No 12 – 11 February 2016

HelixChurch Growing pains

Solving the problem cost Catholic urban planning Will you soon have to ﬁ ght 2.4 million | p.7 | to curb sin | p.10 | for a thesis place? | p.18 | RESOURCE For students and employees of Wageningen UR no 12 – 11 February 2016 – 10th Volume Chinese love market Wageningen PhD candidates tell their stories | p.12 2 >> labour of love >> JOHAN + COLLECTING Johan Derksen, senior biotechnician at Unifarm

‘You can always throw it out later’

Johan Derksen never throws anything away. He collects all sorts of things. You name it, he’ll produce it from a box or a cupboard in his house, former WUR experimental farm De Santacker in Elst. Odd bits of equipment, piles of yellowing panoramas, state portraits of the royal family, dinky toys, a roll of old tickets for Wageningen Football Club… ‘An interest in history,’ is his own explanation. Tinged with nostal- gia, a feast of memories. And another plus: ‘I am never bored.’ RK / photo: Guy Ackermans

RESOURCE — 11 February 2016 PHOTO COVER: HOLLANDSE HOOGTE >>CONTENTS no 12 – 10th volume

>> 6 >> 20 >> 24 DISASTER STUDIES CITIZEN SCIENCE VIOLIN ‘Wageningen invisible Riding on the African Ruben plays in Netherlands because it has no professor’ communication revolution Student Orchestra

‘YOU HAVE TWO NEW MESSAGES’ I’m a phone man. Not an app man or a text message man, or an email man either really. I’m basically a phone man. That’s what journalists do. Talk, chat, ask questions, pass the message on. I’m one of the dying breed who still leaves voicemails, though I may sometimes send an ‘app’ afterwards as well. But since AND MORE... working here, I’ve had to deal every day with a phone system that has clearly 4 ESG in the red been designed by someone who never actually makes phone calls. An IT guy 5 To Surinam for zika keen on eﬃ ciency, I suspect. A fan of email. If someone leaves me a voicemail, 8 Fish protects against I get an email. Which I can’t listen to without others listening in. But a text mes- dementia sage gets converted into an excessively enunciated voicemail that a computer- 10 Spying on white sharks generated voice barks down my ear. Nobody, and I mean nobody, can explain 16 Finding the way around to me why this is. I decided years ago that I mustn’t rage against these systems campus like a latter-day Don Quixote. Don’t accept defeat, just bide your time. Until a 22 Reward top scientists moment like this. Wonderful. My thoughts frequently turned to the new Wagenin- better? gen UR phone system last weekend. Just two months to go and then my verbal 26 Winter AID participants mailbox will be open to you all. 29 Meanwhile in Latin America Edwin van Laar

>> Scientist digitally hounded by E number haters | p.7

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE 4 >> news

CHANGE AT THE HELM AT ESG AFTER BIG LOSSES

natural staff turnover, early re- • Losses of over 4 million euros tirements and helping staff to • New director of operations fi nd other jobs. and head of fi nances The ESG’s big losses have put the science unit’s employee council on alert too. ‘Now we’ve The Environment Sciences Group got to prove our value as an em- (ESG) suffered surprisingly big ployees’ council,’ says chair Paul losses last year. As a result the di- Hinssen. ‘It is all hands on deck; rector of operations and head of what’s at stake is saving the or- fi nances are being replaced. ganization.’ Research institute Alterra Wa- According to Hinssen there geningen UR incurred a loss of have been big improvements in over 3 million euros in 2015. The the relationship between the ESG chair group incurred a loss of management and the employees’ over 1 million. These losses are council of the science unit in the ‘surprisingly big’, stated the ESG past year. ‘Just like the manage- management on the intranet in 3 ment, we want a healthy organi- February. zation that books healthy re- As a result of the poor fi nancial sults,’ says Hinssen. ‘We can see results, ESG’s director of opera- who made the appointment in con- troller for the SSG for the last two that the management is open and tions Auke de Bruin resigned with sultation with De Vos, wanted to ar- and a half years. She was previously transparent, and is open to our immediate effect on 8 February. range the succession quickly to en- brought in as an external consult- ideas on improving the organiza- This followed ‘intensive consulta- sure ‘continuity in the operations ant to analyse the fi nances at the tion. That openness is encourag- tions about the worrying fi nancial at ESG so that the management is ESG, and will now be acting man- ing.’ The council chair thinks ESG situation with general director in a strong position to solve the ager there. Before De Vos can plan staff will need to take more initia- Bram de Vos and the executive problems.’ cutbacks he wants to have a sharp tive themselves to improve the in- board.’ Marja Baljé, head of Finance & analysis of the reasons for the stitute’s research position. ‘There De Bruin will be succeeded by Control at ESG, resigned last Tues- shortfalls. are 800 of us, we’ve got a lot of ide- Inge Grimm, now still director of day too. Baljé has been succeeded ESG ended last year in the red as about what can be improved, operations in the Social Sciences by Tjittra Basdew, who has worked for the third year in a row. De Vos and it is important that these ide- Group (SSG). She will start at ESG for Wageningen UR in various act- wants to avoid a reorganization as come to the surface. The man- on 1 March. The executive council, ing roles since 2009 and as a con- and achieve cutbacks through agement is open to that.’ AS

LUYENDIJK IN THE SPOT

Joris Luyendijk had a full house on Wednesday 3 February in The Spot in Orion for his evening talk about corporate culture in the banking sector. The eloquent journalist had been invited by the General Studies organization to talk about his book Swimming with Sharks. He vividly de- scribed how bankers in the City in London live in continual fear, at the mercy of managers who frequently sack employees on the spot. He also gave an impression of the balance of power between the well-behaved bankers and the ‘big swinging dicks’ trading in dubious ﬁ nancial prod- ucts, with their coke and their pros-

titutes. KG DE GLIND VAN AART-JAN PHOTO:

RESOURCE — 11 February 2016 news << 5

TO SURINAM FOR ZIKA VIRUS OLUMN|KEES against zika. In collaboration where people have been infect- © • Entomologist Sander Koen- with the Bureau for Public ed by the virus. Koenraadt was raadt has joined mission Health in Paramaribo, the one of the architects of Mug- • Scientists to assess spread Dutch team is assessing the genradar.nl, a network Moral questionss of disease spread of the disease. The sci- through which members of the The Spot was jam-packed entists also want to do re- public are invited to send mos- when Joris Luyendijk gave search with their Surinamese quitoes in to Wageningen. The his talk about banking. He A Dutch research team is in Su- counterparts on the virus’s entomologist warned last year had a convincing message, rinam this week to assess the characteristics and their ef- that a new insect-borne virus explaining that the fi nan- way the zika virus is spreading. fects on the human nervous would appear in the Nether- cial crisis was primarily Wageningen entomologist system. Koenraadt is focusing lands sooner or later. He stud- due to the amoral conduct Sander Koenraadt is on the on the scope for biological pest ies viral diseases such as Den- of senior bankers. And mission. He and virologists control of the mosquito that gue fever which are transmit- there was apparently noth- from Erasmus University in carries the virus. The main ted by mosquitoes. He had al- ing wrong with that be- Rotterdam are looking at how method used at the moment is ready been in touch with his cause: ‘Everything we do is they can support the battle to spray insecticide in places Surinamese colleagues. AS within the law so what are you worried about?’ Joris has been travelling around with this message for a year now and he says that his mail- in brief box is full of stories from employees of listed multinationals, pharmaceutical companies, insurers and public broadcasters who say, ‘It’s >>TELEPHONY just the same here too! Nobody is interested in Landline phones to go whether our work can help solve modern-day As of April, Wageningen UR will have a new problems; it’s all about bonuses, share prices, telephone exchange and provider. That will vir- profi ts and viewing fi gures.’ tually mean an end to landline phones. Employ- I feel concerned and wonder: is my WUR ees will get a SIM card in March from the new amoral too? Everything we do is within the provider, T-Mobile, and the switch will take law, apart from the occasional fraud and a bot- place on 7 April. Everyone will keep their old tle deposit study that went wrong. In fact, we numbers. Two weeks later, anyone still using a use science to help companies make the right landline or old-fashioned mobile phone will get choices, politicians draw up sound laws and a smartphone. Only in exceptional circumstanc- farmers increase production effi ciency. You es will people be allowed to keep a fi xed could even say that we are working on the ma- phone. Wageningen UR will also get a new tele- >>PHILOSOPHY jor, legitimate question of how to feed the phone exchange — Skype for Business — in Of biology growing world population. That is our moral April. Users will not notice much diff erence, ex- What is life exactly? This is one of the ques- value! cept that they will then be able to make calls tions to be explored by a working group on the Or is it not really like that? Are we mainly using their PC, tablet or other devices. The pro- philosophy of biology, set up by Gerard Jagers working to stay in the tenure track, get a high gramme will be integrated into Outlook. RR op Akkerhuis at Alterra, among others. Jagers citation score or publish in a journal with a op Akkerhuis says concepts such as life, spe- high impact factor? Or just to keep our jobs? >>NOELLE AARTS cies, genes and populations are repeatedly the The Spot was full of young people. It was dis- Inspirational for colleagues subject of debate. Together with two col- appointing to see how few lecturers, research- Noelle Aarts is the most inspirational commu- leagues from Nijmegen and Hanover, he aims ers and professors there were; I felt ashamed. nications professional of 2016, according to to breathe new life into the philosophy of biol- Why don’t our senior managers and execu- the February issue of Communicatie Magazine. ogy. The working group will kick off with a tives fi nd this interesting? The magazine asked 250 Dutch communica- symposium at Nijmegen’s Radboud University tions professionals who among their colleagues on 11 February, on the role of ‘(non-)axiomatic they found most inspiring. The person who got approaches in evolution and biology’. RK the most mentions was Aarts, professor of Stra- tegic Communication at Wageningen. Reint Jan Kees van Veluw (57) teaches Permaculture and Renes, who came second, studied in Wagenin- is active in organic agri- gen too; the communications researcher is now For more information? culture networks. His visi- a lector in Cross-Medial Communication at the on stems from his work Read the long version of these with African farmers, his University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht. AS items on resource-online.nl. networks with Dutch farmers, his family life with his wife, three sons, dog and chickens.

