Student story Jochem

I did my bachelor's degree in the field of health technology. During my bachelor I did a project including some data science approaches which really interested me. So I went to look if there were any masters combining my interest in health technology and data, I ended up finding this master and when I went to the open evening, I really enjoyed it.

What I enjoy the most is the variety of projects we get to work on. It's not that we're stuck in one area, you can apply data science in so many different fields. I really like the evaluation of outcomes and the predictive value of data. We try to uncover new insights that maybe have never been seen before, which is really cool. Up until now, I don’t really have a downside. Maybe that there is too much to learn within the field.

My experience so far has been really good. Before my master’s, I still lived at home and I had to make the decision to go live in another city. At first this step seemed a bit scary, but the first time I visited Wageningen, I felt very at home. The atmosphere is very good. I made friends really quickly after signing up for the athletics association. In general, I’m really happy in Wageningen and also very happy with the university and the things they offer.

I enjoy going to my athletics practice. I also like to go to parties with my friends or have shared dinner evenings, which we call ‘studio evening’. I like to enjoy the events that Wageningen has to offer, like the celebration of liberation day on the 5th of May. If I spend my weekend in Wageningen, I like to enjoy the nature and go out since there are so many great places nearby by. I also like to explore the area on my bike.

I'm still not quite sure where I'd like to end up in the end, but I'm pretty sure that I want to really work with data and try to make an impact on people's lives, whether that’s in health, food, or something else meaningful. What matters most to me is making a positive impact on a global scale. The exact direction is still taking shape as I go through the program and explore what I enjoy most.

I would really advice to visit the open day. I visited two times and for me it was a three and a half hour train ride away, so I was doubting if I should even go or not, because who knows, maybe the study wasn’t even all that exciting and then I would have travelled seven hours in one day to just see one presentation. But I think it really helped me to see the atmosphere around the campus, get a feel for the people, get a feel of Wageningen. I would really advise to just go to the open days! Especially physically, if of course possible for you.