Testimonial Marieke de Sévaux

As a recent graduate of the HSP track, I look back on the programme as one of the best career choices I have made thus far! It all started with an interest in public health and evidence-based policymaking. It therefore felt natural to apply to the HSP track, where I became a better researcher and learned how to create and improve health policies through research. Over the course of the 2 years, I particularly enjoyed the variety of disciplines and countries represented by the students and the small scale of the programme, which created the opportunity to look at issues from numerous perspectives and to interact with the other students and faculty on a personal level.

It was during my thesis project and the internship that I really found my passion for continuing in research and that I felt motivated and prepared to pursue this in the form of a PhD. This is something which I was hesitant towards before starting the programme. We received a list of projects, each proposed by two supervisors (one from the UMCG and one from another RUG faculty (e.g., economics or spatial sciences)), who we could then interview about the project before deciding on our preferred topic. I enjoyed that there was room within the projects for your own ideas and creativity. In my experience, this led to a collaboration where I could learn different things from my supervisors and find my own way towards finding my research question and becoming an expert in this field. For my internship, I went to the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, during which I experienced how my own research is valuable to both future research and policies.