_{Studying in class is just one part of the journey; the world is full of learning opportunities, and it’s up to you to seize them. Take Gillian, for example. After several years in the business field, balancing a job at a startup on the side, and just three months into his Master's, he took the leap. He joined the CEO of his company at SLUSH, a renowned startup and tech event held annually in Helsinki, Finland. SLUSH brings together startup founders and investors, fostering connections through events like matchmaking sessions and pitching competitions. People like Gillian are the ones shaping our classes and the ones you’re likely to meet during your Master's. Being surrounded by such driven individuals makes it far more likely you’ll discover opportunities that align with your ambitions. So go out there, show up, network, and expand your vision! But first: read Gillian's story!}

Hello! My name is Gillian van Loenhoud, and I am a Master's student in Sustainable Entrepreneurship. I was born and raised in the beautiful Dokkum, just half an hour's drive from Leeuwarden. So, in that sense, I'm not stepping too far out of my comfort zone by studying at Campus Fryslân! Nevertheless, I love adventure. For my bachelor's in Human Resource Management, I studied for half a year in South Africa. There, I did a minor in Social Entrepreneurship, which set the tone for my future studies and career. In South Africa, we had classes about the famous triple bottom line people, planet, and profit and I first heard about the company you'll hear at least twice a week in class: Patagonia. This was a truly inspiring period in my life because I learned that companies are not only there to make money but also to balance it with people and the planet. 

After this great experience, I decided not to pursue a Master's immediately but first get some work experience. I worked for a company that, six years ago, was a small startup named Yobbers. Within this company, I gained a lot of valuable work experience and even had the opportunity to kickstart their office in Valencia. However, after a year in Spain, it  was time for me to return to the Netherlands. I decided to quit at Yobbers and chose to do a Master's in the end. The reason was that, even though I had some great work experience, I still wanted to dive deeper into sustainability. I also knew a few people who did the Master's in Sustainable Entrepreneurship, and they were really positive about it. So here I am, studying for three months, and I can confirm that these people didn't lie, it's a great  programme! 

Next to studying, I am also working for the startup HULO. We make software to detect, localize, and classify water leakages for big water utilities. With the company, we have the "big hairy and audacious" goal to save 4 billion Olympic swimming pools. So, we still have quite some work to do! Luckily, this work is fun because, for my "work," I was asked to join the founder, Robbert Lodewijks, at an event in Helsinki, Finland. We went to SLUSH, which is Europe's largest startup event, bringing together founders, investors, and industry leaders to network, discuss, and fund new ventures. They also have great speakers like the founders of NVIDIA, Vinted, Revolut, and Twitch. 

I'm joining Robbert because we are in the phase of raising seed investment for HULO. Our goal in Helsinki is to speak to as many investors as possible to help us fund the next phase of HULO. We went with a big delegation of Dutch startup founders and investors for five days. In total, we were with 200 "Dutchies," and we all stayed in the same hotel. The first two days were mainly focused on networking and getting to know each other. During these days, I got the chance to connect with fascinating tech startups. One that particularly stood out was Powerchainger, which develops AI software to optimize energy efficiency and reduce electricity waste. I also had great conversations with the team from Beyond Weather, whose mission is to help businesses become climate resilient by providing reliable information on imminent weather events in time to take effective anticipatory action. As you can imagine, it was a lot of inspiration.

But of course, we were in Helsinki for the SLUSH event, and wow, what an experience. On day three, it all started. As preparation beforehand, I was responsible for scheduling as many 30-minute meetings with investors as possible. At the event itself, Robbert would have these meetings, and I had the opportunity to gain inspiration from the keynote speakers. There were, in total, four stages: the Founder Stage focuses on the founding stories and journeys of some of the most iconic companies of our time; the Impact Stage highlights the most topical phenomena that shape the startup ecosystem and technology that defines the future; the Builder Stage is dedicated to practical topics around company building; and lastly, the Startup Stage shines a light on the early-stage founders at SLUSH. These startups could pitch their company, and at the end of SLUSH, a jury would decide what the best startup is. 

Great to highlight is that a Dutch company was picked as the best startup. The company is called OASYS NOW, founded by Erasmus University Rotterdam alumni Nima Salami and Sara Okhuijsen and they were awarded the €1 million prize. Their mission is to improve health data management by helping people take charge of their clinical trial choices and support groundbreaking medical research. So let it be a motivation that hopefully the next winners are alumni from the Master's in Sustainable Entrepreneurship from the RUG! 

Of course, next to networking and seeing the great speakers, there were also fun things besides SLUSH. I really enjoyed the dinners, sauna, and going out with the people and found out that these were the best ways to really "network." It was less formal and made it easier to understand each other. Fun fact: I met the founder of a sustainable Norwegian company in the sauna, and two days later, I saw him at a small side event, which was quite a coincidence. The interesting thing was that he had, a few hours before, attended a presentation from Circular Friesland. Small world! 

Fun fact: I met the founder of a sustainable Norwegian company in the sauna, and two days later, I saw him at a small side event, which was quite a coincidence.

In the end, what stood out for me were the opportunities to connect with like-minded professionals and innovators from around the world. Interesting conversations about sustainability, building impactful companies, and scaling with purpose. Great talks from speakers who are pushing the boundaries of what's possible in business and beyond!