The personal pursuit gives ATLAS students the opportunity to explore their passion for music, visual arts, sports, or an area of science. Juul Piket, a member of the Class of 2020, uses her personal pursuit to chase one of her dreams: fixing her own motorcycle.
Juul chose to come to University College Twente (UCT), because she wanted a broad education, but with a focus on technology. The focus on being responsible for your own learning also appealed to her: “In high school, you always had a fixed schedule. Now you get an assignment, but you get to decide how you complete it. This is what I really like about it.”
The Personal Pursuit takes it even one step further, as you also get to design your own assignment. Juul: “I secretly always wanted to work with motorcycles. However, my parents did not really like the idea, since they think riding a motorcycle is dangerous. The Personal Pursuit gave me a little push in the right direction; I became a member of the Motor Sport Groep Twente, in February I bought my own motor, and recently I even became a board member.”
The Motor Sport Groep Twente helps Juul with all the practicalities, while one of our physics teachers, Martin Verhoeff, helps Juul understanding the motor and thermodynamics. “Of course, the actual work on the motor is the most fun, such as deciding how to fix it, getting new parts, and getting your hands dirty. But I am also interested in the theory behind the motor; to fix it you need to understand how it works.” Eventually, Juul, of course, wants to fix her motor, but she also wants to write a manual explaining the thermodynamics of the motor and to create an assignment for new students to apply thermodynamics to an actual motor.
Fun fact, Juul is not allowed to ride her own motor, as she does not have her driver’s license yet. However, nobody can ride it, because first it must obviously be fixed. “It is hard not to ride a motor, but I will have to wait another year because you need to be 21 to get your ‘big’ license for motors. Maybe this can be my Personal Pursuit next year!”
Juul’s advice for students who are struggling to find a topic for their Personal Pursuit is to really do what you like or to use your Personal Pursuit for something that you are very curious about. “I think I would have never bought my own motor if the Personal Pursuit wasn’t there, but I am so glad that I did it.” Juul shows that the Personal Pursuit is a valuable addition to the ATLAS program, and is not only a way of following your passion, but also finding a new passion.
University College Twente offers a unique bachelor’s programme, Technology, Liberal, Arts and Sciences, to top students. Visit the University College Twente website for more information about the college and Technology, Liberal, Arts and Sciences website for more information about the bachelor program. Or visit us during the open day, a student-for-a-day or an insight-day.
