Hannah Mülder, Class of 2016, has moved around quite a lot since graduating from the ATLAS program. Currently, she is studying at ETH in Zürich, doing an MSc in Statistics. Curious how she got there? This is her story.
Hannah is a German native and when in high school, she decided that she wanted to study abroad in the Netherlands. She was looking for a small-scale program and when visiting University College Twente, she immediately felt at home. “Until the summer after my first year in ATLAS, I always had a plan. But then I found out that I had no idea what I wanted to do after ATLAS, so I started taking decisions for courses on the go. I chose classes that were interesting and helped me create a personal profile that could eventually prepare me for an interesting master program.”
“In my final year at University College Twente, I looked for a master combining mathematics and engineering with social sciences. I stumbled upon an MPhil in System Dynamics at the University of Bergen in Norway and decided to move there.” Unfortunately, this did not turn out to be the right choice. The courses in this master were too specialized for her and focusing on a small number of applications. At the end of her first semester, Hannah moved back to Enschede to become an Education and Research Assistant in the ATLAS program. In this way, Hannah could contribute to and learn about improving University College Twente, while also spending time on figuring out what she wanted to do.
“Eventually, I decided for the MSc Statistics at ETH in Zürich, Switzerland. During my bachelor thesis, I learned about agent-based modelling, which is a modelling technique that I wanted to continue learning about. The MSc Statistics allows me to take courses that will help me in agent-based modelling, both theoretical and applied.”
Hannah is really enjoying her time at ETH, but it was also a hard transition: “The lectures are larger than in ATLAS, we only have one final exam each semester, and I am only studying mathematics. The first semester was challenging as well, everything I learned was new to me, while for other students it was partly a recap of knowledge. However, I like the international culture and the strong motivation to learn and explain of both students and teachers; everyone is very excited about the topics we study.”
“I am slowly getting used to everything. I start to discover the many possibilities within mathematics and statistics, and I am learning how I can become an active member of the student population at ETH.” Hannah has shown that you do not necessarily need to ‘stick to the plan’ and that your plan can be constantly updated throughout your time in ATLAS and beyond: “Your future is just a collection of small steps that you should take one at a time. Your long-term plan does not need to be fixed, instead be open to new possibilities and changes.”
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.
