I have always had an interest in sustainability, so choosing this minor was the perfect way to try the field. My experience convinced me to pursue a more sustainability-focused Master's programme.

I needed to decide between Biology or a more sustainability-focused masters program. I fell in love with the field due to the passionate teachers, interesting guest speakers, and interdisciplinary education. With the other students we created a wonderful and safe community and I became friends with people all over the world. Finally, I had two amazing weeks of fieldwork in Portugal. The research we did there involved real sustainability challenges in the area and we worked with local stakeholders. This taught me a lot in terms of technical skills, collaboration, and project planning.

My bachelor trained my quantitative skills. I chose this minor to find out how I could use my background to address sustainability challenges.

During group work in the programme – especially the Area Studies course – I learned to apply transferable skills from my bachelor in a new environment (e.g., coding and data visualisation). Moreover, I found it fascinating to see how students from different disciplines contributed to the project from a different angle. The interdisciplinary collaboration showed me a practical side to research, that I lacked from astronomy. The minor has thereby complemented my bachelor really well.

What I appreciated most was the nuanced perspective of the minor. Recognizing that solutions aren’t always straightforward, and each approach has its advantages and disadvantages.

As a linguistics major, I initially wondered how well I’d fit into the Sustainable Development minor. The humanities cover mostly theoretical concepts; however, the minor’s initial focus was on understanding our planet’s systems and human impact. The introductory course was a solid theoretical foundation. After learning what all goes wrong, you get to work with a group on your own project and contribute to solving a sustainability issue. What I appreciated most was the nuanced perspective of the minor. Recognizing that solutions aren’t always straightforward, and each approach has its advantages and disadvantages. This critical thinking is taught and practiced in the humanities, but it was exciting to apply them to real-world sustainability issues and come up with practical solutions.