In the 1980s I studied medicine in Maastricht. There was no Biomedical Sciences program, but there was a Biomedical Center (the BMC). It consisted of wooden port-a-cabins, tucked away behind the old Annadal building. A muddy dirt path led to the entrance. The BMC housed the research departments of the young faculty. The physiology department kept some rabbits for experiments, the medical microbiology department had a table somewhere for test tubes, and at the end of the corridor was the dissection room.
I did not gain much knowledge there, and within the medical curriculum there was little room for it anyway. That later came back to haunt me when I thought I could do biomedical scientific research. Through trial and error, I eventually found my way into epidemiology.
How different your situation is. A wonderful (and highly valued) program with an enormous range of subjects, located centrally on campus and surrounded by countless potential internship opportunities.
As vice dean, I want to work – together with you – to keep the quality of education within our Faculty of Medical Sciences at least as high as it is now, to provide room for educational innovation, to stimulate scientific research, and to strengthen the quality of student life. I secretly hope you won’t need me for that last one.
