Testimonials
Read what current and former students say about their study choice and experiences with the programme.
Marijn Prins (they/them)
"The projects are very diverse from course to course and this is one of my favourite parts of the programme."
What makes this programme unique in your eyes?
What makes Utrecht unique compared to other AI Master鈥檚 in the Netherlands is the interdisciplinary approach. We have a combination of courses from computer science as well as social sciences and philosophy. This gives a broader view on what Artificial Intelligence is
If you had to tell something about the programme you know now, but what you didn鈥檛 know before you started, what would you tell?
The programme is a research Master鈥檚, this means that most courses are focused on projects. For most courses you will work in a group of students to make a specific application. The projects are very diverse from course to course and this is one of my favourite parts of the programme. It allows you to test your skills and apply the theory learned in the course.
What is the biggest challenge of this programme?
I think it can be challenging to do the group projects if you do not have people you like working with. I would advise to make friends during the introduction period, to find who you work best with.
Anything else you would like to share with prospective students?
The programme is not very technical, which means many people have different backgrounds. My favourite part of studying AI in Utrecht is to be part of an enthousiastic and diverse community of people who are all passionate about AI.
What is the future you? What would be your ideal LinkedIn profile in a few years?
I am really interested in using AI for sustainability purposes. Right now I am focusing on optimization of energy networks using AI. However, education and teaching have always interested me, so I would also like to teach AI at an applied sciences college.
Frans Huntink
"The Computer Vision course stands out because of how original and open-ended the practicals were. It really makes you think about how to set up a complex model pipeline from scratch."
What makes this programme unique in your eyes?
What makes this programme unique is the way in which the courseload is structured. Aside from two mandatory courses you get to pick all of your own courses. This is great! I am typically only interested in the technical set of courses that the programme offers so those are the courses that I picked for my Master's programme. For example, I got to combine my interest in writing physical simulations with my Master's programme by picking a course like Game Physics from the Game Technology programme.
If you had to tell something about the programme you know now, but what you didn鈥檛 know before you started, what would you tell?
Take your time for the courses and try to take up as much information as you can. The courses you can choose are bound to specific periods, so if you missed some courses you would have liked to take then there is usually the possibility of postponing your thesis for a couple of months. It really is a solid investment.
What is your favourite subject of this programme? Could be a course, a project, an assignment, the thing you like most?
Evolutionary computing is quite a theoretical course about employing evolutionary systems for optimisation problems. To me the course was exceptionally interesting because the evolutionary approach for solving problems is both very intuitive and unique.
Computer Vision to me was the course with the highest workload and that was mainly due to five intense practical assignments. What made the course stand out is how original and open-ended the practicals were. It really makes you think about how to set up a complex model pipeline from scratch.
What is the future you? What would be your ideal job in a few years?
I could definitely see myself doing R&D for a company that I like. I've always been driven by curiosity so researching state-of-the-art models, pipelines and general AI or software infrastructure would be very cool. Ideally, I would combine this with occasional hands-on programming.