Student testimonial
Pim - BSc Animal Sciences
Pim is following a BSc minor in Education to obtain a second degree in teaching. 3 Days a week he teaches Biology at a public secondary school in Veenendaal. He likes to explain and educate people, especially if it concerns topics about marine ecology, with the aim that he can use this skill in an international career.
In the end the bachelor's Animal Sciences was not my first choice, but definitely the better choice, as I will have a diverse range in job opportunities upon graduation and more freedom to go international
“A child dream of mine was to become a veterinarian. So I started Veterinary Medicine at University Ghent, Belgium. However, the teaching methods of Belgium did not fit my way of studying and therefore I tried to switch to the same study but in a different city, namely at Utrecht University, the Netherlands. Unfortunately, I did not make it to the selection and started to look for other study programmes: Medicine, Earth Sciences, Biology and Animal Sciences. My mom pointed out to have a look at Wageningen University. At first I wasn’t really interested, as I was looking for a big student city and Wageningen is rather small. But she convinced me to visit an open day and surprisingly I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the broad scope of the study programme. That is how I ended up at this bachelor. In the end not my first choice, but definitely the better choice, as I will have a diverse range in job opportunities upon graduation and more freedom to go international.”
Programme BAS
“As mentioned, a large emphasize lies on farm animals for production purposes. To a certain extent I find this interesting, as you learn how this industry works, their mind set and aspects you have to take into account. Useful information I incorporated in my study trajectory: I would like to specialize in marine ecology involving conservation and consultancy, dealing with questions like ‘How can we make the fishing industry of sea catching environmentally aware and animal-friendly?’. So it is not really a surprise that ‘Introduction to Animal Ecology’ was one of my favorite courses. This course explains the interaction of animals to its environment and discusses how to maintain a healthy population. As group work we made a documentary on the mallard (wild duck), which was nice.
At the moment, I am following a BSc minor in Education to acquire a second degree in teaching. This minor takes half a year and is additional to the BAS programme, as you need to follow courses on didactic skills, like body language in front of a class, different teaching methods and course development. Next to that I follow courses on plant sciences, since I will become a biology teacher and BAS does not cover this part in the programme. And I can directly apply this knowledge into practice with my internship at a public secondary school. There I teach biology three times a week for one semester. Altogether, it will take me four years to conclude my bachelor’s. Which I am happy to do!”
Future
“I would like to enroll into the Master’s Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management, as my interest lies in aquaculture. As a preparation I am planning to do my BSc thesis at the chair group of Marine Animal Ecology, hopefully with laboratory work. Currently, I am waiting for their response whether they can offer me a place and if so, on which thesis topics I could work. It will be my first thesis, so it feels quite exciting. I do not know what to expect, but then again if you like a subject, I guess you also want to dive into it, as I do for marine ecology.”
Student life
“In my first year, I joined W.S.R. Argo, a student rowing club. Pleasant, but not quite my association. That is why I joined study association “De Veetelers” in my second year. It provides a good combination of sociality and making the theory of BAS more vivid. I went on several excursions to companies and farms, and this I really like, because you immediately get an image of what you learn in the classroom. I am an active member in different committees that deals with education, photography and editing a newsletter. As sports I practice ice skating and road bicycle racing. As a matter a fact, I just came home from a four day road race and camping trip through the Netherlands, which was much fun. Furthermore, I work for a company that provides tutoring and exam trainings. You can say I am rather an active person.”
Take home message
“Be a Student for a day. During such an activity you will experience how the programme is really like. Thereby, you get an glimpse of the campus and its atmosphere, and you have to opportunity to ask your questions to students who are studying BAS.”