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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