Testimonial Kelly Hamers

Employer: Royal HaskoningDHV
Function: Junior process engineer industrial wastewater 
Graduated: 2018

I started the Master in LST in September 2016, with the specialisations Cell Factory and Biochemical Engineering. The combination of these two specialisations keeps you busy, but it’s worthwhile! I didn’t know what aspect of cell biology attracted me the most, so it was ideal to combine these two fields. And it taught me stress management ;).

I chose this Master programme, because it integrates several disciplines. I built on this aspect by participating in iGEM, one of the TU Delft DREAMTeams. We started brainstorm sessions in January 2017 and continued our project until the Jamboree in November 2017. I was still following the normal curriculum, making iGEM (and Critical Reflection on Technology) my Honours Programme. At times this was challenging, especially during the fourth period (in conjunction with the Design Project). Again, good planning was of the essence. Participating in these two projects significantly boosted my soft (communicational/group) skills. And I’ll never forget the experience of our team making a clean sweep of the prize table at the iGEM Jamboree!

After boosting my programming skills (MatLab and COMSOL) and my theoretical knowledge in courses during the first year, I put theory into practice during my Master’s End Project at the Environmental Biotechnology group. It was a challenging and fun project about mixed culture dynamics which greatly enhanced my skills as a(n) (independent) researcher.

However, I found my passion during my industrial internship at the wastewater treatment plant at SABIC-IP in Bergen op Zoom. Up until then, I thought I would take a PhD, but the design of wastewater treatment systems and the interaction with industrial parties was so energizing that it completely changed my plans. I continued my passion after the internship and started working for Royal HaskoningDHV. I have been a junior process engineer industrial wastewater there for over a year and I couldn’t be more happy!