Student testimonial
Moon: “Get to know different perspectives”
"During the International Land and Water Management degree programme, you participate in work placement (abroad) during the third year. In those three months, you can test out whether it really suits you to spend time living and working abroad. I spent my entire third year abroad. I initially was part of an exchange programme, during which I spent six months studying in Canada. After that, I completed an internship in Vietnam. That was unique and educational."
You get to know the country from a completely different perspective
Internship in Vietnam
“I worked for a small organisation on the project Healthy Landscapes for the Red River. In the process, we tried to involve residents in the collection of data regarding water levels and land use, a citizen science method. We worked with a variety of people: there were several Vietnamese people who spoke English well, but also others who couldn’t speak it at all. So sometimes, you had to communicate with gestures and a few words of Vietnamese. It was my first time experiencing such an entirely different culture. That was fantastic! I visited people at home and I worked there, so I came to know the country from a completely different perspective. For example, I went with a colleague to the tiny village that she was from, which was nearly self-sufficient. First, we went to see her uncle, who kept chickens, then a second uncle, who had ducks, and finally, a third uncle, who grew vegetables. Everyone had their own rice field. We gathered the food and then cooked it.”
Thesis
“During my internship, I collected data to write my final Bachelor’s thesis. In addition to researching the literature, you also have to collect data from the field and are in the country yourself. This makes writing a thesis much more interesting. Together with several fellow students who were in Asia at the same time, I rented a house in Bali for a month so that we could write our theses. That was great! Wageningen has a good reputation internationally and if you take the initiative yourself, a lot is possible."
"The internship experience also helps you when choosing a Master’s programme. I had some doubts, but eventually realised that International Land and Water Management really did suit me. That is why I decided to move on to the associated Master’s programme at Wageningen.”
Moon Weijens, Master's student