Student Testimonial: Gert-Jan Romensen

The Honours College offers tailor-made programmes to students who are willing to go the extra mile in their own field and are interested in broadening their perspective through courses from other faculties and personal development trainings. It was a great experience from beginning to end.

First, I appreciate that the Honours College always strives to tailor their curriculum to the latest academic and societal developments. For example, a course on financial ethics was organised in the aftermath of the financial crisis and a summer school in Washington and Brussels elaborated on online corporate social responsibility. Furthermore, I greatly enjoyed co-organising two Honours forums on other topics of my own interest: one on productivity growth in Europe and the other on behavioural public policy.

Second, the Honours College is keen on developing student competencies. It offers courses on debating and academic writing and stimulates students to conduct their own research under supervision of an experienced researcher. Furthermore, the Honours network made it possible for me to participate in external programmes such as the Netherlands-Asia Honours Summer School (NAHSS).

Third, the Honours community consists of ambitious students and teachers from various backgrounds. Discussions during class and group projects are always inspiring. Students motivate and learn from each other and teachers are in for a chat after the lecture. One teacher even brought oliebollen (a Dutch winter snack) to class! I made great friends during the programme.

Overall, the Honours College equipped me with the right balance of academic and practical competencies to succeed in various environments. It sparked my enthusiasm for research and motivated me to enrol for a Research Master in Economics. Currently, I am a PhD Candidate at the University of Groningen.