Interview Nienke

My name is Nienke Veldkamp, I am 23 years old and from Aarlanderveen (a small town somewhere in South Holland).

Why did you choose this study programme?

I chose this master's because I also did the bachelor of econometrics and operational research here at Erasmus school of Economics with a major in Logistics. Then the main reason I chose econometrics is that I always liked mathematics and economics so econometrics was a good combination of my interests and skills.

Furthermore, I always like solving problems and programming, which play a big role in logistics. Also when choosing a specialisation I found that Analytics and Operations Research in Logistics has a bit more programming than the other master specialisations. This is why I did not consider any other specialisations.

"The most interesting thing I learned so far is how to construct algorithms that can solve very complex problems close to optimality"

What is your favourite subject and/or favourite teacher?

It's hard to narrow down my favourite professor and course because I really liked most of the courses in my specialisation. If I had to narrow it down my top three would be Transportation & Scheduling, Mathematical Programming and Algorithm design since these are the courses that are more programming orientated. Plus, these courses are the most relevant to my thesis topic and I really liked the professors as well. Then if I had to choose one course it would be Transportation & Scheduling. This is for two reasons, first, the course is only 3 weeks of 2 programming assignments and second professor

Twan Dollevoet explained the details of the assignment extremely well and he would sit down to help you with finding possible errors in the code. Then as for my favourite professor, I think I would pick Remy Spliet (who teaches Mathematical Programming) because he is my thesis supervisor and I liked his teaching style as his way of explaining worked well for me personally.

What is the most interesting you learned so far?

The most interesting thing I learned so far is how to construct algorithms that can solve problems close to optimality in a short amount of time and how to break down big problems that would be unsolvable, if you do not have a supercomputer, into sets of smaller problems that can still solve your problem to optimality.

What is your favourite study-break spot on campus?

My favourite place to take a break would be either at the Erasmus Food Plaza or the Erasmus Paviljoen. Both have nice places to sit, both inside and outside, and you can either get a drink and some food there or you can stop by the Spar to get something. When I am studying on campus I am usually in the University Library and take coffee breaks with my friends so then it is nice to take a short walk to the Spar to get a coffee and sit down at the Food Plaza to have a chat. Also even though there are so many students on campus I often run into people I know here because it is such a popular spot for a break.

What is your best tip for doing fun things in Rotterdam?

There are so many fun things to do in Rotterdam, like taking a water taxi or a river cruise along the Maas or taking a stroll along the Erasmus Bridge or having a nice high tea at Hotel New York or visiting the market hall and trying some nice food or trying some watersports at the Kralingse Plas. My personal favourite though is to go out for food or drinks at Apartt in the Oude Haven, which is especially nice in spring and summer as you can enjoy the view of the harbour from the terrace.