PhD Testimonials
Gabriel Dinda, PhD Planning
To say that I enjoy my PhD is to be modest. I am having the time of my life. It gives me many possibilities. A chance to deepen my research skills, widen my scope of thinking and critically reflect on societal impact of teaching and research. Following on the footsteps of many Nobel laureates who walked the same streets I am walking in Groningen (including Zernike where our faculty is located), fills me with hope for the future. continue reading
Rupankar Dey, PhD Demography
My PhD experience has been rewarding in ways I expected and in many ways I did not. Of course, there are challenges: research rarely follows a perfectly straight path, and a PhD requires patience, flexibility, and a willingness to rethink your assumptions. But beyond the academic journey, what I find most rewarding is the opportunity to encounter different cultures, perspectives, and people through my work. These experiences have changed not only how I think as a researcher but also how I understand myself. continue reading
Athanasios Ziogas, alumnus PhD Economic Geography (succesfully defended in 2024)
During my first days as a new member of the Faculty of Spatial Sciences, I have been very pleasantly surprised that when we address to someone we call her or him with her or his first name. This facilitates the communication with your colleagues. The facilities are extremely good and they can cultivate interdisciplinary research. One of the faculty’s aims is to promote this interdisciplinary involvement. The exchange of ideas is very important and this is only possible when people with sufficiently different backgrounds come together. continue reading
Lili Gonzales, alumna PhD Cultural Geography (succesfully defended in 2022)
I applied through a scholarship from the Mexican government. During my PhD trajectory, I often encounter cultural differences. I think anyone coming to the Netherlands should be aware about “Dutch directness”. In the beginning I was quite surprised by it. Another thing that stands out is planning (way) in advance for appointments, social events, and basically everything. So now I have a “casual dinner” with friends scheduled 2 months in advance. continue reading