Mick followed the Master's programme in Dutch
Sense of meaning and purpose
Mick came to VU Amsterdam with a clear goal: he wanted to become a media psychologist. The presentation about the optional subject Social Robotics during the open day immediately appealed to him. “They showed a few clips from ‘Alice Cares’ about using a carebot; a care robot to combat loneliness among the elderly.” Mick instantly fell for the idea. “It was exactly the sense of purpose I had always been looking for. I enrolled right away.”
Social media analytics
During his studies, Mick was introduced to Social Media Analytics, a course that changed his life. “You write a message tailored exactly to that person. Using various data points, you determine through which channel and at what time a person is most receptive to a message. Imagine being able to win the elections using that analysis?” Mick decided to make a radical change and chose to study Political Communication; a decision he hasn’t regretted for a second. The data analysis strategy in particular gave an interesting perspective. “It's very interesting to see how you can use data to influence human behaviour.”
Practical
What Mick found particularly appealing about the course was the fact that you could immediately put knowledge into practice. “Writing code and learning to analyse text in the data science tool R studio from scratch.” Mick’s thesis was about the effects of conflict news during the provincial elections. “Isn’t the idea that you can use data from news media to actually obtain knowledge just fantastic!”
Data talent
After Mick graduated he started as a trainee at Vlammrs, a company that trains young data talent and connects them to for-profit and not-for-profit companies. “I was given the opportunity to develop my data talent further and use it at for-profit as well as not-for-profit organizations.” He completed an assignment for Slachtofferhulp Nederland (Victim Support Netherlands) on a pro bono basis, for instance. “I used text analysis modules that I had been taught during my Master’s in Communication Science to do this assignment.” Mick made an important contribution in times of COVID when Slachtofferhulp Nederland had to switch to providing online help. “The online community was still a black box for them, and I had been given the noble task of figuring that out.”
Tip
This reads like a success story but Mick had to work very hard to achieve it all. “I graduated with distinction despite having dyscalculia and dyslexia. I achieved this by working very hard. At VU Amsterdam I was taught to think in the right way and to always keep an open mind. Mick’s tip is clear: “Don’t let obstacles stop you. If you work hard the sky’s the limit!”
