Could you briefly introduce yourself and tell us about your current role as Co-Director at Project Apollo?
My name is Emma Timmermans. I studied PPE from 2020 to 2023, spent a semester on exchange in Rome - which I would recommend to absolutely everyone - and later completed a Master’s in Public Policy and Governance at the University of Amsterdam. I graduated last September (2025), after taking a gap year between my bachelor’s and master’s.
During that gap year, I started working as a speechwriter and student assistant, and later as a programme editor at a Dutch political organisation called De Kiesmannen. That was also the period in which Project Apollo really began to take shape. I’m currently 23 years old, live in Amersfoort with my boyfriend, and work in Amsterdam as the co-director of Project Apollo, a foundation I co-founded to help lower the barriers for people who want to enter politics.
What is Project Apollo, and what problem or challenge does it aim to address?
Project Apollo is a non-partisan foundation that focuses on finding, educating and guiding new political talent into politics. We started Project Apollo because we saw how many talented, motivated people feel that politics is simply “not for them”. The barriers differ per person, but we often hear similar concerns: a lack of representation, unequal access to networks, insufficient practical skills, and a political climate that feels increasingly hostile or unsafe. Together, these factors discourage people long before they even consider taking the first step.
What struck me most was the absence of proper training for politicians. For many professions, formal education is a given, whether you want to become a dentist, an engineer or a musician. But studying political science does not necessarily prepare you for the day-to-day reality of being a politician: negotiating, decision-making, public pressure, or working within complex institutions. At Project Apollo, we believe that politics is a profession, and that everyone should have a fair chance to prepare for it. That’s why we don’t select on age, gender, background or profession. If someone has ideas, values and a genuine motivation to contribute to society, we believe they can be trained and can contribute to politics!
What impact are you most proud of that Project Apollo has achieved so far?
With the upcoming municipal elections in the Netherlands this March, I’m incredibly proud that more than 25 Apollo alumni are now running as candidates. In total, we’ve trained over 100 people so far, I can even vote for an Apollo candidate in my own municipality. That still feels quite surreal.
On a more personal level, I was deeply honoured to receive the Political Innovation Award from the Better Politics Foundation in Berlin last year. It was special not only because of the recognition, but also because it connected our work to a broader international movement working on democratic renewal. For anyone who’s interested in seeing what other projects are happening worldwide, I would really recommend to check out the PLE-network from the Better Politics Foundation.
In what ways did PPE prepare you for working at the intersection of politics, leadership and society?
PPE taught me how to approach complex problems analytically and from multiple perspectives. It trained me to identify underlying structures, assess trade-offs, and think beyond single-discipline solutions. Political science helped me understand institutions and power dynamics; economics taught me to think more strategically and, in a sense, entrepreneurially; and philosophy pushed me to reflect on values, responsibility and long-term impact. That combination has been invaluable in developing a clear theory of change and a mission for Project Apollo.
Were there any moments during your studies that helped shape your career direction?
Not so much in terms of directing my career path, but very much in shaping how I work today. PPE taught me how to conduct thorough research, how to write nuanced and well-argued analyses, and how to approach complex problems from multiple perspectives.
I notice myself using those skills constantly. Within Project Apollo, I find it extremely important to base our work on solid research: to truly understand the barriers people experience when considering politics, and to critically assess how effective our programmes actually are. PPE trained me to question assumptions, test ideas, and continuously reflect on whether what we do really makes the impact we intend it to have.
What is your best memory of PPE?
I think it’s amazing that we got to go on an exchange semester; I really enjoyed my semester in Rome! But I also really valued the second year of PPE, after much of the first year had been online due to COVID. Being back on campus, fully immersed in student life, and experiencing the open and welcoming atmosphere on the fourth floor made a big difference. And perhaps surprisingly: I genuinely enjoyed writing my thesis. Being able to craft your own research question of interest, and I really liked getting the time and freedom of writing the thesis from the start to the end.
Is there anything exciting that you would like to share about your life outside of your work?
I’m about to start a wine course, mostly because I think it’s fun , and also because I like doing things that are completely different from my work. I think that’s actually really important.
Every summer I still work a few weeks at a beach café on Terschelling. It’s very physical work, very different from sitting behind a laptop all day, and I honestly really enjoy that contrast. It keeps things in balance for me.
What are you most excited about in the coming years?
I’m most excited about continuing to find and support new political talent, and about further building Project Apollo as an independent institution.
I also really enjoy the entrepreneurial side of the work: the freedom to design programmes, to experiment with new formats, and respond directly to what participants need. Looking ahead, I hope to expand our work to people who want to engage politically in different ways , not only as elected officials, but also through policy-making, activism or civic leadership. Please feel free to reach out if you have any ideas, or might be considering joining politics yourself…!