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE 6 >> news NO PROFESSOR OF DISASTER STUDIES YET

• Three recruitment rounds without success • ‘Wageningen is not visible in the refugee debate’

For the time being Disaster Stud- ies will have to do without a professor. After three recruitment rounds no suitable candidate has been found. An associate professor is now being recruited instead. A missed opportunity, in the view of assistant professor Bram Jansen, as it means Wageningen’s voice is not being heard in the current public debate on the refugee crisis, whereas the organization has a lot to offer on the subject. Disaster Studies, which comes under the Sociology of Development chair group, has been leaderless since the departure of professors Georg Frerks and Thea Hilhorst in

2013. The diffi culty of fi nding a CHAPMAN/SHUTTERSTOCK.COM MALCOLM PHOTO: successor to them is ‘most unfor- tunate’, says professor and chair their new colleagues.’ ‘A professor is a key fi gure when it whole, and there is a lot of interest of the appointment advisory com- Disaster Studies is now focusing comes to how we organize our- among students. But Wageningen mittee Bram Büscher. ‘Disaster on recruiting an associate profes- selves as a university in relation to is not visible in the debate at the studies is a very important fi eld of sor rather than a full professor. the theme of disasters. This is a moment. NGOs and Foreign Af- studies in Wageningen and we oc- ‘That means we ourselves can of- typically Wageningen topic, there fairs don’t know we are here. We cupy a niche in the fi eld. We would fer the person opportunities for are people working on it in several have now even reached the point very much have liked to get hold of professional development to grow departments and disciplines, but where we must fear for the loss of a fi gurehead, someone with expe- towards a full professorship. we don’t come together. A profes- the great discipline we’ve got.’ rience and a good reputation, who There are already people within sor could forge links between Dis- would be a draw. Unfortunately, our group who are developing in aster Studies and Wageningen’s CRIPPLING after three rounds it proved im- that direction.’ It does mean traditional fi elds of interest.’ In Jansen’s view the selection cri- possible to fi nd a candidate with though that Disaster Studies will And it is high time this was done, teria for the professor could be re- enough seniority and baggage to have to do without a full professor Jansen feels, because in the cur- laxed a little. ‘Apparently it is diffi - fi t the profi le.’ for at least another three years, be- rent refugee crisis Wageningen cult to match up to the existing cause each step within tenure could put its stamp on the discus- profi le. But surely that can’t just PUT OFF track takes one year. ‘That is not sion. ‘Our approach to crises is be the end of the story? The cur- Bram Büscher noticed too that the dramatic because there are very unique in the Netherlands. There rent recruitment system is crip- Wageningen tenure track system good people around with whom are many educational institutions pling and gets in the way of a crea- was putting some applicants off. we can develop things. But there’s that look at migration, natural dis- tive solution. Instead of just look- ‘Several very promising candidates no disputing the fact that it would asters, confl ict and aid interven- ing at the bare fi gures, the univer- thought the tenure track criteria be better if we did have a profes- tions separately, but there are few sity should look at whether a per- and the points system too rigid. sor.’ that make the link between these son is creative, capable of They genuinely wondered, for in- themes, and approach the crises exploring new areas and looking stance, whether the required pub- REFUGEE CRISIS as social phenomena rooted in so- beyond borders. If we want to ex- lications, acquisition and other The lack of a professor is sorely ciety. We have a lot to offer in pand it might be time to be a bit points would leave them any time felt within Disaster Studies, says terms of quality, both within the more fl exible with our require- to invest in social contact with assistant professor Bram Jansen. group and in the university as a ments.’ LvdN

RESOURCE — 11 February 2016 news << 7

HELIX AIR EXTRACTION CAUSES LOSS OF 2.4 MILLION

• Costs to be recovered from builders • Building should have been ready in August

The technical faults in the new Helix building’s air extraction system will result in an estimated loss of 2.4 million euros. This is the amount stated in Wageningen University’s budget for 2016. People were supposed to move into the building last summer but the problems with the air extraction mean it is still empty. Facilities and Services will try and recover the loss from the builders, says director Peter Booman. ‘It’s usually best to go for an amicable settlement,’ he explains, ‘because going to court will cost both sides a lot of time and money.’ Booman would rather not say anything Booman, these costs are relatively small com- ‘Numerous measures, both major and minor, more as he does not want to negatively inﬂ u- pared with the building setback. have been taken,’ says spokesman Simon ence the process. Helix will house eight chair groups in the Vink. ‘They seem to be working. A solution is The aforementioned 2.4 million only covers Agrotechnology & Food Sciences Group in sight for all the problems.’ Vink remains the direct costs in making Helix ready for use. It (AFSG). They have stayed put at the Dreijen cautious in giving dates for the completion excludes indirect costs, for example in keeping since the scheduled move failed to go and move, but ‘in principle the building Biotechnion open for longer and keeping the through. Work has been going on feverishly in should be ready before the end of this aca- catering going at the Dreijen site. According to recent months to resolve the technical issues. demic year.’ RR

How do you feel about the storm you’ve ‘IT FEELS ended up in? LIKE A ‘I do feel amazed when I look at this FATWA’ and see the lack of nuance in the reactions. I ﬁ nd it interesting as a phenom- FRESH enon but I don’t take it personally. Some people have expressed their sym- pathy, which is kind of them but not necessary.’ DAILY!

You have been saying this for a while. Visit resource-online.nl for the latest news Do you know why you are suddenly getting this response? ‘I wrote this morning in a response on Foodlog that it feels like a religious fatwa has been issued because I’m saying something people don’t want to hear.’

Who? Tiny van Boekel, You seem to have touched a nerve. Are director of the Education you going to do something with this? Institute (OWI) ‘I can see how much emotion and con- What? Made the case for fusion there is about this subject and I processed food in nation- intend doing more with this. I am open al newspaper Algemeen to a debate as long as people come up Dagblad and regional with arguments. It annoys me when papers people dismiss you as someone in the Followed by? A tsunami pocket of the food industry total non- of aggressive reactions; sense and a pathetic response. That’s a chef who wanted to just a way of avoiding talking about the For students and employees of Wageningen UR ‘string him up’ substance.’ RR

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE 8 >> science

EATING FISH MAY HELP COMBAT DEMENTIA

levels mean that Dutch • Brains of 286 deceased seniors seniors are only getting studied Alzheimer’s at an ad- • Oily fi sh particularly good for vanced age. carriers of high-risk gene Eating fi sh is a promising preventive measure. Together with colleagues Regular portions of fi sh may help in Chicago, Ondine van keep dementia at bay in people de Rest studied a group of with a big hereditary risk of the 544 seniors who have disease. The result underlines the been monitored since importance of current Dutch gov- 1997. They fi lled in ques- ernment advice to eat fi sh once a tionnaires about their eat- week, writes Ondine van de Rest, a ing habits. The brains of researcher at Human Nutrition, in 286 deceased persons the journal JAMA. were studied for signs of More and more people in the dementia such as the Netherlands are suffering from scars of mini strokes and Alzheimer’s disease and other accumulations of damag- forms of dementia. This is a growing proteins. The brains the chances of Alzheimer’s. ‘That is suring result as well. Elderly people ing health problem even in rising were also examined for concentra- puzzling,’ says Ondine van de Rest, who ate a lot of fi sh had more mer- economies such as China. There tions of heavy metals often found in ‘and it is hard to explain it.’ Of the cury in their brains, but this had no are still big gaps in our knowledge fi sh, such as mercury. participants 25 percent had this harmful effects. So people who eat about Alzheimer’s and there has The old people who had con- gene and they in particular were the fi sh once a week, as recommended been little success in tests of po- sumed relatively large amounts of ones who had less brain damage by the Dutch health council, need tential medicines in recent years. fi sh turned out to have incurred sig- the more fi sh they had eaten. Van not worry. Van de Rest did empha- Prevention seems to be the only nifi cantly less damage to their de Rest is eager to do further re- size, however, that children and fruitful approach: increasing wel- brains. However, this only applied search on this link in future. pregnant women should probably fare, education level and health to people with the gene that raises Van de Rest found another reas- be more cautious. RR

ZAMBIA CAN PRODUCE BIODIESEL FROM SOYA

the soya farmers would earn • Tax exemption needed as less. The plan can only succeed incentive if Zambian farmers start grow- • Soil fungus still poses ing more soya, say the econo- problem mists. So the government should stimulate production by exempting soya from tax. The Zambia could produce biodiesel economists advise against mak- from soya beans to replace expen- ing it compulsory to grow soya. sive imported diesel. But local Even if stimulating soya production would need stimulat- farming is a success, Zambian ing with a tax exemption, recom- farmers still have another prob- mend Wageningen economist lem to deal with. Soya produc- Dusan Drabik and researchers tion in southern and eastern Af- from Cornell University and the rica is increasingly plagued by World Bank. Phakopsora pachyrhizi, a For a long time the Zambian fast-mutating soil fungus to government kept the price of im- economists assessed the conse- journal Food Policy. which no resistance has yet ported petrol and diesel down quences of this legislation. With- For the people of Zambia it been found. Wageningen PhD with subsidies, but it stopped do- out any further policy, the use of would mean having to pay more candidate Harun Murithi is cur- ing so a few years ago and an- its own soya for biofuels would be for biodiesel produced on their rently studying the genetics and nounced a policy of producing its detrimental to the Zambian econ- own soil than they do now for ecology of this destructive soil own biodiesel from soya. The omy, they write this month in the imported diesel. What is more, fungus. AS

RESOURCE — 11 February 2016 science << 9

SECONDARY FOREST VISION <<

STORES A LOT OF CARBON ‘Godwit won’t gain from cows in the meadow’ grow is different to what grew there origi- • More sequestration in wet climates nally. ‘There are many dimensions to the • More carbon absorbed per year than resilience of the forest. We only looked at Secretary of State by rainforest the regrowth of the biomass. And that Van Dam is going to goes surprisingly quickly. But it will be a give dairy farmers few hundred years before the forest has 750 euros if they Natural second-growth forests on aban- the same mix of species as the rainforest.’ put their cows out doned farmland in Latin America seques- For Poorter, then, the study should not to pasture before ter large amounts of carbon. This is re- be seen as sanctioning uncontrolled de- the fi rst grass is ported in Nature by an international team forestation. ‘In virgin rainforest large mown in mid-April. of researchers led by Wageningen profes- amounts of carbon are sequestered. But The aim is to pro- sor Lourens Poorter. In the study Poorter they are almost fully grown so they hardly tect fi eld birds such and his colleagues describe the growth of absorb any more new carbon. By only as the black-tailed godwit. David Kleijn, professor of 1500 patches of secondary forest on 45 lo- looking at the contribution of rainforest Plant Ecology and Nature Management, is sceptical. ‘I cations in Latin America. to carbon sequestration you miss a lot of don’t see the connection between putting cows out to The vegetation in question is new for- the dynamics in tropical forests. The po- grass and black-tailed godwits.’ est growing in places where the original tential of secondary forest for carbon se- rainforest was felled for agriculture. This questration is enormous. Our message is If they put the cows out to grass farmers start haying second-growth forest sequesters enor- twofold, then: conserve the primary for- later, and more godwits survive. mous quantities of carbon: the annual est and exploit the potential of secondary ‘That’s of little consequence. Grutto chicks need long carbon intake is eleven times larger than forests.’ grass to scratch about in for their food without being that of the average rainforest in the Ama- Carbon sequestration by secondary for- taken by birds of prey. With the intensifi cation of agri- zon. It comes to 122 tons of biomass per ests does not happen on the same scale culture, livestock farmers have started mowing earlier hectare over 20 years. Calculations show everywhere, either. The researchers dis- and earlier and there is less and less long grass when that after 66 years the forest will have covered a link between the increase in bio- the chicks hatch out of the eggs. Then you can let the stored almost as much carbon as the mass and rainfall. The wetter the climate, cows graze but you’ll still get short grass. Farmers rainforest that was once cut down there. the faster the secondary forests grow. should not only mow later but also raise the groundwa- This does not mean, however, that you Based on that link, a map was made show- ter levels in the meadows.’ get the old rainforest back, warns Poort- ing where secondary forest offers the most er. The combination of species that re- potential for carbon sequestration. RK Why? ‘With higher groundwater levels the grass will grow later and more slowly so that farmers can’t mow it before the chicks hatch. What is more, the high water level means the grass is less dense so the chicks can scratch around in it better.’

