What I love about this Master's is the freedom you get. There's plenty of space to pursue your own interests.
After obtaining my vwo pre-university diploma, I started the bachelor’s in Civil Engineering at Saxion (university of applied sciences, hbo in Dutch). It was quite easy for me, so I soon decided to take a master’s as a follow-up: Construction Management & Engineering.
Freedom
What I love about this Master's is the freedom you get. There’s only a small number of required courses. Apart from those, there is plenty of space to pursue your own interests. I also took courses from other Masters, simply because I wanted to know more about the subjects involved.
Simply put, at the UT you can become the engineer you want to be. In my case that is someone who has knowledge of technical processes but is also aware of the importance of communication within those processes. It is my belief that people often get stuck in technology, while the match with communication is what actually makes things work in the end.
Dedication
To hbo-students considering taking a master's I would like to say: it is a good choice, provided you really want to go for it. I myself breezed through my hbo-bachelor’s quite easily, but if you are already struggling with the level there, the transfer to university will be taxing indeed. I won’t lie about my pre-Master's, it was not a fun time, but it was absolutely necessary and useful. The pre-Master's taught me the importance of getting started right away instead of merely waiting for the next test. A research university master’s really requires dedication and focus.
Also, do not take a pre-Master's simply because you don’t know what else to do. Do it because you want to get a master’s degree and make sure you have a clear vision of your final destination. That’s the best way to actually get there.