Blootsvoets door het leven

This portfolio consists of several parts, being a CV and an outline of my academic skills and my grades (PDF) so far.

Past choices

From the age of 14 I have been programming. This led to an interest in the majors Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Computing Science (CS). As I was also interested in something creative I was also thinking about doing Industrial Design at Delft. I thought the atmosphere in Utrecht was better, so that choice did not make it. I thought AI was a bit to soft at Utrecht so I went for CS. In high school I was good at Mathematics as well. Doing just CS seemed a bit too one-sided and maybe not challenging enough so I combined this with Mathematics, which seemed more challenging but also more abstract. The combination was offered by Utrecht University so this made for an excellent choice, combining intensive and abstract (Math) with fun and practical (CS).

Current development

Within CS I have followed all base courses and finally taken a liking to the algorithmic and software technology side, as opposed to the graphical side and AI (which I still found to be too soft). With Math I am more and more liking algebra and combinatorics, as opposed to analysis and statistics.

These preferences resulted in the Master Applied Computing Science (ACS). My interests were also used in my bachelor thesis and software
project. In the first I discussed expanding graphs, mostly a combinatorial subject which also required some algebra. In my software project I focused on algorithmic problems and the structure of the program.

Ambitions and future plans

I have lived in South-East Africa until the age of eight. This makes me very interested about that part of the continent, but also about other parts of the world. Additionally, I want to have a change of pace from studying for a year, before I commence with my master.

A search through my possibilities led to a half year internship in South Africa at SACEMA where I will do modeling of HIV and Tuberculosis spreading in South Africa. I am also interested in going abroad when I have acquired a master, so this internship would be a good experience: it will show me how I enjoy working abroad as well as give me a view on how it is to work as a mathematician in the field of epidemiology.