Can the black-tailed godwit still be saved? There are ecologists who say it doesn’t adapt well. ‘Nonsense, the godwit is a very easy bird in fact. You ﬁ nd it in eastern Europe, for instance, in all types of landscapes, as long as they are open and wet. In Russia the godwit has moved 800 kilometres to the north. That suggests the godwit can adapt to changing conditions. But the godwit has nothing to gain from cows in the meadow, nice as it is to see them out there. The problem is intensive agriculture which leaves no space for the godwit and other ﬁ eld birds such as the lapwing and the oystercatcher, which are faring badly too. AS PHOTO: FRANS BONGERS PHOTO:

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE 10 >> science

CATHOLIC CHURCH STEERED URBAN DEVELOPMENT

Philips, which soon needed hous- • Neighbourhoods were ing for its workers, and the city ar- modelled on parishes chitect De Casseres, who took a • Countering the wickedness of functional, modern-industrial ap- the big city proach to urban expansion. In op- position to this ‘New Pragmatism’, catholic architects were of the The Catholic church had a big in- Delft School, which had more eye fl uence on urban development in for beauty. This alternative fi tted the Dutch provinces of Brabant into a broader movement which fa- and Limburg, concludes Joks Jans- voured small communities and de- sen, special professor of Spatial plored the sinful city. Planning and Cultural Heritage. In practice the catholic vision He studied the urban planning in took the form of ‘garden towns’ Eindhoven and Roermond be- with new urban neighbourhoods tween 1900 and 1060 and saw that on a scale based on former parish- the church developed its own vi- es, with the church at their centre. The catholic ‘community target’ thought up by Architect and urban plan- sion of urban development with This way a catholic community was ner M.J. Granpré Molière (1947). catholic identity embedded in it. reproduced in modern urban plan- Janssen describes how in the ning, notes Janssen in the journal early twentieth century a broad Urban History. The idea was that network of social, cultural and po- this design would enable the wanted to have the city grow and orating. Klijnen too uses the con- litical organizations grew up with- church to protect the catholic pop- annex the neighbouring city of cept of garden towns. Catholic ur- in catholic circles which shared a ulation against the disorder and Maasniel. The church emerged as banization, in fact. Eventually, un- vision on spatial planning in the weakened traditions of the big city. the champion of the autonomy of der the infl uence of the province, Netherlands. This subculture op- This catholic philosophy was so communities. The plan for the Ro- Maasniel was annexed by Roer- posed the secular forces of the na- strong in Eindhoven that the mod- ermond conurbation was swept off mond after all in 1959. This was tional government and industry. In ernization plan thought up by De the table, following which the Lim- unique as it was the fi rst time since Eindhoven, for instance, the Casseres was put on ice. burg architect Jos Klijnen ensured Napoleon that a rural community church had to take up the cudgels In Roermond the church that the municipalities of Roer- was absorbed into a city. Thanks to against the expanding company strongly opposed the mayor, who mond and Maasniel started collab- the catholic church. AS TAGGING TO SAVE THE WHITE SHARK

they rarely come to the surface so provide a solution to this. A ception, so the method cannot • Hard to track threatened that data from tags cannot be tagged shark which swims past a be applied out at sea. Neverthe- shark transmitted. receiver is then registered. But less, results have been booked • 3500 specimens left Acoustic tags and receivers such receivers have limited re- with the acoustic tags. Sharks are often spotted, for example, in places with a lot of seals. A new tagging technique could Comparing the data on the two help identify and provide protec- species reveals that seals often tion in areas with a lot of white hide in the seaweed on reefs. It sharks. And this is much needed is precisely at places where the as there are only 3500 specimens seals cross expanses of water left, fewer than the number of without reef or seaweed that the wild tigers. This was explained by shark attacks. Oliver Jewell, a researcher at the Jewell is now testing new tags Netherlands Institute for Marine which measure the movement, Research NIOZ, on a science day depth and temperature of the at the Wageningen graduate shark and can even produce vid- school WIAS on 4 February. eo images. This makes it possi- It is not easy to keep track of ble to track shark hotspots more

sharks. Unlike seals or whales, TERRY GOSS PHOTO: accurately. HdL

RESOURCE — 11 February 2016 discussion << 11

There was discussion online this week about the growth of the university, the Dutch language and the value of a Master’s degree on the labour market. Got an opinion too? Join in the discussion online or email [email protected] REACTIONS ON... RESOURCE-ONLINE.NL

LOST IN TRANSLATION denies many Dutch students a chance to make a The challenge is to learn to spot the highfl iers constructive contribution to the discussion.’ accurately. A big group of Dutch people having to speak Hollander is annoyed by the way Kristina com- English just for you. Blogger Kristina gives a plains about feeling ill at ease. ‘I think an awful ONE STEP AHEAD lot of thought to this situation. lot is done for international students already and that they should actually be more focused Are extracurricular activities really so impor- She can’t decide whether the university should on Dutch culture.’ tant for future success, wonders blogger encourage international students to learn Jan-Willem Kortlever. Surely just getting a Dutch. Gerben reassures her that there is no LIMITS TO GROWTH degree is a signifi cant achievement in itself? need to feel so bad about the situation. After all, she provides students with a chance to Two Bachelor’s programmes applied to set a Readers think Jan-Willem has a point. ‘I think practise speaking English. ‘On the other hand, limit to their intake next year. The Molecular it’s a pity those extracurricular activities are if you want to learn Dutch you won’t get far if Life Sciences (MLW) and Biotechnology pro- often used as an excuse for taking longer over everyone around you always speaks English. grammes fear their rapid growth might harm your degree,’ writes Lezer. ‘It’s perfectly possi- Just say ‘and now in Dutch?’ and you’ll soon get their quality. ble to fi nish a degree within the appointed time some practice.’ It doesn’t seem as easy as that and still do other things to boost your CV.’ to everyone. Hollander points out that you can’t Most of the responses are positive. ‘Super Marleen, who lives at home, says she is often have such in-depth conversations if you force plan,’ writes Einstein. ‘A lot of people drop out judged – even by teachers – on the fact that people to speak a second language that don’t now too because they embarked on it too light- she doesn’t do any extracurricular activities. speak as well. ‘Dutch students are more likely ly.’ There is more support for the idea. One per- Yet she gets ‘a lot of satisfaction’ out of her to clam up as soon as the discussion switches son thinks MLW only trains students to be sci- studies and ‘doesn’t feel the need for more.’ into English. Only speaking English all the time entists and not for a job in the business world. RR So if it doesn’t limit the intake the university risks producing a lot of surplus scientists. Eridanus would like students to be selected for their ‘very clear PROPOSITION motivation’, or because ‘they have the ‘Running home after work potential to do more increases creativity and than just complete a reduces feelings of stress.’ university degree and Dina Ripken, who graduated with a go on to a job in indus- PhD in Wageningen on 5 February try in which they use no more than 20 percent of their knowledge.’ Eridanus is all for a selection process.

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE 12 >> features

A lot of Chinese PhD candidates headed for home at the beginning of February to celebrate Chinese New Year. It is quite possible that their parents will raise the subject of marriage and propose candidates. This kind of parental involvement in the choice of partner is quite usual in China. Eight Wageningen PhD candidates talk about what that means for them.

text Stijn van Gils photos Hollandse Hoogte

RESOURCE — 11 February 2016 features << 13

notes in which parents present their children,’ explains MeiMei. ‘Other parents walk down the long rows of them looking for a suitable candidate for their child. It is not very different to the dating sites here in the Netherlands, I would say. The one big difference is that it is not the children but the parents who take the initiative.’ t does feel a bit awkward,’ says 26-year-old Wage- It is especially challenging for parents of a son to fi nd ningen PhD candidate MeiMei. For a long time a wife for him. In China there are on average 1.2 men per her parents did not interfere with their daugh- woman. ‘Especially in the big cities such as Shanghai, ter’s love life, but that changed recently. A little girls are incredibly picky and their parents are even pick- while ago they came up with a profi le of a boy ier,’ says PhD candidate Lei. The selection criteria are from Shanghai. ‘It feels unnatural. My parents educational achievement, profession, salary and home ‘I initiated the contact, which makes everything much ownership. ‘Those last criteria are especially important,’ more loaded. I feel obliged to respond with a serious yes says MeiMei. ‘It is much harder for a man on a low salary or no. It is not fair to my parents just to say, we’ll see.’ or in a rented house to fi nd a wife. That is because in MeiMei is not the only Chinese PhD candidate in China there is no standard pension provision for every- Wageningen whose parents – or grandparents – get one, and the norm in our culture is for us children to involved with their choice of partner. Resource talked to look after our parents in their old age. So a good partner eight of them, who talked openly about it on condition for their child is in the interests of the parents as well.’ that their real names and recognizable details were withheld. The PhD researchers’ observations are broadly similar: it is usual in China to get married under the age of 30. If a partner hasn’t appeared before you are 25, parents often give destiny a helping hand, even if their son or daughter happens to be doing a PhD in Wageningen. And even if you have found a partner, that is no guarantee that you will be left in peace.

LOVE CORNERS ‘I developed my relationship quite independently; my parents had nothing to do with it,’ says Zihao, who met THREE SEXES his girlfriend at Wageningen University. The only tense You might think it would be easier for women to fi nd a moment, in his view, will be when she fi nally meets his husband. But according to the PhD candidates, there is a parents. ‘The parents of a friend of mine withheld their catch here. ‘It is traditional for a woman to marry a man support, which destroyed the relationship. My girlfriend, with a higher status and for a man to marry a woman who is doing her PhD here too, is worried about that for with a lower status. That makes it diffi cult for a woman us. I’m not worried, I see it as a formality. After all, we’re PhD candidate,’ says MeiMei. ‘In some media there was both OK aren’t we?’ talk a while ago about three sexes: men, women, and For parents who are afraid their child won’t fi nd a women with a PhD. The latter category was said often to marriage partner in time, all sorts of markets and events remain alone and unhappy.’ are organized in China. ‘To facilitate things for them According to Dutch online magazine De Correspond- there are special ‘love corners’ in parks, covered in little ent, however, the reality is more complex than that. Last

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE 14 >> features

At special matchmaking events and in the corners of parks, Chinese parents study the personal proﬁ les of potential marriage candidates for their children.

