Janine Skibbe is a fifth-year student of Environmental Technology and Resource Management. She is pursuing the Master of Science degree.
Wieso haben Sie sich damals für Ihr Studienfach entschieden?
I took maths and physics at A-level in school. Our class went on a field trip to RWTH Aachen University, where we visited a few lectures and were told about the available degree courses. The university offers the “Environmental Engineering” degree course, which I found interesting, too. Studying something that I could later use to help the environment seemed very worthwhile, and the career chances looked good. I then came across Environmental Technology and Resource Management in Bochum and enrolled in it, because I found the university and the city more appealing than Aachen. Apart from these two, there are no comparable degree courses at all in North Rhine-Westphalia. But I know that my path to Environmental Technology and Resource Management has not been representative of most students ;)
An welchen Stellen haben sich die Erwartungen an Ihr Studienfach erfüllt, an welchen nicht?
Before I took up my studies, I completed six weeks of my internship in an engineering office for hydrology, which I enjoyed very much. I was very happy to encounter many aspects that were familiar to me from that field of work in my degree course. Apart from that, I didn’t have any specific expectations. I was a bit disappointed that questions of environmental protections are rather sidelined. Many subjects such as solid construction, steel construction and others are the same as in the construction engineering degree, with exactly the same curricula. This is not why I chose to study environmental technology.
Was macht Ihnen in Ihrem Fach am meisten Spaß?
At present, I love the inspiration that I get here. My courses in the Master’s degree course focus much more strongly on real-life applications, and questions or environmental and nature protection are more often discussed. Moreover, we have more opportunities to work on our own projects in smaller groups, I enjoy that a lot. I always liked maths; I also often enjoyed theoretical subjects such as mechanics (that’s not something you can admit to people ;) ). What I’ve always disliked is being tested on facts that I’d previously memorised in a dull and uninspired manner. I like to be able to apply the things that I’d learned.
Was war bisher die größte Herausforderung?
My Bachelor’s thesis, certainly. Creating something out of nothing for the first time. But with a good tutor, you can do it.
Was wollen Sie einmal damit werden?
I don’t want to commit myself just yet. At present, I’m getting so much inspiration from so many different directions – not just in my own degree course, but also through the university in general and the people I meet there. I still hope that I will one day make the world a better place :)
Welche Tipps geben Sie den Leuten, die auch überlegen, Ihr Fach zu studieren?
The Environmental Technology and Resource Management curriculum does include a lot of maths at first, and it requires logical thinking. Students who have these abilities from the outset will find the course much easier. However, people who don’t have them but are interested in the subjects covered by the degree course, are curious and enjoy solving problems should not feel discouraged. Checking the curriculum will tell you if the majority of the subjects really are interesting, or if they don’t meet your ideas of Environmental Technology and Resource Management at all.
