FD names Sjon Hartman as one of fifty "young enterprising talents"

Het Financieele Dagblad has chosen Sjon Hartman, PhD candidate in the Plant Ecophysiology group (Biology) as one of the fifty most promising young people of 2017. On 21 January, the FD presented their selection in a special edition of FD Persoonlijk.

“I think it’s very cool to be part of this group,” says Sjon Hartman. “I was nominated, probably because I participated in Science Battle last year.” Had he expected to be part of the final selection? “I’m not sure. I’m not more special than my colleagues. My participation in Science Battle just created a lot of momentum.”

Hartman received a lot of response on social media. “All of a sudden, I got a whole bunch of new followers on Twitter and LinkedIn, and people who want to meet up for coffee. Some investors, for example. But I can’t just launch a startup in addition to my PhD research.” Still, Hartman is happy with more awareness for his research on how to make crops more tolerant to flooding. “It’s always good to get attention for the problem that we’re working on. The more media attention, the better. Also for my colleagues, because it may lead to more funding for our research. It’s not my goal to draw attention to myself.”