Photo: Shutterstock Since the coronavirus epidemic started, students have had difficulty finding internships and places for graduation projects. This is causing them to fall behind with their studies. Dean of Education Arnold Bregt: ‘You often need to do lab work or fieldwork for your thesis. But lab capacity is lower because of the Covid measures and human interaction is more difficult in studies such as Nutrition and Health. There is simply less chance of a physical graduation thesis place.’
On top of that, teachers have less time available for thesis supervision because they spend so much time on online and blended education. ‘That adds to the capacity problem.’
Internships
Internships are also hard to find. Bregt: ‘Many companies are not taking people on right now: “Come along after the coronavirus,” they say. Some degree programmes allow you to write a second thesis rather than doing an internship. That can be a solution for students who are interested in the research side. Others have so many problems with the thesis that they would rather do an internship.’
‘A working group of about 15 lecturers and professors from different parts of WUR will be looking at the issue,’ says Bregt. ‘We will identify what exactly is happening and look at how we could help. For example, could some lecture halls be converted into labs so as to increase the capacity? What are the options for online internships? I don’t yet have an answer but I’m curious to see what creative solutions they come up with.’
