I was studying biology when I became active in students’ politics. I started a new party at the faculty of science and got elected for the student's council. After that, I got elected on the board of the student union (ASVA Studentenunie), who represent the interests of all students in Amsterdam. I found out more and more about education and especially educational policy, and I wondered why so many decisions seemed so ill-considered. I wondered if I could do something with that in my studies and that was when I discovered the field of educational sciences. I did a one-year programme to bridge the gap between my bachelor Beta Gamma (with a major in biology) and a master in educational sciences and now I am in the Research Master's programme of Child Development and Education.

The research master is an international programme and I think that’s a big advantage. Because there are students from different countries, you realize how much you can learn about the Dutch situation by looking at other countries. This can raise many interesting questions.

I remember very well that in the first weeks every teacher asked what we wanted to specialize in. I had not given that too much thought, but it did not take long for me to decide that I wanted to specialize in the use of ICT in educational settings. The use of ICT is on the rise and learning with one device per child – 1:1 learning – seems to be the future. Although there are no courses on this theme specifically in the Master’s programme, I have been able to incorporate it in almost all of my work. In a course on educational policy, I looked at policy plans and the reasons why the use of ICT is promoted. In a course on micro processes in education I looked at vocabulary learning with the help of computers and if it really worked.

My research projects are on the subject of 1:1 learning and one thing I really like in the schools I visit, is the vibe. If people really think about what they want to do and why, it results in an energy that affects teachers and students. I think that is one of the most important things in education. Even though it is not within my own field of specialization, I also assist a professor who is writing a book on vocational training. I found out that because of the research skills I have developed here, it is not too hard to delve into this subject either. In the future, I would like to use my research skills in a non-commercial environment.’