MIL) gave me a much broader view of problems surrounding land and water management. You learn to see how a certain way of dealing with land and water is rooted in a society, how this came about and how that history and customs influence choices within land and water management. There are many possible solutions to land and water problems, but the challenge is how best to implement them, taking into account the interests of different groups. We were given tools for this in the programme. In the group projects you learn to work together with students from different backgrounds and use each other's qualities to find a solution. And the different courses examine issues in the field of land and water management from many different angles.”
“For the Sustainable Land and Water Management in Spain course, at the end of the first year, we worked with a group on an assignment for a local winegrower in Spain. He collected a lot of weather data, but did not really know how to use it. We visualized the weather data via an Excel sheet and showed what trends there are. The winegrower could then look more deeply into, for example, connections between the weather and the quality of the wine.”
Climate information services
“I am doing the Adaptive Water Management specialization and for my thesis I also worked on weather and climate data, in this case climate information services for rice farmers in Bangladesh. Together with another MIL student, I spent two months in Bangladesh doing interviews with farmers in an area around the town of Patuakhali. Due to climate change, the soil there is becoming increasingly salty and rice yields are declining. I looked at the salinization problem and asked farmers what they noticed about this problem, whether they knew how to deal with it, and whether information about the weather could help them. I really enjoyed the contact with students from the local agricultural university and with the farmers. The culture is so different from the Dutch culture, this was really interesting to experience.”
“I think it would be fun to work abroad for a while after graduating. But I am now doing an internship in the Netherlands first, so I can see the contrast. I contribute to the National Environmental Program at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management in The Hague. If I like this, I will consider applying for the Dutch National Trainee Programme. When I first started studying, I found scientific research the most interesting, but as my education progressed, I became more and more interested in the political aspects of land and water management.”