Agus Bentlage
"The freedom in my research, in a tight-knit interdisciplinary setting, is a great way to prepare for a future as an academic in Biology"
Upon completing my Bachelor’s degree in Zoology at Bristol University, I was eager to improve my skills in coding and modelling to compliment my ecological knowledge and skills. The MSc Biology programme at Groningen stood out to me as a comprehensive mix of theoretical and empirical work, which I believe lays a solid foundation for any aspiring biologist's future academic pursuits.I found a similar Masters’ programme in the UK, however there the programme is only one year... In my track, we needed to take courses in Mathematics, Biological Model Analysis, and C++. Next to these courses, I chose to expand my research projects. My first project focused on theoretical modelling. In the research group of Charlotte Hemelrijk on dominance hierarchies in primates. We wanted to investigate whether ecological factors could have influenced the differences we see between chimpanzees and bonobos. To do this, we built an agent-based model and analyzed the emergence of female dominance.Currently, I am working on publishing the results of my second Master's research project' Together with the research group of Hannah Dugdale, we investigated the effect of rainfall on partnership stability in the Seychelles warbler. In short, climate change is becoming more radical, which has an effect on the stability of relationships, which may lead to more divorcesMy next step would be to do a PhD programme. Preferably, this would be a double PhD. Here, I can combine theoretical and empirical research in different institutions. Luckily, the University of Groningen has a lot of collaborations. After this, I would like to focus more on conservation. The added value of my programme here is the freedom that I got in my research. We had a small, tight-knit community in the Life Sciences department. This meant that we had a lot of time and interaction to discuss a wide range of topics. This opened up doors to subjects that I normally would not choose to do. Furthermore, I could work independently on my research, which reflects a PhD research programme. As for the courses, the coding level is very high. I really enjoy my time here in Groningen. Next to having a small class where I met my new best friends, I followed my love for music. I found a lot of creative people to jam with. The vibe here in Groningen is similar to Bristol: there are a lot of students, it feels almost like a big village and there is always something to do. In my future work, I would like to focus more on the effect of climate change on animal behaviour. When I was a child I always wanted to work with reptiles, but now I am more open to other species.
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