Sabine graduated from the Water Management bachelor and is now studying the River Delta Development master.
Why did you choose to enroll in the River Delta Development master after your bachelor’s degree?
“I wanted to obtain a master’s degree, so that I have no glass ceiling above me in the workplace and that I can apply for all the really nice positions. During my bachelor I followed a very theoretical in-depth course at the university. It wasn’t the most fun way of studying; I missed the link with the actual practice. This specific master is very unique. We only study one day a week inside the classroom and the rest of the time we learn from the living labs. In the living labs, work is done on innovative projects. Due to the close collaboration with research groups, stakeholders, organizations such as Rijkswaterstaat and the Water Boards, we can immediately apply everything we learn in practice. You bring the theory into practice, as it were, and I like that much better! In this programme you obtain research university degree, which is an important precondition for me.”
Article continues below photo.
What do you want to do after graduation?
“I have been trained to facilitate change and I want to do something that strongly reflects that. In what capacity exactly, I do not know yet. I do know that I would like to start in a job with a strong international atmosphere. For example, within a Dutch company with a strong international focus. I think it would be interesting to be involved in changes related to climate adaptation. There is a huge water problem all over the world and that will only get worse. I really want to be able to help people!”
How was the transition to the River Delta Development master’s degree?
“Very good! This Master fits in well with the bachelor’s in water management. During the Bachelor I learned a lot that I can apply again in the Master. I notice that I can now easily pick up things, recognize them and see the correlations. What I learned during the bachelor; I now benefit from.”
What does the master entail? What do you learn during your education and what subjects do you follow?
“The unique thing about this master's programme is that you follow three semesters at three different locations. Each semester you deal with a different water system, which makes the programme very diverse. In Middelburg the focus is on the coastal system. You follow lessons in interventions, systems thinking and about the government. In the second semester in Velp, the focus is on the river system. You take courses such as erosion and international river management. In the third semester in Rotterdam, the focus is on water in the city. From city flooding to city climate adaptation. During the programme you traverse the entire delta, you discover all the different aspects and issues, so you learn to understand the different interests and perspectives of stakeholders with regard to the development of river deltas. It is a very broad field and certainly very necessary in the future!"