Why did you choose the MSc Earth Sciences?

During the bachelor Physical Geography we made a lot of fieldtrips. In these trips we learned to look at nature and landscapes with different eyes. My interest was triggered by the processes that are responsible for the formation of the landscape (geomorphology). The great atmosphere among the students, the small classes and informal contact with the lecturers were the main reasons to stay at the UvA.

How do you look back at your Master's programme? 

The Master's programme was great. I had the great fortune of enjoying some unforgettable foreign fieldtrips in Tenerife, the Austrian Alps and Burkina Faso (thesis) and an internship in Spain. During the fieldtrips I was accompanied by great study friends. The research my friend Joost and I executed in Burkina Faso was most special. There is a great difference in life standard, but the Burkinabé are a proud and happy nation. We had a pleasant team of local students who worked with us. Actually I still have contact with them.

What was the subject (and conclusion) of your final thesis? 

In the Master's thesis study I did a fine scale research on a typical Sahelian landscape. The aim was to find relations between the properties of the soil and reaction of the soil to (rain)water. With a mobile rain simulator we simulated small scale rain events on different types of surface (vegetation/no vegetation). Some strong relations between soil properties, infiltration depths and other factors like termite activity were found. The gathering of data was hard work as well as the writing of the thesis. But the final version of the thesis made me very proud.