Intern 2024
Overview
Hi, I am Simone a German student, studying at Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands. I got the chance to travel to New Zealand and collaborate with Lincoln University for my master thesis.
Everyone in the Field Research Centre was very kind and welcoming right from the beginning, which made it easy to feel home in Lincoln. My thesis focused on threats dairy farmers perceive and whether diverse pastures is perceived as a possible coping strategy. Hence, I went around the South Island and interviewed dairy farmers, which was a very great experience. Thereby, I met many different people and personalities, while getting to know their opinion and perspective. I was able to combine conducting the interviews with travelling around the areas, hiking and dipping into lakes or the sea wherever and whenever I could.
The friendliness and openness of the farmers as well as the amazing and diverse landscapes New Zealand offers, makes it to one of the best places I have been so far! I am very grateful for this opportunity and all the nice people I met along the way! Moreover, my supervisor Pieter Willem Hendriks was very supportive, and I am grateful for his support.
Going to New Zealand and getting in contact with the Kiwis is an experience that is definitely worth it!
