Eelke Leemijer (Class of 2019)

What was your major at UCG, and what drew you to study Liberal Arts and Sciences?

My UCG major was called Brain Behaviour and Cognition (basically a broad major in social sciences with an emphasis on psychology). I was drawn to UCG because at the time I was fascinated by psychology, but I am also a long time history buff, and I quite enjoyed biology and chemistry. A degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences was the only way to follow at least some courses in all of these.

Were there any particular subjects or courses that you found especially exciting or impactful during your time at UCG? 

Definitely the end of year projects. I remember my first year we did a project about the long-term storage of nuclear waste (we’re talking at least 100.000 years), and how we could signpost these storage facilities so that people that far in the future could still read the warning signs. 

This project was a combination of the two things about UCG I like most: 

1. Collaboration with students with a wildly different set of knowledge – from history, to psychology, to calculus and physics;

2. And the combination of serious academic work with creative freedom. For this particular project we transformed the basement of UCG into a sort of movie set of an abandoned nuclear storage site with “found footage” videos to present out ideas and research. The dean at the time gave us permission to use the basement on one condition: we had to incorporate a smoke machine into our presentation.

How did your time at UCG shape your interests or career path? Did it influence any unexpected directions?

When I started studying I was seriously considering becoming a chemist or engineer, though I was also considering becoming a therapist or counsellor of sorts. I am currently a civil servant in regional government. So I had not expected the course my life would take.

Looking back there were some clear examples of UCG projects that paved the way for my current career. A big one was a course I took in year 2 about the EU legislative process, and the year 2 project which was about building scenario’s about what the EU might be like in the wake of Brexit. This both sparked my interest in government and gave me enough credits in the right courses to follow a master’s in European public Affairs.

Which also provides two small tips for current UCG students: 

A lot of the courses you take as an afterthought may end up being the first step towards an interesting new opportunity. And second: no university knows exactly what our strange courses are about, so with some creative thought you can easily argue you have enough credits to get into a programme you are excited about. I took a criminology and criminal law course at UCG, which was both a sociology credit for my anthropology degree’s prerequisites, and a government/policy course towards the European Public Affairs masters. 

What did you do after graduating from UCG? How did your Liberal Arts and Sciences degree help you take the next step?

I ended up getting two one-year master’s degrees: one in anthropology, and one in European public affairs. During this second master’s I did an internship at the Dutch Court of Audits (Algemene Rekenkamer) studying the impact of EU subsidies in the Netherlands. 

I then did a Schuman traineeship at the European Parliament where I helped to answer questions from citizens addressed to the Parliament. I was then recruited based on my experience at the Court of Audits to work for the Dutch government with various subsidy-related projects, from reviewing subsidy applications, to setting up new subsidy schemes, to reviewing ways to make subsidy applications more accessible for more people. This is the kind of work I am still doing, though now at a regional level rather than national. 

In what ways did the interdisciplinary nature of your UCG education prepare you for your professional life? Were there any specific skills or experiences that proved particularly valuable?

There is one skill I picked up that I found invaluable: while I would not consider myself an expert in any field, UCG taught me to be very fast at gaining a working knowledge of almost any topic. I currently work with processing applications from companies that request money for innovations. These range from new software applications to complicated mechanical processes for making things out of biodegradable materials, to new medical tools and compounds. It is my job to judge whether these projects are sufficiently innovative and provide enough benefit to society. This requires a working knowledge of lots of different field.

Looking back, what were some of the most memorable or meaningful moments you experienced at UCG? 

I think I am legally required to say that it is the moment I met my amazing girlfriend and soon-to-be-wife who also studied at UCG.

I also look back fondly on the social non-studying aspects of UCG, such as the assassins game that had us chasing each other around with socks for weeks and had the whole campus paranoid to step out of their bedrooms. And of course the year-one chaos that was living at Frascati. I am still in contact with a number of UCG friends, even though some have left for different continents. 

I also fondly remember the end of year projects, and the third-year exchange programme where I spent a semester studying at one of the top universities in South-Korea. 

What advice would you give to current or prospective students considering UCG?

Never stop learning! If you guys are anything like the knowledge-hungry UCG students I know, this should be the easiest to follow advice you have ever received, but it is good to keep it in mind. Even if life gets in the way, you can always find opportunities to pick up new skills and qualifications. If you don’t go for further education, lots of employers offer an annual budget for following trainings, and there are so many free or cheap (online) workshops out there you can follow. 

What are your goals for the future? 

Honestly so many. On a personal level I would love to get a house with a big garden I can stuff to the brim with fruit trees and bushes, with a little field for my dog. 

On a professional level my work experience so far has been mostly in implementing government policy. I would like to get to a point where I can actively help shape said policy to help make a government that better addresses the needs of more citizens. A lot of tax breaks and subsidies currently favour people who are well-educated and wealthy enough to either spend a lot of money making the system work for them, or who can hire someone who knows the systems inside and out. 

A good example is the ISDE subsidy, which allows people to improve the energy efficiency of their homes, through things like better insulation. A lot of applications are filed by people in relatively new houses which already have an A, or even A+ energy rating – since the people who live here are often retired or have a lot of experience filling in government paperwork. People with older, less well-insulated houses tend to be parents with young children, or people who are working two jobs, or who work and study. These people often just don’t have the time or energy to go through the (quite laborious) process of filing an application. For this particular subsidy there are now a few initiatives which aim to proactively help these people apply so that the money ends up where it has the biggest impact.  I would like to get to a place where I can push for more initiatives like these.