“Funnily enough, during high school, I was never much into physics. Most of it was simply solving math problems – not all that inspiring. So, the fact that I ended up choosing this Bachelor’s was actually quite unexpected, even though my dad also studied Applied Physics at the University of Twente (UT). I had always been interested in the topics he talked about at home, but it wasn't until I got a really enthusiastic physics teacher in my final year of high school that I actually started considering the subject as a major.
After my Student for a Day experience, I knew it was the right choice for me. The cosy atmosphere on campus and the personal and down-to-earth approach from both students and teachers made me feel at home immediately. Besides, the project-based learning and social aspect of education at UT appealed to me. In that sense, Applied Physics at UT is different as compared to other universities: you constantly think about the possible applications of what you’re learning. This way, the subject matter becomes a lot more tangible, and you get to work on relevant societal challenges; something I personally find very important.
Understanding natural phenomena
At Applied Physics, you learn to understand and use the natural world around us to develop and improve innovative solutions. That starts with the fundamental theories: understanding why things are the way they are, and exploring new physical phenomena. Then you learn to look at the applications. How can this knowledge help an engineer develop a new technical solution? Learning this, I’ve realised how much of daily life is related to physics – from the way water moves to how a printer releases its ink.
During the Bachelor’s in Applied Physics, you cover many different subjects, including thermodynamics and fluid dynamics, magnetism, electricity, optics, and materials. What I like most is that we don’t just describe the subject matter in mathematical terms, but we also work on projects where we get to see how these natural phenomena play out in practice. For example, I once built a theremin, an electric musical instrument that you play by moving your hands between two antennas. You don’t actually touch the instrument, but by moving your hand toward the antenna, you change the electrical properties of the system and therefore change the tone. It’s like an analogue synthesiser!
Physics and motorsport
Besides the projects within my studies, I also got to apply my knowledge at HyDriven Twente: a student team that builds a hydrogen car every year to compete in international competitions. As a student of Applied Physics, I was responsible for calculating and visualising the airflow around the wings of our car, in order to improve the design. It was a lot of fun to work on this alongside my studies. It’s really rewarding to see how your knowledge can help build a faster car and win more races!
Besides, it’s also just very fun to meet new people from different study programmes. That’s why I would recommend everyone to join a student team or student association. Just studying for your degree won’t make you happy, and there really is something for everyone – whether you like sports, culture or would rather do something study-related, like a student team.
Sustainability
I’m not exactly sure yet what I want to study after finishing my bachelor’s. Physics is a very broad field, so there are plenty of options to choose from. Personally, I’m mostly interested in fluid dynamics. Fluids are everywhere and can make a great impact, no matter how small the amount. That’s why I’d like to combine this with sustainability in my master’s, in order to come up with smarter solutions. For example, you could inject tiny air bubbles underneath big cargo ships, in the so-called boundary layer, which reduces their resistance and consequently lowers their emissions. Pretty cool to think about innovations like that, right?
In the end, I’m happy that in my final year of high school, I made the effort to explore Applied Physics as a viable option. Everything I love about physics is way more prominent in the Bachelor’s than it was in high school; it’s not just facts and doing calculations, but really exploring the origin of natural phenomena and why they behave as they do. Of course, it helps if you have a bit of a knack for maths and physics – if you don’t like those subjects and you’re not so good at them, Applied Physics may not be the right study programme for you. But if you do, and you are interested in understanding the world around you better, it could be a great fit!”