February Adrienne Simons and Kathleen Ferrier wrote in tiously check out whether a person their parents intro- an opinion piece that the government liked to keep the duce them to is in fact a suitable match. image of ‘lonely heart women’ alive. Because putting ´Bluntly contradicting your parents is not done,´ says unmarried men in the spotlight ‘would mean exposing a MeiMei. Í mainly try to listen carefully to their argu- much more serious problem’, namely the effects of the ments in the hope that they will then get a better sense surplus of men. of my point of view too. It is diffi cult that I can only dis- Parents of women PhD candidates do however feel cuss it with my parents through digital media. I live in there is no time to lose in fi nding a husband. The hope the Netherlands and I am working on my PhD, and I just of grandchildren plays a role here, say the PhD candidates. ‘The wish is to pass down your blood to the following generation,’ explains 24-year-old Yutong. ‘As a woman you can’t afford to wait too long, otherwise you will lose your fertility.’ Yutong cannot imagine not getting married. ‘My parents were looking for a husband for me too. I told them it was not necessary because I am still young, but if I haven’t found a partner in a few years’ time, I will agree to a suggestion from my parents. There is a useful side to their helping me too: my parents know me best, so they also know best what is good for me. In many cases you get married fi rst, then you get to know each other better want to get on with my work. So if I meet a nice boy while and love can follow then.’ I´m at it, fi ne. But if I don´t, that´s fi ne too. I will be perfectly able to take care of myself later, and I don´t need a NO CONTRADICTION husband for that. And I think the worst thing would be to For Chinese twenty-somethings who are not happy with be stuck with someone I don´t love for the rest of my their parents’ matchmaking efforts, there are some use- life.´ But MeiMei does see the advantages of her par- ful options available on the market, such hiring a tempo- ents´ help too. Íf I fall in love with someone my parents rary partner to help you mislead your parents. The Chi- introduce me to, that would be great of course.´ nese PhD candidates in Wageningen that Resource Lei is less mild about it. ´Love hardly comes into it talked to haven´t resorted to this, though. They try to when parents choose,´ he thinks. He refuses to cooper- fend off their parents´ efforts in kinder ways or they cau- ate. Í am quite independent in my thinking. That

RESOURCE — 11 February 2016

features << 15 PHOTO: AART-JAN VAN DE GLIND DE VAN AART-JAN PHOTO:

Li Xie: ‘You take our women away from us.’

matchmaking urge in the family just causes a lot of GRANDPARENTS Being single stress, as far as I can see, both for parents and for chil- PhD candidate Xinyi’s story is different to those of all the in China is a dren. Luckily my parents agree that I should concentrate other PhD candidates Resource talked to. Her parents on the things that are more important to me, like my don’t try to help her fi nd a husband at all. ‘Only my guarantee you PhD. They did show me a photo of a girl, but I didn´t do grandparents mention it sometimes, but then I just will be hassled, anything about it.´ change the subject. My parents are in an arranged and agrees vlogger He started a relationship at secondary school, but his unhappy marriage themselves. They don’t want to do Derek. parents forbade it because his studies had to have prior- that to me.’ ity. ´We kept that relationship going in secret. It is ironic: Another rather different story is told by 32-year-old Watch the video on when I was in love I wasn’t allowed a relationship, and student Li Xie, who, unlike the eight PhD candidates, resource-online.nl. now that I am not in love, I am expected to have a rela- doesn’t mind his real name being used in this article. He tionship.’ doesn’t trust his parents and thinks he should get to work himself to fi nd a wife. ‘I had better get a good GAY degree, otherwise I can forget a relationship.’ The former Bowen’s parents want to help him fi nd a wife too. ‘But chair of the Association of Chinese Students and Schol- they are not pushing me yet; they are giving me time to ars in the Netherlands (ACSSNL) suspended his studies fi nish my studies abroad.’ And as far as Bowen is con- for his Master’s in Wageningen for a while but is now cerned, that study period will not end any time soon. ‘I studying hard again. ‘As a man without a higher degree I am gay, I don’t want a wife at all. A lesbian friend sug- would rather not try to date a PhD candidate,’ says Li Xie. gested me get married so we could both go our own way. Secretly he rather envies western men. ‘You do see Chi- But that’s not what I want. I just want to stay with my nese women with western men but it hardly ever hap- partner and maybe marry him one day.’ Bowen is going pens the other way round. You take our women away to do his utmost to stay in Europe. He is not telling his from us; I would like to get revenge, actually.’ parents about his orientation for the time being. ‘They At the end of the discussion Li Xie says: ‘Could you will only worry about it.’ His partner did visit China last take a photo of me as well? I think over there by that win- year and they got on very well: at the end of the holiday, dow is a good place.’ He smiles. ‘Who knows, this article his parents even told his partner he was very welcome to might bring me a date.’ come again. ‘And of course your wife is welcome too,’ they added. This article is largely based on interviews with eight Chinese ‘Do I regret that I can’t talk about it openly with my PhD candidates. Their names have been changed at their parents?’ Bowen smiles. ‘Well I so often can’t anyway.’ request.

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE 16 >> picture

RESOURCE — 11 February 2016 picture << 17

NO MORE GETTING LOST There are enough roads and paths across the campus by now. But how do you find your way around all the asphalt? With the new campus map. Everything is on it. Even down to the hundreds of solar panels on the roof of the Campus Plaza, which is still under construction. The map is part of the signposting to be installed around the campus this spring. Mega signboards will show staff and visitors which of the four big carparks to head for. Pedestrian routes will then direct them to the buildings, identified by both a number and a picture. RK

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE 18 >> features Looming shortage of thesis places

Growing numbers at the university mean more students than ever before are simultaneously working on their thesis. This is putting pressure on freedom of choice, ﬂ exibility and possibly even quality.

text Rob Ramaker Illustration Geert-Jan Bruins

magine you are a scientist. You get an are Biotechnology, Nutrition and Food. This Although the problems are currently man- email from an enthusiastic student growth is set to continue in the years ahead (up ageable, programme directors are already get- who wants their graduation project to to 2020). The interest is clear from the huge ting nervous about the challenges in the years be on your subject. That is not only turnout for open days, which are packed. ahead. ‘A major worry is how we can continue fl attering, it also gives you two free All of those new students will need to pro- to guarantee the quality of the thesis,’ says Ralf hands and a brain. So what do you duce a ‘masterpiece’ in the coming years: a Hartemink, Food Technology programme Ireply? In the case of Microbiology researchers, Master’s thesis, which takes at least six director. With 189 new students (68 in 2006), the answer is increasingly ‘No, thank you.’ That months. They nearly always do this with a Food Technology is the second largest Master’s is because they do not have enough room. Stu- Wageningen chair group, and always with a programme. These are already challenging dents are applying for thesis positions in ever Wageningen supervisor. The Bachelor’s degree numbers, says Hartemink, and soon 70 extra increasing numbers and there is no sign of a also ends with a thesis, but that only takes students will be added from the Bachelor’s, stop to that trend. three to four months and students usually get while you also have to allow for a possible Ever since the 2006-2007 academic year, most of the information from books. Only a increase in the number of international stu- Wageningen University has been expanding few degree programmes require them to do dents. ‘We’re still coping at the moment; the fast. While 577 fi rst-years started on their Bach- their own experiments. fi rst major problems will be in two years’ time.’ elor’s degree back then, the equivalent last The Human Nutrition department also expects September was 1469. The intake for Master’s SECOND CHOICE student numbers to be problematic by then. degrees grew from 983 to 2160 students. The The ever growing numbers of students are put- Tiny van Boekel, director of the Education programmes experiencing the biggest growth ting increasing pressure on this system. ‘Some Institute, acknowledges the problems. ‘We see chair groups are full,’ says Wilko van Loon, the that the research capacity is not growing in line Molecular Life Sciences programme director. with the numbers in education. The number of ‘Students have to look round more and may PhD projects has fallen slightly while these end up with their second choice.’ His own Mas- tend to be linked to the undergraduate thesis ter’s programme and the ‘adjacent’ Biotech- projects, certainly in the natural science nology programme have grown considerably. groups.’ Not only is it getting harder to fi nd That already affects students’ freedom of staff to act as supervisors, there are also more choice sometimes; they are unable to pick their people scrambling for the available labs and preferred group or subject. Meanwhile, depart- desks. Many chair groups have had to give up ments that appeal less to students’ interests space recently or are planning to do so. The still have room. move from the Dreijen to campus is one such

RESOURCE — 11 February 2016 features << 19

example. Microbiology, which is already turn- damental research. Van Boekel: ‘You can’t have ing down thesis students, will have even fewer students working on something that needs to STUDENTS IN A CIRCLE thesis workspaces in the new Helix building. deliver results in three months’ time.’ In recent years the university has had more and It is good to see a debate starting about how Programme director Hartemink would also more ‘thesis circles’ in which thesis students best to cope with the growth, says rector Arthur be happy for students to do their thesis at Food comment on one another’s written work under Mol. He does not see any need to intervene as & Biobased Research or NIZO Food Research, the guidance of experienced researchers. That is yet. A possible measure would be to take on for instance. ‘But they are just a drop in the because writing the thesis up is often what more PhD candidates and increase supervision ocean.’ At most companies, research is either causes delays. These circles are not about treat- capacity in that way. ‘That costs about 200,000 not suffi ciently academic or has to remain con- ing students like schoolchildren to increase effi - ciency, says Marian Vermue, a ‘circle leader’ in euros per PhD candidate so we can’t just do fi dential. the Bioprocess Technology group. ‘I think stu- that.’ Furthermore, the chair groups already Mol understands the concerns but he points dents actually learn more from looking at one get compensation for each thesis student they to the diffi culty in predicting how the growth another’s work.’ have, so the responsibility for arranging super- will continue. According to Mol, developments vision lies primarily with them. However, there take place so fast that policymakers are contin- is a working group looking at whether the ten- ually being taken by surprise, both by the new ure track programme should deal more fl exibly developments and by the creativity of employ- Lab work is compulsory for with people who spend a lot of time on teach- ees. ‘The smartest option is just to continue to students in some Bachelor’s ing. keep a close eye on things. I stopped making programmes. But for how Mol has not yet heard about a lack of lab or rigid plans long ago.’ much longer? desk space for thesis students. He does see a central role for the university in that area. ‘Of Read all about it at Resource-online.nl. course you can’t be taking on students for a Master’s programme when you don’t have proper thesis workspaces for them.’

