Joris Baars

"A good preparation for an international career"

Joris Baars is a third year student of International Development Management and he is specialising in Disaster Risk Management. What appealed to him most, was the international character of this study.

International Career
"After I finished high school I travelled and worked for a while. After some time I decided to study International Development Management. What appealed to me most, was the international character of this study and the fact that the lessons are taught in English, which prepares you for an international career."

First year
"The first year is based on orientation. You follow courses like research methods, marketing and theory on development innovation. You learn how to write a report and deal with aspects of the professional fields Sustainable Value Chains, Rural Development and Innovation and Disaster Risk Management. I found them all very interesting so it was hard to choose between the three."

Disaster Risk Management
"In the end I chose Disaster Risk Management because the related subjects that were taught in the first year were my favourite subjects. Like ‘Climate Change Adaption’ or the theories on disasters – its causes and effects and the complexity of a disaster. You also deal with the question why the number of disasters and the complexity rises."

Third World Countries
"The specialization is mainly focused on third world countries, but the stuff you learn can easily be applied in The Netherlands. At the moment I’m preparing a workshop for the Province of Utrecht, about the effects of a breach in the Lekdijk and how to prevent it."

Office
"In my opinion Disaster Risk Management is a very interesting study! But if you choose this study you should bear in mind that it can be much less romantic than you might think: you won’t be jumping out of helicopters to rescue people on a daily basis. Most of the time, your just sitting in an office."

More information:
Bachelor International Development Management