Student experiences

Filip Voronine - Msc Mathematics (HTSM master student 2023/2024)

At first, I applied for the HTSM programme because I was unable to choose whether to stay in academia to pursue a PhD or join a company in the industry after graduating from my master’s degree. Equipped with the experience of working for a company, I would be able to make a more informed decision concerning my future course of action. During the first year of the programme, we had the opportunity to attend a series of workshops which covered various topics, ranging wildly from materials science to business management. Over the summer, that knowledge was directly applied at Philips Drachten on a team-based engineering design project, where I caught a glimpse of life in the industry. With the help of their engineers, the team learned how to design fan prototypes and test their efficiency using flow simulations in SolidWorks, before 3D printing them. During the second year of the programme, I had the privilege of working on a medical imaging project in partnership with the UMCG, where we investigated whether zirconium-based radiotracers could be used to decrease the scan time of patients while maintaining the resolution of more standard radiotracers. Overall, the programme is a great way to enrich your studies by becoming a more balanced scientist.

Emmanouela Karyampa - Msc Biomedical Sciences (HTSM Master student 2023/2024)

The HTSM programme challenged me to step outside my comfort zone and explore fields unfamiliar to me. Throughout my first year, I had the opportunity to work within a multidisciplinary team, collaborating with students from various master programmes. This aspect was particularly rewarding, as it enabled me to develop strong communication and teamwork skills. The summer school, in particular, offered a unique experience to work in a professional setting and gain valuable insights into how the industry operates. While it wasn't fully aligned with my background in biomedical sciences, the programme allowed me to combine masterclasses, hands-on experiences, and the opportunity to connect with incredible people, making it a truly invaluable experience.

Mariya Shumska - MSc Computing Science (HTSM Master student 2021/2022)

During the HTSM masterclasses, I gained knowledge outside my degree program, encouraging me to explore other disciplines further. I greatly appreciate my summer school experience in Astron where I could put my research skills into practice. Working on my personal project was an excellent opportunity to build the foundation for my Master's thesis. Finally, collaborating with other enthusiastic students from different backgrounds who followed the HTSM program was always inspiring and fun.

Amit Bharti - MSc Artificial Intelligence (HTSM Master Student 2021/2022)

The Honours program expands our curriculum through industry expert-led master classes, enabling us to explore diverse fields and complete our research internships. The program's standout feature is the masterwork, allowing us to develop and present our own ideas and showcase our achievements to the global community.

Leonidas Zotos - MSc Artificial Intelligence (HTSM Master Student 2021/2022)

The HTSM programme genuinely complemented my AI degree perfectly. While my main degree focuses on the theoretical aspects of the AI field, through the HTSM programme, I learned how to think and apply my knowledge from an industry perspective. I especially enjoyed gaining insights into the other aspects involved in building a solution, such as budgeting, planning, and risk assessment. Overall, the HTSM programme added an additional layer to my degree that I'm sure will be valuable in my future career.

Anne Lotte Vissink - MSc Biomedical Engineering (HTSM Master Student 2019/2020)

The HTSM honours masters offers a fun way to broaden your knowledge in the high tech systems and materials field. I really enjoyed the variety of workshops, from technical topics to business-related and teambuilding sessions. Covering these topics, especially the business related, can be very useful and gave me interesting knowledge and experiences outside of my regular program. The workshops are all in preparation of the summer school, which gives you the possibility to solve a technical challenge for large company outside of your own field. I did a project for the Meyer Werft, which is not a place where you would normally find a biomedical engineer. I learned a lot during this summer school working on a design problem within a cruise ship. Finally, for the master work you can take a dive into a subject of your personal interest. I decided to apply deep learning on lung scans for discovering lung diseases. I learned a lot during the honours programme and would definitely recommend it to everyone interested in this excellence programme.

Mónica Espinoza Cangahuala, MSc Chemistry (HTSM Master student 2018/2019)

As a Theoretical Chemistry and Computational Modelling master student, I felt my programme was very abstract. I chose the HTSM honours master because it offered the opportunity to work in industry and develop my leadership and business skills.

My favourite parts of the programme were the summer school and masterwork projects. During the summer school, I developed a newfound love for 3D printing but more importantly; I learned to trust and hone my leadership skills. I also learned to communicate with people from different academic backgrounds. This was useful during the masterwork too. For that, I choose a multidisciplinary project involving two research institutes: ENTEG and ZIAM. I learned to write a research proposal, further honed my project management skills, and worked in two worlds: engineering and material science.

I think that overall the HTSM honours master makes you a well-rounded scientist ready to work in both academia and industry.

Michaël van de Weerd- Msc Computing Science (HTSM Master Student 2018/2019)

Being a former student of the Hanze University of Applied Science, the HTSM programme felt familiar to me in more than one way. The workshops and masterclasses are aimed at practical knowledge about working on projects in a team, having a problem solving attitude towards product development and evaluating the work you do in terms of the market, clients and society. Building upon these experiences, the summer school provides an opportunity to turn thought into actions and to discover your natural role within a team.

We took the chance to work on developing an antenna from scratch at ASTRON. This was a childhood dream come true, as I have been fascinated by ASTRON and their work since I visited the antenna array in Westerbork in primary school. The summer school has given me the chance to walk among the very antennas that have inspired me to pursue a career in science and engineering.

HTSM provides many ways to work on your own dream by providing the means to develop yourself with a professional career in mind. I’m convinced that this does not only result in worthwhile life experiences but also increases your value to future employers.

Thomas Hoeksema - MSc Computing Science (HTSM Master Student 2015/2016)

Winner of the Aart Bosman Student Excellence Award 2015-16

I decided to apply for the HTSM programme, because I wanted to get experience with real-life product development. If you are interested in product development in a real production environment, or want a challenge on top of your regular Master’s programme, or want to develop and broaden your technical 8 skills, talents and knowledge in a practical setting, the HTSM programme is capable of providing all of the above and I highly recommend applying for it!

Bram Lap - MSc Astronomy (HTSM Master Student 2015/2016)

During my degree in Astronomy I have collaborated a lot with my fellow students. However, I really wanted to gain experience in collaborating with student of a completely different background. In other words, what would be my role within a multidisciplinary team and what would this collaboration be like?

The High Tech Systems and Materials Honours master track really gave me this opportunity. Were I was enabled to work on a technological Summer School projects with four other students whose background varied from Informatics to Biology. In the end, it has showed me that people from different backgrounds are able to solve difficult problems together. But in order to do this you need to really understand each other, which is not always easy due to personal differences. So, if you want to learn how to work in a multidisciplinary team with people that do not share your background or are very different from you I can recommend you to apply for the HTSM. It can be fun and sometimes even frustrating, but it is worth it!

Jessy Ceha, Msc Human - MSc Artificial Intelligence (HTSM Master Student 2014/2015)

Winner of the Avril McDonald Prize 2016

Jan Bakker - MSc Theoretical Physics (HTSM Master Student 2014/2015)