Portfolio

Course goals

After completion of the course, the student has:

• Explored the steps needed for their own personal and career development.
• Reflected on sustainability issues related to academic research.
• Considered possibilities of the labour market outside of academia.
• Developed insight into the work and attitudes of academic researchers by actively participating in the academic skills lectures and other invited lectures.

Content

The Portfolio is a two-year mandatory course and consists of the following parts:

1. Study planning and personal development
2. Ethical essay
3. Academic skills lectures

This course aims to improve academic skills and allows students to reflect on their personal development which will help them in setting out a career path. It also aims to strengthen the student community within Sustainable and Circular Chemistry and with the Chemistry institutes and Utrecht University.

1. This part will cover the two years of your master’s programme and is meant to help you keep track of your degree progress and prepare you for life after graduation. This part consists of several assignments, including study planning, reflection on year 1 and planning of year 2, reflection of year 2, personal development workshops and writing a CV.
2. The ethical essay will be a supplement to your research project thesis. Thinking critically about your research project in relation with the broader themes of sustainability and circularity, and reflecting on the impact that you make, are important skills to develop.
3. There will be a lecture series about academic skills related to sustainable chemistry, in addition to other lectures that are organised by the Department of Chemistry. You need to actively participate in four or these lectures throughout your master’s programme and upload a reflection form for each of them.

All of these assignments will be discussed with your mentor in three separate meetings.

Please keep in mind that you have to enroll for year 2 by yourself through Osiris.