Marjolijn Heslinga
After successfully completing her MSc Systems & Control at TU Delft in 2017, Marjolijn started a traineeship at Philips Healthcare. In 2020, she became increasingly involved in the company's social impact within the sustainability department. Here, Marjolijn developed a social programme to improve access to healthcare in remote areas of Indonesia.
To broaden her horizons, Marjolijn pursued a Masters in Sustainable Development Management at Sunway University in Kuala Lumpur in 2021, remote from her work location in Jakarta. With the insights from this master and after successfully launching the programme in Indonesia, she decided to take a new direction in her career. For Marjolijn, the focus of her employer at that time was too much on curative care and not enough on prevention.
Food plays a major role in prevention and health. Health and sustainability come together in our food system, offering many opportunities in terms of climate, biodiversity, land use and pollution, says Marjolijn. ‘My mission is to make our current food system more sustainable and fair, with a focus on the transition to more plant-based proteins.’ For this reason, Marjolijn has now taken up self-employment as a ‘change maker’, where she plans to use her experience as a project and programme manager.
For actual system change, expertise in transition science is crucial. This is why Marjolijn wants to deepen her knowledge by attending the Transition Management course at the Drift Transition Academy. Her mission is to become an expert on transition and thus make her contribution to food transition.
‘To increase my impact, it is important that I bring others along in the changes brought about by this transition.’ A key tool in this regard for enthusing and inspiring a wide audience is sharing a unique and engaging story. To learn these skills, Marjolijn plans to attend the Presenting with Impact and Persuasion training at the Competence Factory in addition to Transition Management.
Besides her passion for food and climate, justice and equal opportunities are themes close to Marjolijn's heart. ‘With my career switch, I want to inspire other women to pursue their personal mission and take the step towards social entrepreneurship. The Marina van Damme scholarship would support the new turn of my career in a valuable way.’