Ruben van der Maas (24) studies at the Aeres Hogeschool Dronten and is in the fourth year of the Animal and Livestock Husbandry and Entrepreneurship course. He works for various agricultural companies and in contracting. He is currently completing his studies with an internship at Boerenbusiness: arranging and coordinating the Roughage Tour.
Ruben is very pleased with the progress of his internship: "It is fun, very flexible, broad and it is a huge plus on your Dutch!"
How is your internship going so far?
"During my internship I am busy arranging and coordinating the Roughage Tour. For this I guide the farmers, collect data and listen to what they have to say about the recent period. I then convert this into an article for the website. The aim is to publish about three articles a week. I do an internship three days a week. And here comes the flexibility of Boerenbusiness forward; I can decide for myself how I organize these weeks. I like that!"
What have you been able to develop yourself in?
"Through the activities that I carry out during my internship, I have developed myself in the Dutch language. This has not always been my forte, but I think my internship has had a positive influence on that. Because of the knowledge I have gained in this , I can better understand how a text is put together and what its background is. I was able to take a good look at the media genre. In addition, I have a lot of independence during my internship and I have to make sure that everything is well organized and takes place within the Roughage Tour. I have a lot of freedom and I am given the responsibility that everything is properly arranged. I have had no problems with this freedom; it suits me very well. Furthermore, in my opinion, it clicks very well with the team. a very sociable, fun and quite young team, which is always very enthusiastic about everything."
How does the internship contribute to your education?
"I have had a lot of conversations with various farmers. I then made a translation of what the farmer said into putting it on paper. That is exactly what appeals to me. From here you come to my training. Within my training I have all received numbers, processes analyzed and learned. Of course I also gained practical experience here, also from what you experience yourself. During my internship you get an opinion formulated from different points of view with different figures. I can make that opinion based on the knowledge from my translate the training very well into a text. I will certainly take the experience and knowledge I gained during my internship with me into the future. The working atmosphere has also had a positive effect on my development. It doesn't happen by itself and you have to work hard for it yourself what you want to achieve and that is not bad at all!"
Where do you get your energy from at the company?
"I always enjoy hearing that my articles are liked and that they are widely read. I want to make sure that my next articles can exceed this. What is striking about this company in my opinion is the small scale and solidarity "Everyone knows what he or she is doing and this is carried out in proper consultation with each other. I see that it is structured and that has a nice effect on the company. This is partly the reason that I will definitely recommend an internship here. You get freedom and develops independence with the right guidance."
How do you see the future for you?
"My future is still quite open. I want to finish my studies first. If possible, I would like to become a farmer. We don't have a company at home, so this depends on the possibilities that are available. But otherwise, in my opinion, there is enough work in the agricultural sector. I would like to remain active in the agricultural sector and if not as a farmer, then with a position in advice or research. I have the hope and expectation that I will run into this in the course of time."
From August we have room again for an intern in our Roughage Tour. Will you be Ruben's successor? View the vacancy here!