STRICT AGREEMENTS In practice, both Mole and Van Boekel see a lot being done to cope with the growth (see box). Strict agreements are increasingly being made with students and recorded in thesis contracts, for example setting a fi rm submission deadline and a maximum to the time in the lab. It is becoming increasingly diffi cult to deviate from that. ‘Researchers are becoming ever more creative,’ says Van Boekel, ‘They always fi nd ways to make effi ciency gains.’ People are also looking beyond the university gates. The DLO institutes are a logical starting point but students do still need to do fun-

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE 20 >> features Citizen science in Africa

It’s already a familiar concept in the west: members of the general public recording observations for scientiﬁ c purposes. But is it feasible in Africa? Could agriculture and health care beneﬁ t from mobile platforms and social media? Ten Wageningen PhD researchers are going to give it a try.

text Roelof Kleis photo Paul Struik

hey all looked a little difﬁ dent Netherlands, but this time in Africa. But and uneasy last week, gath- there is more to Evoca than citizen sci- ered in a small room in the ence, explains project leader Cees Leeu- Leeuwenborch. Ten brand wis, professor of Knowledge, Technology new African PhD candidates and Innovation. ‘Garnering information ﬂ anked by a posse of supervi- through mobile platforms is just one side Tsors. Ready to spend a day getting to know of the story. Then you need to do some- each other and exploring the challenge thing useful with it too, and arrive at new they will be tackling together: Evoca. forms of collective decisionmaking. That Evoca stands for environmental virtual requires an understanding of communi- observatories for connective action. In cation and socio-political processes effect a form of citizen science, not unlike because sharing and interpreting infor- the ‘mosquito radar’ well-known in the mation can often be sensitive.’

RESOURCE — 11 February 2016 features << 21

SOURCES OF INFECTION Evoca aims to use citizen science to improve MOSQUITO RADAR IN RWANDA farming and healthcare in Africa. ‘A potato The battle against malaria in Rwanda is currently citizen science approach can facilitate that.’ farmer who can’t locate the sources of the largely fought through the use of insecticides and Besides this social role, the mosquito radar should potato blight Phytophthora can’t take action,’ impregnated bed nets in the home. ‘And the govern- also generate some new entomological knowledge. explains Leeuwis. ‘Setting up good informa- ment has achieved a lot that way,’ says entomolo- Koenraadt: ‘Mosquitoes are biting earlier in the day tion systems is too costly for the government. gist Sander Koenraadt. ‘But malaria has not been and more often out of doors. That is an eff ect of If farmers can do it themselves, it opens up eradicated yet. In fact we’ve seen a rise in the num- measures to combat malaria. If people sleep under new possibilities.’ ber of cases in recent years.’ The Evoca project nets the mosquitoes don’t get a chance at night. wants to use an African version of the mosquito The ones that bite earlier survive. If there is a The project came into existence two years radar used in the Netherlands to intensify the fi ght. genetic component to that, you get selection pres- ago at a research day held by the three chair The research area in the south of Rwanda includes sure. The mosquito radar is a way of monitoring groups in the department of Communication, 35 villages with about 40,000 inhabitants between such changes.’ Philosophy and Technology. ‘Our idea was to them. Wageningen and three other universities start a joint Inref programme,’ says Leeuwis. have been working on com- Inref is the Wageningen University fund that batting malaria there for four supports interdisciplinary research by PhD years now. ‘We work on the principle that we can only candidates in developing countries. A subject eradicate malaria if the local was soon identifi ed: the digital communica- people are prepared to col- tion revolution in Africa. A revolution that is in laborate.’ That approach led full swing, says Leeuwis. ‘Take payment sys- to the formation of ‘commu- tems, for instance. The average African doesn’t nity malaria action teams’ have a bank account like we do. You pay cash which organize meetings and down. The rise of the mobile phone has small-scale campaigns target- ing malaria. The mosquito changed that utterly. Nowadays you pay using radar can take this approach your phone credit. Buying and selling with tele- a step further, Koenraadt phone credit. That is having a huge impact on believes. ‘The villages cur- the economy.’ rently operate independently of each other. People don’t INNOVATION know what’s going on in the other villages and they want Evoca includes fi ve different projects all revolv- to exchange information. A ing around collecting up-to-date data and DS STUDIO PHOTO: translating that information into concrete action and decisions. Decisions that will improve potato farming in Ethiopia (see box) or cocoa production and irrigation in Ghana. MOBILE TECHNOLOGY AGAINST PHYTOPHTHORA Information which makes it possible to fi ght East Africa is the potato store of Africa: millions of make a system like this operational?’ malaria in Rwanda more effectively or to pro- small farmers grow potatoes there. But the har- The situation for brown rot is a bit diff erent. Noth- tect Kenya’s livestock and wildlife better vests are small, says professor of Crop Physiology ing can be done about brown rot. Struik: ‘So far against tick-borne diseases. Two PhD candi- Paul Struik, supervisor of Evoca’s potato project in farmers are not very good at recognizing brown rot dates will be attached to each project, each Ethiopia. That is due to the eff ects of disease. Phy- and when they do spot it, it is often too late. And working from a different perspective. Leeuwis: tophthora (potato blight) and brown rot are the then they prefer not to tell anyone they’ve got ‘There is a technical and a social side to each biggest culprits. brown rot. There is no curative treatment, but You can spray potato crops against Phytophthora, there is a big need for a widely supported strategy project. So we have created teams led by two explains Struik. With the right information it is for controlling the infection pressure through supervisors: one coming from the social angle possible to predict when will be the best time for a hygienic measures. That starts with monitoring and one coming from the natural sciences farmer to do that. ‘There are advanced decision- and for that you need a network.’ angle.’ making systems available to help with making the What Evoca will deliver beyond ten theses is right choices. But a lot of information is needed for not clear beforehand. That is what makes that. Where are the primary sources of infection, innovation exciting, says Leeuwis. ‘That is a how does the infection pressure develop, how does the crop develop and how does the weather kind of Darwinist process. You try things out develop?’ and you have to accept that eight out of ten of Evoca plans to set up an information system for them won’t work. The aim is to create as many this using apps like the mosquito radar one or text successes as possible which will have a social messaging services. The technology is nothing out impact too.’ of the ordinary, says Struik. ‘The technology is there. The point is the way it’s applied. How do you win farmers over to participate, getting them

to see the use of supplying that data? How do you MAZENGIA WAGA PHOTO:

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE 22 >> IMO TOP SALARY FOR TOP SCIENTISTS?

Top scientists should be allowed to earn more than a minister, otherwise the most talented people will move abroad, fears the Dutch Association of Universities (VSNU). So an exception should be made for academia in the act regulating senior executive pay in the public sector. Is that fear justiﬁ ed?

text Roelof Kleis and Rob Ramaker illustration Henk van Ruitenbeek

Martin Scholten cessful grant applications, for example. That seems to me Managing Director, Animal Sciences to be far more important for the competitive position of Group the Netherlands than one person’s salary. They should re- ‘In my experience, the salary is not a ally investigate why scientists leave the Netherlands – just major concern for top scientists at ask them why. If salary does turn out to be a key factor, that Wageningen University. They look at changes things.’ the conditions for carrying out top-level research: the laboratory Marian Stuiver equipment, the number of PhD candidates and postdocs, WUR Council chair and how good they are. Scientists never mention the salary to ‘Who will decide who is a top scien- me as the reason why they’re looking for another job. Perhaps tist? It is debatable whether you can it plays a role in the fi elds of medicine and economics. measure quality fairly just using the ‘Incidentally, we can’t offer them much anyway as a univer- number of citations, for example. sity. The funding for basic research has really dried up. And Should you just look at the quality of much of the money that is available has been earmarked, the research or also at the teaching? for specifi c subjects and social relevance for example. That What is more, this means you are determining the quality leaves no money to attract top scientists. If I could give the of individuals. We aren’t in favour of this individualiza- Dutch parliament some advice, I would say that the lack of tion because science is often teamwork. You need to look funding is the Achilles heel. I don’t see what problem high- at the quality of the group as a whole. We also wonder why er maximum salaries are solving in our fi eld.’ you should focus so one-sidedly on pay. You could reward good researchers with more opportunities.’ Chantal Vogels Secretary of the Wageningen PhD Jan-Willem Kortlever Council Resource blogger ‘It’s debatable whether higher salary ‘The Netherlands is a knowledge- is the main motivating factor for re- driven society. We desperately need searchers. If you want to earn a lot, top scientists. That might require a you choose the private sector, not aca- salary that is more than what a min- demia. Certainly young scientists ister earns. If that’s the only way of fi nd conditions in the Dutch academic world more impor- keeping someone on board, it should tant. Take career opportunities and the proportion of suc- be possible. The question is, who is worth that? Should we

RESOURCE — 11 February 2016 IMO << 23

set a percentage for each university, for instance? How suaded her to go. Salaries in the academic world are skewed should you arrange that and how far should you go? I in comparison with the private sector. But you know that think it’s diffi cult to win the race against foreign scientifi c when you decide to work for a university.’ institutions. Personally I think a real scientist attaches more importance to having a good scientifi c climate to Liesje Mommer work in rather than a high salary. I wouldn’t move for 20 Professor holding a personal chair in percent more pay. But what if you could earn twice as Plant Ecology much somewhere else?’ ‘I’m not motivated by salary and I don’t think my colleagues are either. Marleen Kamperman If you want to be rich, you shouldn’t Physical Chemistry and Soft Matter become an academic. Even my chil- group dren realize that. It’s the climate at a ‘I don’t think this is an issue in my university or institute that’s more important: what’s the group. Scientists aren’t so driven by work pressure like, the atmosphere, tenure track? Those money. Perhaps salary plays a role for are the reasons why colleagues leave or stay. The chances people who are of Spinoza laureate cal- of research projects getting funding are also incredibly ibre. I can imagine that you might of- low in the Netherlands. That can be another reason for fer them a package to keep them in the Netherlands. Not so moving abroad. Incidentally, I do agree with the principle much in terms of salary as in terms of working conditions. that performance should be rewarded. You don’t need to pay I’m a member of the Young Academy, so I know Maaike everyone the same. But I won’t be leaving just because I Kroon from Eindhoven University, who went to Abu Dhabi. can get a better salary somewhere else. I came to Wagenin- But I think for her too it was the challenge of setting up a gen because I have a lot of connections here with other sci- graduate programme rather than the higher salary that per- entists that are important for my work.’

