Caitlin from Aruba moved to the Netherlands to study Industrial Engineering & Management at HZ. "As an international student, what really helped me in the first few months was getting to know my classmates and being familiar with them."
What does the study programme Industrial Engineering & Management entail?
"In a nutshell, industrial engineering involves improving industries, focusing on the engineering side but also on the business side. So for example, with the quality management, the asset management, the maintenance, marketing, anything really."
That sounds like it is a very broad study programme. How does this help you?
"Coming out from high school I didn't specifically know what I wanted to do, and this study gave me a lot of options. The study programme gives you the chance to see which elements you like and which ones interest you less."
Coming from Aruba, what made you feel at home at HZ?
"As an international student, what really helped me in the first few months was getting to know my classmates and being familiar with them. But then also the hard part was leaving my family back home, but you get used to it, and then you can push forward."
As a student, you work a lot with real companies. What does that entail in practice?
"Every semester you go to a different company with a different group every single time. There's one project per block, and that's specifically, for example, quality management or operational excellence, and then you focus on improving that within the company by using theory that you learn in class and adapting it in real life."
What is your goal after graduating?
"I’ve always been a more creative person, so after graduation, I want to continue my studies a bit more into the project management, marketing, design spectrum of the industry. Maybe a master, maybe another bachelor. And so with this, I’m going to keep pushing to fulfill my dreams."
Read more about the study programma Industrial Engineering & Management at HZ