By Cecile Bruil

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”, the teacher asked playfully when Fardou Haagsma was in the fourth grade of primary school. “A teacher”, she confidently replied. 

Most of us have been asked what we want to become many times in our lives already, especially when we were very young. And most of us replied that we wanted to become teachers. “It was the only job I really knew existed,” Fardou, a Biology bachelor graduate, says, “so it was a logical answer at the time”.

Yet, while growing up, our passions change. You get to know the world is larger than your primary school where you grew up, and you learn there are more jobs out there. The opportunities seem infinite, and so your imagination will run wild. “When I was a bit older I wanted to be an archaeologist. It seemed so cool to be digging up treasure chests around the pyramids of Egypt,” Fardou recalls, “but when I learned they mostly spend time studying books and rarely find treasures, that desire faded.”

“For a long time, I did not know what I wanted to become. I knew I still liked educating people, and that I had a broad interest in science, but I wanted to discover more about science and the world before immediately going to a classroom,” Fardou says. “I did, however, look up the education master in Groningen during my bachelor in Biology there and, to my surprise, it also featured a science communication track”. 

The master Science Education and Communication at the University of Groningen allows you to become a teacher or explore other types of communicating science. For example, you can use your biology background as a communication consultant at a scientific institute, or become a science journalist for magazines, newspapers, TV, or podcasts. But also museums, science centres, the government, and hospitals have a need for people who bridge the gap between science and the general public. “When I learned there was a field in which I could dive into the most exciting parts of science to explain what I found to others, I knew I had to apply for this master track,” says Fardou.

“If you’d ask me now what I want to become, I would say a medical communicator at a patient association.” She starts laughing, “There is no way little me even knew this job existed and now I’m trying my best to get an internship there.”

“If you love being creative and have a broad interest in science, this master might be really up your alley. The teachers push you out of your comfort zone, and make you study up on different disciplines,” Fardou says. “I learned so much from the journalism course about writing and interviewing, I really developed new skills.” She continues to explain how different courses highlight different aspects of science communication: “During the course Science and the Public I got to use my directing skills from my theatre background in making a video about sleepwalking, which was really fun.” She continues: “For a different project I dove into AI, wrote an article and made an exhibit about the topic, even though I was not too familiar with AI as I have a background in neurobiology.”

Besides direct skills, Fardou mentions there are also indirect skills you develop during this programme. “You will become better at time management quickly, as there are so many deadlines, you have no choice but to plan well.” Additionally, you also build up your CV as you follow the courses. “As you have the opportunity to publish end products, for example in Ukrant or on Bridgingscience.nl, work with real companies, and get guest lectures from people from the science communication field, you gain valuable experiences.” 

“It’s a shame so few people know about this master, it’s the perfect match for creative scientists who don’t want to spend their life in the lab,” Fardou says. “When you are in doubt about which master to pick, this is a good choice!”