I hope that we will see this sense of community again after the renovations
“To me, making your way in your own creativity is quite important in life. That is what I have found at the VUB during my ten years here. I will stay here for at least another three years because I signed on for a three-year postdoc position.
In the first five years here, I got my degree in Engineering. The next five year I spent on the campus in Etterbeek as a doctoral student. The Engineering program is very broad: personally, I found it very interesting to study all different aspects. During the last five years, the VUB gave me the opportunity to use my research to look for creative solutions to societal issues.
The VUB is very broad minded, which fits me to a tee. That is why the VUB was a good choice for me. I cannot say whether the VUB is better or worse compared to other universities, as I have only studied at the VUB. I suspect much depends on the ‘match’ between the student and the university. I’m sure that a lot of people have a very good connection with the VUB, and that they agree with the attitude and philosophy of the university towards education and science.
The VUB is not as big as other universities in Belgium. As a result, the distance between professor and student is smaller than anywhere else. You will also notice this as a PhD student, professors are very accessible; it doesn’t take long to build a collegial relationship with your supervisor.
My best memories of my VUB life are certainly the summers. In summer everybody sits outside in the sun, to barbecue for instance. I hope that we will see this sense of community once more after the renovations.”
On the occasion of the VUB’s 50th anniversary, prof. dr. Martina Temmerman asked the students in her introductory course on journalism genres to make portraits of people on the VUB campus. The ‘snapshots’ resulting from the project Humans of the VUB offer a lovely cross section of life on our university campus in 2019/20.