“I get more out of my work if I can *really* help people”
Stijn Timmerman interviews Stijn Timmerman.
Stijn is a third-year CMD LWD student and did an internship at the Innovation Department of GGZ Friesland. An internship that really fits his interests. “Everyone in the team wants to think along about how I can achieve my learning goals.”
How did you end up at CMD LWD and GGZ Friesland?
“I always thought that ICT was my calling, but that education was a bit disappointing. Certain assignments were fun but otherwise not. In the long run my girlfriend was looking for an education and we looked around at NHL Stenden. At the CMD LWD stand I was immediately sold. So I actually just ended up at this education purely by chance.”
“Last year I did the minor Game Development & 3D. At that time there were two boys who were doing an internship at GGZ Friesland. They presented the bus game – which is played at congresses, among other places – to the class and from that moment on I wondered what serious games can add to mental health care. I get more out of my work if I can really help people. I could go in any direction, but GGZ Friesland was at the top of the list.”
What are your activities in the department?
VR experience Psychosis
“At Innovation we have a unique working method: design thinking. You do every project by means of iterations; you then present every new step to the stakeholders. Here at GGZ Friesland these are mainly psychiatrists and experts by experience. You work on the project step by step instead of viewing it per week. We also learn this way of working during the study and you often see it back in IT.
I am currently working on two major projects. The common thread is the virtual reality psychosis experience. The goal of this is to allow the circle of acquaintances of people suffering from psychoses to empathize more. In this way they get more understanding for it and know better what a psychosis exactly entails.
Labor market communication
The other project is 3D business cards for labor market communication. The goal is to make an innovative and modern looking web page that can be used for the labor market communication of GGZ Friesland. With this we want to distinguish ourselves and sell Friesland to potential new employees. That can range from a bottle of Nobel, to the water tower in Sneek, the Oldehove or skûtsjesilen. I like the internship. The freedom is nice. Everyone in the team wants to think along about how I can achieve my learning goals.”
What are your future plans?
“I still have to go to school for a year, but in the meantime I am already looking forward to going to work. Yet I also doubt whether to do a master afterwards. I don't know yet how that will take shape. In any case, I would like to end up in innovation in eHealth or serious gaming.”
Stijn Timmerman
Presenting your experiences is part of your internship period. Normally this happens during the internship return day, but Stijn didn't manage that. If it can't be done one way, then the other. That is why this CMD student chose a different approach: this interview. Want to know more?