Testimonials
Gabe van den Hoeven, student
I really like the Major Research Project where you do research at a research group and write your thesis on it.
What makes this programme unique in your eyes?
I was looking for a Bioinformatics Master’s and compared to other Masters in the Netherlands this programme lets you design your own Master’s more, which I really like because I’m less restricted to follow courses I don’t want.
If you had to tell something about the programme you know now, but what you didn’t know before you started, what would you tell?
I wanted to dive a bit deeper into the theoretical part of biology and get a little more experience in working on research projects. I find that many courses try to give an overview of every method and theory in that subject but often don’t extensively handle them. Some of them do but you should ask around to find out if a course gives you what you are looking for.
What is your favourite subject of this programme? Could be a course, a project, an assignment, the thing you like most?
I really like the Major Research Project where you do research at a research group and write your thesis on it. As for a course, I liked Biological Modeling because it assumes you already have done an introductory course and goes deeper into the subject and is also taught very clearly.
And on the contrary: what is the biggest challenge of this program?
With many of the important courses being taught at the same time, it can be hard to make a study plan that fits into 2 years, especially if you fail any courses. Also, as Bioinformatics is quite a broad field, this program tends to scratch the surface of many different subjects in the field, though this can be a good thing if you don’t exactly know what you want yet.
Anything else you would like to share with prospective students?
In my opinion doing a Master’s is worth it even if you don’t plan to do a PhD but you have to think about what you want from it beforehand: whether that is gaining more experience and trying to find an easy way into a fulltime job, making new friends and contacts in your field of work, or using it as a stepping stone to get into a PhD. Take these things into account when deciding if a Master’s degree is worth it for you and choose what you think fits you best.
Markel Benito Sendin, student
"Come in with an idea of what you would like to do, as this program gives you complete flexibility to learn what you are interested in."
What makes this program unique in your eyes?
This program allows you to combine the latest technological advances such as data analysis or AI in the fields of medicine, biology, chemistry, etc.
Are there any misconceptions about this program, can you name them?
It is not necessary to have a strong technical background in mathematics and programming, you will learn all of this in the courses that start from the beginning and your internship, where you will have the opportunity to “learn by doing”.
If you had to tell something about the program you know now, but what you didn’t know before you started, what would you tell?
Come in with an idea of what you would like to do, as this program gives you complete flexibility to learn what you are interested in and if you are not sure what to do it can be overwhelming to have so many options.
What is the future you? What would be your ideal LinkedIn profile in a few years?
I would love to pursue an academic/industrial PhD on a topic that would allow me to jump directly into the pharmaceutical industry, starting from a senior position and continuing to develop my professional career in the field of AI applied to medicine.
Anything else you would like to share with prospective students?
This Master’s will allow you to develop technical skills such as data analysis and programming, which very demanded in the market, which will grant you many more job opportunities and career prospects.
Leon van Mierlo, Student
"The study is more than just bioinformatics, it is also about a general way of using computational tools to analyse data effectively."
What makes this programme unique in your eyes?
The programme offers a unique combination between biology, computer sciences and data sciences. The programme does a really good job at fostering the collaboration between these fields and you get a deep understanding of the biological concepts but also gain proficiency in computational techniques.
Are there any misconceptions about this programme, can you name them?
The study is a bioinformatics study, but it is also much more. For example, you learn how to handle big datasets, this is applicable to much more than just biological data such as DNA or gene information. The programme also involves significant amount of computer science and data analysis in general. So, the study is more than just bioinformatics, it is also about a general way of using computational tools to analyse data effectively.
What is your favourite subject of this programme? Could be a course, a project, an assignment, the thing you like most?
I like really liked the AI course called Basic Machine Learning. I liked this course is because I am interested in AI in general and I think AI is going to play a bigger role in bioinformatics and understanding diseases on an DNA-level. So, learning about AI and seeing it grows in this field is really fascinating.
What do you think the future looks like for you?
I hope that in a few years I will work as a Data Scientist in a leading biotech company. This seems like a really good job for me. This can however switch for example if I find a good PhD position that really suits me. In even more years, I would like to have my own company in the bioinformatics field.