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE 24 >> student

‘WHEN YOU PLAY TOGETHER, YOU’RE IN A FLOW’ PHOTO: AART JAN VAN DE GLIND AART JAN VAN PHOTO:

Wageningen student Ruben never understood what I meant. olin? Ruben fi nds it diffi cult to ex- ing in such places as Leeuwarden, Kuijpers and his violin will be Until we were standing in front of a plain. ‘The sound is melodic and Eindhoven, Utrecht, Groningen inseparable in February, as Ruben shop window, I pointed to the violin warm, and it’s easy for you to play and Leiden. In Nijmegen, a special is spending this month perform- and said: that’s what I want.’ His with other people. That’s not the concert is scheduled for refugees. ing with the Dutch National parents did not hesitate for a mo- case for the piano. The only way to The tour will end with a week in Ma- Student Orchestra. ment – ‘You can’t start early play in a symphony orchestra then drid, where three more concerts are enough, can you?’ – and the Nutri- is to be a soloist, like Arthur Jussen scheduled. ‘I’ve never been to Ma- For a month, Ruben Kuijpers’ life tion and Health student has been a in the NSO concerts.’ drid so that should be pretty cool.’ will consist entirely of music from violinist ever since. Ruben is afraid it will be an anti- the moment he gets up until the CONCERTMASTER climax once the series of concerts moment he goes to bed. Ten days of REFRESHED For years Ruben just played for fun ends. ‘It will take some getting used rehearsals, eleven days performing Ruben often picks up the violin but he has started taking the violin to, being back in the normal world in various Dutch cities followed by when he gets back to his Dijkgraaf more seriously since becoming without a concert every evening. On three concerts in Madrid. All 95 room after a long day at the univer- concertmaster with WSKOV, the top of that, other orchestras seem musicians in the Dutch National sity. ‘Then I’ll play a couple of old Wageningen student choir and or- less good after the NSO because Student Orchestra (NSO) are tem- favourites that I know really well chestral society. ‘I sit at the front that has the best students. It is mu- porarily putting their studies on the and once I’ve got going I feel the next to the conductor, I lead the sically more profi cient and purer.’ back burner to concentrate on the stress disappear.’ He also feels to- fi rst violins and the string section Even so, he will defi nitely return to music. Ruben is lucky as he did not tally refreshed when he has been re- and I’m responsible for the tuning WSKOV. ‘It is a nice society and you have to resit any exams and he is hearsing with the orchestra and cy- at the start.’ As the concertmaster, also join for the social side. So the not missing any compulsory mod- cles home afterwards. ‘When you he has to study harder and he no- fact that it’s of a lower standard ules. ‘I would have done it anyway play together, you’re in a fl ow; you ticed that he got more enjoyment technically is not a problem.’ LN even if I was behind. It’s such a spe- are completely absorbed in the mu- from the music as a result. The NSO cial experience that it’s worth it.’ sic and forget about everything else audition seemed like the logical In addition to Ruben Kuijpers, Wage- Ruben, who is 20, has been play- for a while. Together you try to play next step. ningen International Land and Water ing violin since the age of fi ve. ‘I the piece perfectly, and if you suc- In the NSO, Ruben plays pieces Management Master’s student Sarah used to tell my parents that I want- ceed, that gives you a kick.’ by Claude Debussy and Béla Bartók Zernitz also plays in the NSO. She too ed to play the saw guitar but they What is so magical about the vi- among others. He will be perform- plays the violin.

RESOURCE — 11 February 2016 student << 25 ‘THE UNIVERSITY IS BIGGER THAN I THOUGHT’

The 2016 Winter Aid started on Monday. Resource spoke to three people taking part in the winter introduction period, which is primarily for exchange students.

ALEXANDRA DICKSON (19) KARL KUZNE (21) MASSEY UNIVERSITY, NEW ZEALAND CORNELL UNIVERSITY, UNITED STATES

‘It didn’t take me long to decide on Wage- ‘When I arrived in the Netherlands, I stayed ningen University. Exchange students in a hotel in Ede to start with. On my sec- from New Zealand traditionally go to Can- ond day, I arrived at Idealis early to register ada or Britain but I opted for the universi- for a room. I had to wait in the rain for an ty with the best reputation in agriculture. hour. At that point, sitting in the rain in the I also wanted to go to a European country. centre of Wageningen, I did think: what I originally planned to come for six have I got myself into? months but I was advised to add on an ex- That was one month ago. Now I’ve gone tra six months. That way you experience MARTIN SKJÆVELAND (24) to some classes and met some great peo- more of the culture and you can take NORWEGIAN UNIVERSITY OF LIFE SCIENCES, ple. So far, the weather is the only thing I more modules. My parents totally sup- NORWAY don’t like about the Netherlands. The ported my decision. They used to travel a Dutch are very friendly. Some Americans lot themselves and they’re actually hop- ‘I saw a Norwegian comedian do a sketch in might be a bit reserved when they come in- ing to come to the Netherlands in the which he spoke Dutch as if it was a kind of to contact with the Dutch, who can be very summer. Norwegian dialect. I could understand what direct. But I actually like that. It makes My main expectation is that students he was saying so I thought it wouldn’t be communication a lot easier and more ef- will be required to be more independent. that difﬁ cult to learn Dutch. I tried to master fective. I have been studying here for one period the language using Duolingo, a language University life seems somewhat more so far and I’ve already noticed this. In programme on the computer and smart- relaxed here. At Cornell it can get rather New Zealand you have lectures and often phone. But it turned out to be quite tricky so stressful and it’s more competitive. One just one course book. In Wageningen that’s why I wanted to come to the Nether- difference is that here your grade often de- they give you many more sources, which lands, to learn the language. pends only on a group project and an ex- you are then supposed to examine criti- Wageningen University appealed to me am. In my university back home, you get cally. But even if they expect a lot of inde- because it’s a lot like my own university — marks for your contribution in the lessons pendence, I have noticed that teaching small, with a focus on agriculture. But when and for homework too.’ CN en TvdS staff are still prepared to help you.’ I got here the university was much bigger than I had expected, in particular because the town itself is about the same size as my university town, Ås. Now I have been here for about a month, I notice that the work pressure is higher than at my university. But the people here are very friendly and always willing to help you. I’m also amazed at how good the infrastructure D

is for cyclists. You often have priority. LIN GLIN G E

What I like about Wageningen is that you DE D N AN don’t just learn about Dutch culture, you al- VANVA V JAN JA J

so come into contact with other cultures be- T

cause of the many international students at AART A S: OS: OS O

the university.’ O PHOTOS: AART JAN VAN DE GLIND AART JAN VAN PHOTOS: PHOT PHO

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE 26 >> student

ORGANIC Organic agriculture could feed PhD candidate, mom and blogger the world sustainably, claim researchers at Washington State University in an extensive review There is a new blogger on in Nature Plants. Organic farming Resource-online: Nadya Kari- produces big enough harvests to masari. In her fi rst blog she feed seven billion people. And it introduces herself. is environmentally friendly, safe, profi table and good for biodiver- Since my supervisor, Bram sity into the bargain. Read the Buscher, contacted me via Skype article Louise! in November 2015 and said ‘Wel- come to Wageningen!’, my life has DEATH been in a state of eternal eupho- More tall people than short peo- ria. My excitement multiplied ple get cancer. The chances of when Resource asked me to join dying of cancer go up by 4 per- the team of bloggers. cent for every 6.4 centimetres, My name is Nadya Karimasari, according to calculations by sci- and I’m from Indonesia. I got a Read the blogs of Nadya entists at the German Centre for PhD scholarship from NWO to and our other bloggers Diabetic Research (DZD). This is study nature conservation in on resource-online.nl. related to the amount of animal times of crisis, starting March duced. I feel the need to blog now protein consumed. The chances of 2016. I am the fi rst person and fi rst about my PhD odyssey. Why? First, dying of cardiovascular diseases, generation in my extended family if you’re Dutch (or Canadian, for by contrast, go down by one per- who got a scholarship to do a PhD example), perhaps you’re already cent per centimetre. Well, death abroad. I am also a fi rst-time mom familiar with the realm of a PhD toral degree! Second, I observe oth- comes to us all sooner or later. of my one-year-old son. I did my student. But for someone like me a er PhD blogs are mostly skewed be- Master’s in 2010-2011 at the Inter- PhD is such a peculiar thing! I used tween two polar extremes, either PARADISE national Institute of Social Studies to think of PhD candidates as el- the self-deprecating PhDs beating Male tortoises must think they’ve (ISS), The Hague. I currently work derly people who already have a lot themselves up or those who only died and gone to heaven. Due to at Bogor Agricultural University. I of expertise in their fi eld and were showcase their academic bril- the warming of the oceans more also volunteer for the national expected to be the next Einstein or liance. I would like to challenge females than males are being farmers union. someone of that calibre. Imagine myself to capture the regular life of born, it has been discovered at I have been blogging since high how surprised I was at ISS to wit- a non-know-it-all PhD student. Af- Florida State University. So cli- school, since the very fi rst time ness a lot of young people at their ter all, it’s a journey, and I hope mate change is creating a bache- blogging platforms were intro- early twenties already doing a doc- you enjoy the ride with me. lor’s paradise. But tortoises need to get a move on. The male- female imbalance is threatening the species. Hylas and Hera See the clip FOLSOM PRISON on resource-online.nl. Fourteen new tarantulas have Last week, student rowing club been discovered in the United W.S.R. Argo christened two new States. One of them has been boats with a dash of Rhine water. named after the deceased coun- The Dutch national champion and try legend Johnny Cash: the Apho- Argo oarswoman Linde Gommers- nopelma johnnycashi. The crea- Verbeek christened Hera, a double ture was found near Folsom skull for lightweight women. The Prison, which Cash immortalized rector, Arthur Mol, christened a in a song. The adult male is black coxed four named Hylas. too, the colour Cash often wore. In accordance with tradition, the We don’t know whether the spi- two boats were named after charac- der sings. ters in the tale of Jason and the Argo- nauts. Hylas was one of the oarsmen on Jason’s ship while the goddess Hera helped Jason with his quest for the Golden Fleece. The addition of Hylas and Hera means that Argo now has a total of 70 boats in the boat- house. The two new boats together

cost about 25,000 euros. VW DE GLIND VAN AART-JAN PHOTO:

RESOURCERESOURUURRCEE — 11 February 20162016 student << 27

EPISODE 65 - MORTIERSTRAAT 14B<< Text RobRob Ramaker The story so far: Willem-Jan is at last making pro- gress with his studies. Only his chronic shortage of money is holding him back now.

