PhD stories

‘I truly discovered myself during my PhD’

Students or researchers? PhD and PDEng candidates fall into a category of their own. What is it like to navigate the sometimes lonely road towards a doctoral degree? In this monthly series, we put young academics of the University of Twente in the limelight. This episode gives the stage to Fardad Maghsoudi Moud from the Applied Earth Sciences department at ITC.
PhD stories

‘If there is nobody else, then I will step up and do it’

Students or researchers? PhD and PDEng candidates fall into a category of their own. What is it like to navigate the sometimes lonely road towards a doctoral degree? In this monthly series, we put young academics of the University of Twente in the limelight. This episode gives the stage to Verena Menzel from the Mathematics of Operations Research group.
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‘All PhDs should be considered one community’

The University Council (UC) is concerned about PhD candidates who are not employed by the UT. During today’s meeting in Horst, the Council advised the Executive Board to clearly define the status and the rights of these ‘scholarship-PhD’s’. ‘We want to provide proper support mechanism and treat them equally.’
Science
The Virtual Burglary Project

‘A peek into the mind of a burglar’

UT researcher Iris van Sintemaartensdijk has spent a lot of time in prison. The PhD candidate used Virtual Reality (VR) to interview almost 200 criminals across the Netherlands, aiming to determine what happens inside the mind of a burglar. Next week, she is defending her doctoral thesis, contributing to the ‘Virtual Burglary Project’.
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New group to connect and support female PhDs and PDEngs

‘Safe space for female doctoral candidates’

P-NUT (PhD Network of the University of Twente) has started a new initiative to support female doctoral candidates. ‘We want to raise awareness of challenges women face and create a safe group where you can share anything,’ says the group’s founder, PhD researcher Aurora Ruiz Rodríguez.
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Sugandh Chauhan wins the 2021 Overijssel PhD Award

'I wanted to help farmers using current technology'

Sugandh Chauhan is the winner of this year’s Overijssel PhD Award. The researcher, who obtained her PhD at the UT in 2020, was selected for her doctoral thesis on lodged crops and how they can be tracked down using satellite imagery.
PhD stories

‘PhD is about knowing how to handle failures’

Students or researchers? PhD candidates fall into a category of their own. What is it like to navigate the sometimes lonely road towards a doctoral degree? In this monthly series, we put the PhDs of the University of Twente in the limelight. This episode gives the stage to Shreyas Harsha, a young scientist at the Photocatalytic Synthesis group.
Science

‘Personal branding is a journey, not a destination’

While coaching top managers, Stefan Scheidt realized that executives needed better personal branding – and so he decided to start a PhD research on the topic. Tomorrow, the doctoral candidate at the University of Twente is defending his thesis. ‘Personal branding is not only about standing out, but also about fitting in.’
PhD stories

‘I’ve faced the nearly stereotypical PhD experience: mental health challenges’

Students or researchers? PhD candidates fall into a category of their own. What is it like to navigate the sometimes lonely road towards a doctoral degree? In this monthly series, we put the PhDs of the University of Twente in the limelight. This episode gives the stage to Rob Bemthuis, a young academic from the Pervasive Systems Research Group.
News

PhD & PDEng Day explores the role of scientists in ‘post-fact society’

Carrying the theme ‘science in a post-fact society’, the annual PhD & PDEng Day will be held on the 24th of November in the Gallery on campus. The event will include keynote speeches by UT honorary doctors Jamie Hyneman and Wim van Saarloos.
PhD stories

‘Everyone warned me that PhD is a lonely job’

Students or researchers? PhD candidates fall into a category of their own. What is it like to navigate the sometimes lonely road towards a doctoral degree? In this monthly series, we put the PhDs of the University of Twente in the limelight. This episode gives the stage to Anouk Geenen, a young scientist from the Human Centred Design group.
PhD stories
PhD stories, episode 1: Juliane Schillinger

‘At some point, you will get frustrated with your research’

Students or researchers? PhD candidates fall into a category of their own. What is it like to navigate the sometimes lonely road towards a doctoral degree? In this monthly series, we put the PhDs of the University of Twente in the limelight. This very first episode gives the stage to Juliane Schillinger, a young scientist at the BMS department of Technology, Policy and Society.
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