Your future
Governmental, non-governmental and private organisations are increasingly faced with rapidly changing decision-making conditions. In a period where the information society is becoming more and more complex there is an increasing need for generalists who are able to deal with innovation in a reflexive and politically conscious way.
Career prospects
Practically all ESST graduates find employment on the intersection of science, technology and society. Approximately one-third continues in academic research, some forty per cent in the private sector, and one quarter in the public sector. Some 10-20% of the MA ESST students every year enter the programme from a working situation. These are typically professionals advanced in a particular career path (e.g. finance or web design) seeking to broaden their scope and deepen their understanding of the sectors they were working in. These students typically do not return to their old jobs but find new opportunities. It is not unusual for MA ESST students to find jobs immediately after graduation – or even before.
Many ESST graduates find work in non-academic institutes, such as:
- Governmental agencies and NGOs (Analyst, Parliamentary Assistant)
- Advisory bodies, e.g. think tanks, health councils (Advisor)
- Private research institutes, e.g. sustainability centres (Policy Analyst, Research Assistant)
- Commercial companies or consultancies specialising in science and technology and innovation (Marketing and Communications, Business consultant)
Examples of companies and institutes where our graduates work:
- Energy Centre Netherlands
- University of Edinburgh
- Moscow Urban Forum
- Accenture Indonesia
- American Chamber of Commerce Italy
- Bioforum biological famers' association
- Global Wind Energy Council
- Rathenau Institute, The Hague
Alumni@work
The programme provides you with the skills to analyse and influence societal responses to the challenges posed by scientific and technological change. As an ESST graduate you will be well-equipped to find employment as a science and technology manager, advisor, consultant, researcher, engineer or journalist.
Livia Țurcanu
Technology Advisor
Year of graduation: 2014
Alumna Livia Țurcanu studied the master’s programme European Studies on Society, Science and Technology. In our interview, she told us more about her experience with the master’s programme and her student life in Maastricht.
Betty Tkadlcikova
Social Media Officer
European Committee of Regions, Brussels
Year of graduation: 2018
I studied the master’s programmes Media Studies: Digital Cultures and European Studies of Science, Society, and Technology. I look back at my time in Maastricht with zero regrets. I still consider moving to Maastricht for studies as one of the best decisions of my life.
Shelly Tsui
PhD Candidate, Eindhoven University of Technology
Year of graduation: 2017
I chose a specialisation in Science and Public Policy. I did not stray far from my love for political theory, and was happy to see that I could combine it with science and technology studies.”
Maria Neicu (Rumanian)
Knowledge Manager, Spencer Stuart, Amsterdam
Year of Graduation: 2010
Maria shares her experience with the programme and how it helped her with her future career
Dominique Nijssen (Dutch)
Project leader at Brightlands Smart Services, the Netherlands
Year of Graduation: 2012
Dominique talks about the programme, his career as a project leader at Brightlands and the Maastricht University Problem-Based Learning system
Martin Diepeveen (Dutch)
Account Executive, Microsoft, Amsterdam
Year of Graduation: 2008
Being passionate about technology, sociology, and having a keen interest in philosophy of science, the ESST master was a perfect fit for me. As a small group of students from different cultures and diverse disciplines, we got to learn a lot from each other, as well as have vivid debates.
Carlos Quiros Campos (Costa Rican)
Year of Graduation: 2007
After completing the bachelor's programme in computer sciences in Costa Rica, I left for Nairobi in 2003. There, I could start to work for the ILRI, a NGO which works at the crossroads of livestock and poverty, bringing high-quality science and capacity-building to bear on poverty reduction and sustainable development.
Matthijs Versteegh (Dutch)
Director Institute for Medical Technology Assessment (iMTA)
Year of Graduation: 2006
I have a BSc in Health Science and wrote a master’s thesis on the emergence and value of scientific facts in art research. After ESST I did an internship in the research department of the Institute for Cultural Heritage in Amsterdam, and now I am a PhD student in this field.
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