Studentenverhaal
Student Mathijs Langen - MSc Forest and Nature Conservation
Mathijs has studied the Bachelor Bos- en Natuurbeheer. Currently, he is a Master's student Forest and Nature Conservation (2nd year) with the specialisation Ecology.
After the bachelor, I had the idea that I had just begun and had much more to learn about areas and communities outside the Netherlands.
Different order
“As the very first thing in my programme, I did my internship. This is quite unusual, but I wanted to do something practical before diving into courses again. I went to Guinea-Bissau in Western Africa to work with Chimbo Foundation. In this internship, I focused on the community's view on the holiness of the forests and how this relates to the size of sacred forests.”
Wildlife thesis
“Currently, I am in Botswana researching the use of aardvark burrows by other animals. We research this by inspecting camera traps placed at the entrance of these burrows as a part of the Wildlife Ecology and Conservation group (WEC). Besides the viewing of camera footage, we walk transects to find more burrows in the area to also investigate.”
The future after this master
“I will graduate after my thesis is complete. I hope to find a job in which I can contribute to the conservation of nature reserves. Preferably, I would like to do something abroad, as I did in projects in both my bachelor's and master's. Especially in the field of wildlife, there is more to explore in my interest here than in the Netherlands. Other than that, as I enjoy conducting research, I would be open to continuing in the academic field.”
A tip for upcoming students
“Keep in touch with companies that you find interesting. By remaining involved in the organisation where I carried out my bachelor internship, I can more easily see if there are places available with them or if they know people in their network who might have interesting opportunities for me.”