Photo: Guy Ackermans They are indispensable on the campus: the cleaners, caretakers, caterers, gardeners, receptionists – the list is long. Resource looks up these key people. This time, meet Floris Gerritsen (28), a technical and teaching assistant for the Physics and Physical Chemistry of Foods, in Axis.
‘Basically, I make sure that everything in the lab works so students can do experiments for their thesis. My fellow technical assistants and I give students introductions on how equipment works and we do the maintenance of equipment ourselves whenever possible. I regularly walk around the lab to see how things are going and check that students are working safely. I tell them when there’s a better way of doing something or if a dangerous situation arises. For example, I point out that they shouldn’t wear shorts, because dangerous substances can burn bare skin. It’s not nice when they get irritated by that or when I have to say it several times.
I also coordinate the practicals for physical food technology courses. I make sure that all the necessary equipment is available, the supervisors know which experiment they are helping with, and the students know what to expect from the practical. In Covid times, we could still run the practicals, but they did involve extra work. We had to enforce rules and keep track of more things, such as who was operating which apparatus, who was in which lab, and who had Covid. I hope I will soon have more time for other things, like my own little research projects. If interns or companies want to know something about samples they’ve received, I look into it for them.
Working with students is fun because they are motivated and keen
School didn’t really interest me when I was young. After secondary school, I did a vocational course on laboratory technology and then an applied science chemistry degree. I liked the combination of ‘cooking’ with chemicals and the technical equipment. After my studies, I worked in a lab where I did exactly the same thing every day – extremely boring. Now I have been working here for one and a half years and it is much more fun. The work is more varied and you learn more from it, partly because of all the different students. Everyone is different and you learn and hear something new from everyone. Working with students is fun because they are motivated and keen. For example, I noticed how pleased they were to be able to come to the campus to do experiments. Some of them are the same age as me, so I have to be careful to maintain a bit of distance and not get too chummy.’
