Annelies Dijkzeul

Annelies wanted her studies to teach her on the one hand enough engineering knowledge to understand how a road, railway or tunnel is constructed, and on the other to understand the political aspects of large-scale engineering projects. "I have always been really interested in the question of why the Betuwe rail line, which appeared to be simply a question of building a railway, proved so difficult to get off the ground. SEPAM (CoSEM) seemed to provide an answer to that kind of question. Together with two colleagues (also SEPAM (CoSEM) alumni), I started up an advisory bureau after completing my degree: Kwink Groep. We advise the public sector and work on diverse assignments for ministries and other government organisations. Topics vary from healthcare and education to telecom and energy. We provide advice at a distance, but also contribute actively to projects; for instance, increasing the kilometers travelled by rail. SEPAM (CoSEM) matches my work perfectly. The topics we learned about during the degree programme are the same as those presented to us by clients. The methods we learned for systematic and analytical problem solving help me in my everyday work. Especially in an environment in which interests and emotions often seem to have the upper hand."