Patience KIM PETERSE ILLUSTRATIONS:

illem-Jan wondered whether he had ever Wbeen so bored in his life before. To earn money he took part in a medical experiment this week. This entailed staying in an empty hospital wing together with three other boys. Every morning he took a pill – or a placebo, that was not clear – and then had to stay in bed until three o’clock. Then the nurse came to take blood, after which he was free for the rest of the day. The test subjects were not allowed out of doors so they just hung around in the common room. and revealed a Wii. ‘Anyone for tennis?’ he asked with a grin. When Willem-Jan came in one afternoon, a bad-tempered Willem-Jan couldn’t say no. Before long they were playing medical student was cursing the router. ‘Not working again?’ tennis by moving their arms about holding the remote. asked Willem-Jan. ‘This is certainly a lot cooler than patience,’ said the lad, ‘Nope. If you ask me, that is the real experiment. Withdrawal fl ailing about wildly. Willem-Jan was a fanatical player him- symptoms from Wifi .’ Willem-Jan grinned. The 3G signal was self, but retreated in the face of this uncoordinated fl apping. weak too, probably because of all the hospital’s concrete. Just as he was about to say something the boy did a sweep- Willem-Jan put his pile of article on the table and started ing backhand and sent the remote fl ying through the air. reading. The boredom had its uses: he had done more work ‘Fu-u-u-ck.’ in two days that seemed possible beforehand. ‘Shit,’ cursed his companion. He abandoned the router and It was silent in the house as Willem-Jan closed the door started a game of patience on his laptop. Restlessly, he behind him. On a Friday evening most people had either gone switched it off again halfway and began to fi ddle with the home or down the pub. Just as he wanted to slip into his closed cupboard the TV was standing on. room, he heard Bianca. ‘What are you doing?’ asked Willem-Jan. ‘I’m just curious ‘Hey, you home already?’ As he turned around he heard her what is in here.’ catch her breath. He had seen in the mirror that morning that Willem-Jan threw him a paperclip that was keeping his his black eye looked terrible. papers together. ‘Try this.’ ‘What did you do?’ asked Bianca, shocked. ‘Was it a scary Grumbling, the lad began to poke the lock with the paperclip. experiment?’ ‘Ha,’ he cried triumphantly a bit later. The door had opened ‘No,’ growled Willem-Jan. ‘Just a little sporting accident.’

Resource follows events at Mortierstraat 14B

Disputes commission hears students and uni

On 4 February, Wageningen Univer- ed for students on committees. Wage- their public transport pass in the sec- sity and the Student Council faced ningen UR has offered 320 euros a ond year. The Student Council says one another in front of the National month, but the Student Council thinks that is not fair as students doing a rec- Disputes Commission. The issue: this is not enough. There will no long- ognized two-year Master’s do get that whether the Student Council was er be a supplementary grant in the new compensation. The commission being unreasonable in rejecting the scheme and the council fears that this seemed to support the Student Coun- university’s proposed new FOS will affect the number of students will- cil’s position. ‘In the old situation, you scheme. ing to spend a year doing committee gave these students the basic grant as work. compensation,’ said the chairman to The Executive Board and Student Another disputed issue is the pub- the rector, Arthur Mol. ‘So it will be Council have been arguing for months lic transport payments for social sci- cheaper for you if you now just pay for about the size of the Financial Com- ence Master’s students. The university the public transport pass instead.’ Its pensation for Students (FOS), intend- does not want to compensate them for ruling is expected in March. LvdN

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE 28 >> student

other resits period in red surroundings. The Wageningen’s biggest student gala is ... in Ede. >> PARTIES student society open parties always get a good On 19 February, nine study associations will be turnout so come early if you don’t want to organizing a joint gala in Hotel de Reehorst. The best parties according to queue for ages. Also, people who turn up early You don’t have to be a member of these associ- Wageningen Uitgaans Promotie. Check for this 90s party will get free red party accesso- ations to come along. Last year, tickets were www.wageningenup.nl for all parties. ries. Admission is 3 euros. Don’t forget your sold out in no time and the party was a huge student card. success. Tickets are on sale via gala2016.tk.

CERES - OPEN PARTY CAFÉ LOBURG - KABAAL REGIONAAL 2016 Thursday 18 February from 23.00 to 05.00 Tuesday 23 February from 19.00 to 02.00 We’ve no info yet on this party’s theme. But it Eight regional bands will be playing for a place will undoubtedly be an epic occasion going by on the ‘Kabaal am Gemaal’ stage during the the long tradition of Ceres open parties. Liberation Festival on 5 May. Three bands will SSR-W - OPEN PARTY be performing this evening: Empire of the Thursday 11 February from 22.00 to 05.00 REEHORST - WAGENINGEN STUDY Wolves from Ede (deathcore), Fake ID from Ni- Red is the colour of SSR-W’s open party today. ASSOCIATIONS GALA jmegen (ska-punk) and De Grote Boodschap Come in a red outﬁ t to celebrate the end of an- Friday 19 February from 20.30 to 02.00 from Arnhem (nedermetal).

>> THE WORKS

CLIMATE RESEARCH IN GUERRILLA TERRITORY

Who? Zita Hegger, student of Climate Studies What? Master’s thesis on tropical montane cloud forests Where? Chaméza, Colombia

‘My research area was very unusual; I was one of the ﬁ rst foreigners to have been to Chaméza. This will probably change fast now that oil companies are moving into the area, but it still feels very special. The farming village of Chaméza is in Colombia. I did research there on how the water system works in a tropical montane cloud forest. That is an ecological system that is a feature of mountain rain forests. Not much is known about it at present, whereas knowledge about it is very useful and could be important for the future of the water supply for the farmers in the district. The lack of knowledge is partly a result of the difﬁ culty of doing research because of the guerrilla violence. I couldn’t go into my research area for a while myself because a guerrilla had shown up. Things were very tense. Luckily I could carry on with my work later. My stay in the village was very interesting. It was obvious that the people there didn’t know as much about the world as we do. To my aston- in Chaméza were amazingly smart and inventive. In Chaméza I learned ishment, for instance, there was someone in the village who genuinely how to milk a cow, I helped build a house and learned to ride a motor- did not know that the world was round. This made me very aware of bike. And that proved particularly useful because it meant I could get to how much we take knowledge for granted. There was a lot of supersti- the research site. I also did some tours through the mountains on the tion too: a tattoo was seen as something demonic. And yet some people motorbike at sunset. That was a really beautiful sight.’ AJ

RESOURCE — 11 February 2016 service << 29

Starting March - May Language Courses English French MEANWHILE IN... << PRESIDENCIA DE LA REPÚBLICA DOMINICANA PHOTO: Dutch Spanish

Meanwhile in Latin America In the news: Latin America has been shaken by an outbreak of zika virus, which is mainly dangerous for unborn babies. How are people in Brazil, Surinam and Colombia affected by this health crisis? ‘Language gets you further’

Commentary by Silvia Gabriela Abreu e Silva (MSc Nutrition and Health), Richella Parker (BSc International Development Studies) www.wageningenUR.nl/into and Natalia Vasquez Urbina (MSc Animal Sciences).

Silvia: ‘My cousin lives in the US and she’s pregnant. She wanted to come back to Brazil for Christmas. We advised her against it because it would be dangerous. So she stayed at home this year. The zika virus is spread by mosquitoes. It’s summer at the moment and it is raining a lot so there are loads of mosquitoes. It is a big problem in the north-east of Brazil especially. This region is poorer and less developed than the rest of the country. Poor hygiene makes it hard to control the virus. It is only really dangerous if you are pregnant. It is important to remove water MCB-51403: Capita Selecta and garbage from your house. Even a glass of water on the table can be dangerous. The government is working with universities Commodity Futures & Options and research institutes to ﬁ nd solutions.’ Always wondered about what is happening at the trading ﬂ oor Richella: ‘A good friend of mine and her family all had zika. of exchanges like the ones in Amsterdam, London and Chicago? Wondered about how (agribusiness) companies manage their risks They had joint pain, red spots and fever. After a week in bed they using commodity futures and options? Wondered about how it would got better. There are not always symptoms. The government in be if you were trading commodity futures in Amsterdam, Frankfurt Surinam is calling on everyone not to get pregnant at the and Paris? moment, because that is dangerous. Most women are not scared because there haven’t been any cases in our country of pregnant The Marketing & Consumer Behavior Group organizes a unique course women getting the virus or of deformed babies like in Brazil.’ that will introduce students to commodity futures and options markets. Students will develop an understanding of the markets and how they Natalia: ‘In general people in Colombia are not scared of the zika work, gain knowledge about the theory behind futures and options virus. The dengue fever virus has already been here a while and is markets, identify their economic functions, and develop an analytical spread by the same mosquito. You get much sicker from that capability to evaluate their economic usefulness. This course is taught by Professor Joost M.E. Pennings (Marketing & Consumer Behavior Group, than from zika. People here are more afraid of that. But the Wageningen University). There are only 40 seats available. government has advised against getting pregnant until July 2016. A friend of mine is pregnant. She is under strict observation by If you are interested in taking this course (3 Credits) please register doctors. Just like other Colombians she makes sure she throws with Ellen Vossen at MCB (room 5029, De Leeuwenborch, e-mail: Ellen. out garbage quickly, uses insecticide sprays and stops puddles [email protected], tel. 0317-483385). You can also pick up the materials forming around the house.’ LdP here. Lecturers are on 18 March and 1, 8, 15 and 22 April (period 5) in room C78 of the Leeuwenborch. Times are 10.30-12.15 hrs.

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE 30 >> service SINGLE TO CHINA! Derek Pan studied at Wageningen but is back in China now. His short ﬁ lms about his experience there can be watched on resource-online.nl

For students and employees of Wageningen UR

Announcements Open grenzen (Open borders) Borrowing sheet music or musical March. The prize has been awarded exhibition in The True Limpet Gallery instruments since 2007 by the Dutch society for Otherwise vacancy: innovative Artist Rob Steenbergen reveals his The Van Uven Foundation music li- the protection of animals in coopera- communication assistant fascination with the concept of bor- brary off ers sheet music, vocal tion with the 3Rs-Centre Utrecht Life Are you great with social media? Cre- ders in his Borderzone artworks. He scores and literature on classical mu- Sciences at Utrecht University and ative in designing posters and logos? uses topographical maps as the basis sic. Students are allowed to view the Utrecht University Medical Cen- And do you enjoy thinking about infor his art, transforming them with these exceptional documents, copy tre. See www.uu.nl/nieuws/ under novative strategies for how to connect the help of a variety of techniques them and borrow them. You can also ‘Diergeneeskunde’ (Veterinary Sci- with an audience? Then we would and materials such as ink, textiles, arrange this via the internet. The ence) for the criteria. love to have you join our team! Start- handicrafts and even fi reworks. Bor- foundation hires out musical instru- ing in March, one day a week, mini- ders are lines that both connect and ments too. Library opening hours: Neder-Veluwe food bank mum of three months. Contact: jildou. divide countries, sometimes visible, every third Thursday of the month needs volunteers [email protected] or 06-22074903. sometimes made invisible, spaces from 20.00 to 22.00. Location: Gen- The Neder-Veluwe food bank is urgent- that are both open and closed and eraal Foulkesweg 1A, Wageningen. ly looking for new volunteers for vari- Lexkesveer, the ferry between that usher in change. In short, a phe- WWW.VANUVEN.NL ous positions, such as drivers, co-driv- Wageningen and Randwijk, is nomenon open to multiple interpre- ers, packers, food checking staff , etc. looking for ticket sellers tations. The (free) exhibition is on Nominate your colleague for the ‘Lef You can specify how often and when An opportunity to work outdoors on view until 6 March in the Wilde in het lab’ award you’re available. That information will Holland’s nicest ferry, with shifts of at Wereld building, Herenstraat 10 Wa- Researchers and biotechnologists be used to draw up a roster every least 1.5 hours, once every two weeks geningen. Gallery opening hours: who work on alternatives to animal month. We work in teams, which on a Saturday or Sunday. Call or app Wednesdays 10-17, Saturdays 12-17, trials or ways of reducing or refi ning makes it very sociable! Information: 06-46008091, email: niek.goldhoo- Sundays 13-17. animal experiments can be nominat- Anneke Sijbrand on 06-40932724, or [email protected] WWW.ROBSTEENBERGEN.NL ed for this award. The deadline is 1 via www.voedselbanknederveluwe.nl.

