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March is a diversity month at Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ��, and on 8 March it is International Women's Day. A good moment to ask some women within our faculty what makes working or studying for Veterinary Medicine special for them. For this reason, we contacted colleagues who participated in the Westerdijk Programme over the last years and the praeses of study association D.S.K. 

"I think it is fantastic that there is support from the UU for an initiative like the Westerdijk programme", says Dean Debbie Jaarsma. "This can really help women. I myself have benefited greatly from well emancipated leaders in my career and I am convinced that this kind of support is essential." 

Debbie also attaches great importance to the international character of this day. And with the current global developments, this takes on an extra significance. "A day like today brings out a strong feeling of connection with women all over the world every year. My thoughts go out in particular to all Ukrainian women, their unsafe situation and the human suffering that affects them and their families. The faculty, in cooperation with the veterinary profession, will work to help refugee Ukrainian veterinary students and veterinarians wherever possible. With all the energy that speaks from the stories below, I see beautiful initiatives for that coming soon."

You can be completely you at Veterinary Medicine

"As a little girl, I dreamed of becoming a veterinarian. Once I studied here, the study met every expectation. What really surprised me is the close relation that is formed between the Veterinary Medicine students during the study. I really learned here that you can be completely you. It doesn't matter what you look like or where you come from, everyone is curious about your story. There is always someone to give you advice or offer you a helping hand. Even in your contact with veterinarians you immediately feel a connection when you have both studied in Utrecht. A special experience that is reinforced looking at my friends outside Veterinary Medicine and the studies they follow. Such a great sense of community as we have here is nowhere to be found there. This has made me even more enthusiastic about this work field than I already was as a child. That is what makes studying at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine so special for me.” 

Complex challenges we face are addressed more efficiently with diversity in approaches and persons

“Reminiscing with a female friend about our student days, recently, we realised that we studied in a decidedly non-diverse, all-male environment. It seemed so normal! My worldview changed dramatically during my PhD when I started working with a female supervisor. She was a real role model: a bright scientist, deeply human and the living proof that things could be done differently than I was used to. Today, diversity, including gender diversity, has been put up high on the agenda, based on the understanding that the complex challenges we face are addressed more efficiently with diversity in approaches and persons. What does that mean for me? Well, the clear answer is that I don’t know! Does more diversity help? In my experience, the answer is a clear ‘yes’. Are we there yet? Nope. Will we get there? I really hope so. It will depend on us all together!” 

Working in a highly driven and enthusiastic environment

"The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine offers me an environment where patient care, research and education can be close together. The introduction of UTOMIC (Utrecht Translational One-Medicine Innovation Centre), makes collaboration with human health care and further deepening in my discipline possible. Working in patient care often means that there is little time for reflection. This was a motive for me to participate in the Westerdijk programme. Reflecting and discussing with colleagues from other faculties helped and contributed to a broader view on opportunities, but also on limitations within the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and how to deal with them."

Promoting and ensuring animal welfare from research and education

"Since 2015 I am part of the division of Animals in Science and Society. First as a post doc, since 2017 as a permanent staff. As a behavioural biologist , within a committed team, I have the opportunity to study animal behaviour and physiology. By better understanding animals and our interactions with them, I contribute to promoting and ensuring animal welfare. This goal is reflected in both my research and education. In doing so, as one of the still relatively few female scientists, I want to be an inspiring role model for our students. Through all these years, and especially during covid, I experienced UU and the faculty as very supportive and a safe environment. I appreciate programmes such as the Westerdijk programme, where you can further develop your talent and enlarge your network within the UU."

Answering research questions better from a One Health perspective

"In my work as a veterinary pathologist at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, I am closely involved in research in the field of One Health, studying infectious diseases in humans and animals. As a veterinarian, you don't just look at the details of a disease, but also the bigger picture. By having an eye for both details and the big picture, multidisciplinary research is better integrated and research questions can be better answered. For a One Health approach, good collaboration and seeing opportunities is essential. The Westerdijk program has helped me to develop myself both professionally and personally and has opened doors in the field of research and education, both within the university and beyond." 

Connection with other disciplines has led to interdisciplinary projects and exciting new insights

"It may not be the first thing you think of when thinkinh of Veterinary Medicine, but our faculty has been doing top-level research on infectious diseases and factors contributing to zoonotic infections for decades. After a period abroad, I was hired as a principal investigator in the Infection Biology department and started a new research line in the area of mucosal bacterial infections in the gut, lungs and vagina. Research benefits from collaboration and exchange of ideas and experiences, and the challenge is to find the right partners for this. The Westerdijk programme has brought me into contact with inspiring women from different faculties, with unique qualities and visions. This connection with other disciplines has led to interdisciplinary projects and exciting new insights. My research group has flourished and we can mean more and more in the field of infectious diseases for humans and animals." 

A healthy living environment for all

"At IRAS, I lead the Occupational Health research group. We are all working towards the same goal: a healthy living environment for everyone. I experience it as an inspiring and collegial working environment, where I am given ample opportunity to develop myself. The Westerdijk program gives me more insight into my own leadership style and how to use it more effectively. This helps me in my role as a group leader and, for example, in setting up a new national expertise center. In addition to my own ambitions, I hope that my daughter and son grow up with the idea that they can become whatever they want. That a professor does not automatically conjure up the image of a man. For them, and of course for all students and researchers, role models are important. There is still some catching up to do in terms of gender distribution, but I have high hopes for the future."

What is the Westerdijk Programme?  

With the Westerdijk Programme, Utrecht ľ�ϸ���Ӱ�� wants to offer female scientists a solid base to develop to a role as associate or full professor. In addition, with this programme the university wants to encourage female scientists who, for example, have a different cultural background or belong to a different minority group.  

Want to know more about diversity month?   

View the programme.