‘My Master's degree programme in Information Studies, specialising in Business Information Systems, was an excellent programme. The subjects you study are really relevant to many organisations, so you learn to find solutions to practical issues.'

‘What's challenging about this discipline is the way it draws on different dimensions, like people, technology and business, and you act as the link in that network. Working at the interface of these dimensions appeals to me. I think it delivers added value both to entrepreneurship and technology.'

‘To strengthen my grasp of the business side, I took a number of basic business courses in Canada. This was a good supplement to my Master's degree programme, because although you learn about the different dimensions of business, you don't gain much of an insight into the business itself. After finishing, I started working as a consultant.'

‘The nice thing about a small programme like Information Studies is that it doesn't take long to get to know your fellow students. Professors are also more approachable. In Canada, by contrast, the lecturers are more rigid and just read from their slides. There isn't as much encouragement to do your own research and you follow a narrowly plotted course.

The professors in the Information Studies programme at the University of Amsterdam are willing to help and push you in new directions, so you can make real progress. You feel like you're on an equal footing and that your professors might be learning things too, which is stimulating.'

‘For my thesis I researched information management and the responsibilities of Chief Information Officers (CIOs). I interviewed 11 CIOs at large companies, including DSM, Akzo Nobel, IBM, Océ, T-Mobile, Numico and ING. It's nice that people like that take the time to see you and provide an interview. On some occasions I found myself sitting with a CIO for a couple hours, discussing their profession. You get to see that the information management field is largely focused on issues around the role of information, technology and innovation, for instance, and the synchronisation of business and technology. But you also see how there's little understanding of and insight into the role of information, and that a CIO's area of work is, to put it mildly, poorly defined.'

‘While working on my thesis, I was encouraged to do research and received good support whenever I ran into problems. The nature of my research taught me a lot about how to interview people and how to get something out of it. That knowledge, in conjunction with my research subjects, will stand me in good stead for the rest of my career.'