Call for applications

Aalt Dijkhuizen Fund Young Scientist Grant

OBJECTIVE Acquire high-tech knowledge at foreign research center of excellence

REQUIREMENTS Relevant to ‘how to feed 9 billion people sustainably’ and the Dutch agri & food sector

FOR Postdoc researchers, PhD- and MSc-students

DEADLINE February 29th, 2016

HOW TO APPLY wageningenur.nl/aaltdijkhuizenfund

RESOURCE — 11 February 2016 service << 31

agenda guided tour from 11.00 to 12.30. low at 20.15, with 37 young people colophon WWW.CREATIVEGARDEN-WAGENINGEN.ORG going on a quest through nature: what Resource is the magazine and news website Thursday 11 January to WWW.RECLAIMTHESEEDS.NL sound does the wind make, an an- for students and staﬀ at Wageningen UR. Wednesday 24 February noyed lobster, a leisurely whiting or a Resource magazine comes out every fortnight FILMS FOR STUDENTS Wednesday 17 February, 20.15 cacophony of colours? Venue: Akoesti- on Thursday.

Showing at Movie W: Son of Saul, a CABARESTAFETTE cum, Nieuwe Kazernelaan 2, Ede. Info Address hallucinating war drama about Aus- If you are interested in discovering and reservations via www.nskk.nl Akkermaalsbos 14, 6708 WB Wageningen chwitz in which a Jewish man has to talented young comedians, and per- (Nexus, Building 117, bode 31). POBox 409 6700 AK Wageningen. help kill and bury Jews and thinks he haps the latest sensation in the world Sunday 21 February, 9.00-17.00 Secretariat: Thea Kuijpers, recognizes his son; El Club, an imagi- of comedy, then come to the Cabare- ZEN SUNDAY AT KENKON [email protected], 0317 484020 Website: www.resource-online.nl. native, grim drama in which four stafette. An exciting evening is guaran- A day of Zen meditation in silence un- ISSN 1389-7756 priests who live a carefree, secluded teed with three widely diff ering acts, der the guidance of Frank Dries and life are joined by a fi fth priest and brilliant compères and music by Pica Olaf van Kooten, with the theme: ‘Am I Editorial staff • Edwin van Laar (editor-in-chief) have to face the question of whether DJ to warm up the audience before- OK or not?’ There will be ten seated [email protected], 0317 482997 they have shown suffi cient remorse for hand. Which comedians you will see sessions of 25 minutes each, walking • Lieke de Kwant (editor) [email protected], 0317 485320 their misdeeds; Our Little Sister, in Wageningen is a secret. The names mediation, a chat, tea and a Q&A ses- • Roelof Kleis (ecology, social about the lives of three Japanese sis- probably won’t mean much to you sion. Come along from 8.30. Venue: sciences, economy), ters who live with their half-sister in now but you often come across the Nieuwe Kanaal 11, Wageningen. Regis- [email protected], 0317 481721 • Koen Guiking (web editor) their grandmother’s home. Movie W, winners of such festivals later on. The ter via [email protected]. [email protected], 0317 481338 Wilhelminaweg 3A. evening will be hosted by various dif- WWW.KENKON.ORG • Linda van der Nat (students, education) [email protected], 0317 481725 WWW.MOVIE-W.NL ferent compères. Venue: Small audito- • Rob Ramaker (nutrition, fi sheries), rium, Junushoff Theatre, Wageningen. Tuesday 23 February, 19.15-22.30 [email protected], 0317 481709 • Albert Sikkema (plant sciences, animal Weekend of 13 & 14 February, WWW.CABARESTAFETTE.NL SWU THYMOS: MARTIAL ARTS sciences, organization) 10.00-17.00 EVENING [email protected], 0317 481724 5TH NATIONAL SEED WEEKEND - Friday 19 February, 20.15 Have you always wanted to take up Others who work on Resource RECLAIM THE SEEDS MAJOR DONORS’ CONCERT BY THE boxing or learn more about ninjitsu? Guy Ackermans, Jeroen Bok, Ton van den Born, On Saturday, ASEED, the Farmers’ STUDENT ORCHESTRA DE At the annual Martial Arts Evening, Alexandra Branderhorst, Stijn van Gils, Foundation and others will be organiz- ONTZETTING you can choose from various martial Aart-Jan van de Glind, Hoger Onderwijs Persbureau, Milou van der Horst, Amy Jansen, ing a seed exchange where organic De Ontzetting’s conductor is Jean- arts in three sessions, including Ken- Nicole Janssen, Iris Keizer, Jan-Willem seed breeders, horticulturalists, socie- Pierre Gabriël. The theme of this con- do, Jiu-Jitsu and MMA. Participation is Kortlever, Kito, Hilde de Laat, Django Kaasschieter, Sven Menschel, Carina ties, botanical gardeners, allotment cert is Once upon a time. The orchestra free and you don’t need to sign up. Nieuwenweg, Rik Nijland, Onnika van and city gardeners can exchange unu- will be performing well-known pieces Venue: De Bongerd Sports Centre. Oosterbosch, Derek Pan, Kim Peterse, Lucas du Pré, Simone Rijlaarsdam, Henk van sual seeds, seed material, tips and ex- (and perhaps some less well-known WWW.SWUTHYMOS.NL Ruitenbeek, Eva van Schijndel, Kristina pertise. There is also a programme of tunes) about fairy tales and stories. Simonaityte, Twan van der Slikke, Joris workshops with presentations on har- The programme is varied with Miss Wednesday 24 February, Tielens, Pascal Tieman, Kees van Veluw, Veronika Wehner, Daniël Dreadson, vesting your own seeds, preserving Saigon by Claude-Michel Schonberg, 20.00-22.00 Rob de Winter, Remo Wormmeester and using crop diversity, and the pow- Orient Express by Philip Sparke and WEPTALKS, 5TH EDITION Design er of the seed companies, plus the fi lm The Lion King by Elton John/Hans Zim- Sustainability can be more than a life- Geert-Jan Bruins From Seed to Seed. Children can learn mer. Tickets via [email protected] or style; it can be about business pro- how to make compost or amuse them- goo.gl/ITjmv4. Admission is €5.00 for jects. Come and listen to Rens van den Translators Clare McGregor, Susie Day, Clare Wilkinson selves with seed bombs/boxes or by students and €7.50 for non-students. Bulck’s motivating ideas about the creating colourful rangoli. On Sunday, Venue: Junushoff Theatre, Wagenin- package-free shop and get inspired by Printer Tuijtel, Hardinxveld-Giessendam people can visit local garden projects gen. Pepijn Vloermans on the electric car such as Creative Garden at Bornses- WWW.ONTZETTING.WUR.NL revolution. WEPtalks is based on the Subscriptions teeg 87, where WU students will give a well-known TED-talk format, with A subscription to the magazine costs €58 (overseas: €131) per academic year. Saturday 20 February, 18.30 short, powerful talks to share ideas. Cancellations before 1 August. CONCERT PRELIMINARY Young entrepreneurs present their cre- Advertising PROGRAMME ‘SENSATIONS IN ative initiatives, covering a wide External: Bureau van Vliet, T 023-5714745 NATURE AND THE PERFORMANCE’, range of topics from green architec- [email protected] INCLUDING TALK BY MATTHIJS ture to circular economies and living Internal (reduced rate): Thea Kuijpers, [email protected]. T 0317 484020 SCHOUTEN without waste. Venue: Forum building, For one night only, the concert by the C213. Publisher Marc Lamers, Corporate Communications & Dutch student chamber choir will be WWW.WAGENINGENENVIRONMENTALPLATFORM.NL Marketing Wageningen UR preceded by a special programme: your experienced and ‘Sensations in nature and the performance’. Philosopher and WU professor carbon neutral ĐƌĞĂƟǀĞŐĂƌĚĞŶĞƌĨŽƌ Deadline for submissions: one natureOffice.com | NL-215-174413 ŐĂƌĚĞŶĚĞƐŝŐŶ͕ Matthijs Schouten will give a talk and week before publication date print production maintenance and pianist, university IT lecturer and (max. 75 words) chamber choir veteran Cynthia Liem Email: [email protected] ůĂŶĚƐĐĂƉŝŶŐ and musicologist Sander van Maas in- vite you to take part in an experiment. ZĞŶŬƵŵϬϯϭϳͲϯϭϯϱϮϭǁǁǁ͘ĞǀĞƌƚƐͲǁĞŝũŵĂŶ͘Ŷů The concert Voices of Nature will fol-

11 February 2016 — RESOURCE >>TYPICAL DUTCH ILLUSTRATION: HENK VAN RUITENBEEK HENK VAN ILLUSTRATION:

The Tallest People on Earth

I felt so small when I arrived in the Netherlands for the ﬁ rst time. Of course, I am Asian and my height is only 154 cm – which is quite normal in my motherland. But when I came to Holland, I met tall people everywhere, both men and women.

For the Dutch, meeting a girl of my height is strange too. An Asian friend of mine felt a bit insulted when, on her ﬁ rst visit to the campus, a Dutch man said to her, ‘You are very short’. By now she must be accustomed to the generally outspoken Dutch. To talk to one of my It’s an issue in my class too. I have so many Dutch friends who are over 180 cm in height. To talk to Dutch friends I have one of my Dutch friends I have to bend my head right back to look up at him. For me, sitting at the to bend my head front of class is a must. Otherwise, I cannot see anything that’s written on the blackboard. If right back Dutch people sit in front of me, I’ll miss a lot during the class. Even if I ask the person to bend a little bit, it does not help. Yes, welcome to the Netherlands, the country with the tallest people on earth. Lini Anisfatus Sholihah, Master’s student of Nutrition and Health, from Indonesia

Do you have a nice anecdote about your experience of going Dutch? Send it in! Describe an encounter with Dutch culture in detail and comment on it brieﬂ y. 300 words max. Send it to [email protected] and earn twenty-ﬁ ve euro and Dutch candy.