Naomi on outreach activities

How did you come to pursuing your research topic in Nijmegen? 

I completed both my BA and MA degrees in Linguistics at Leiden University. The research master programme was flexible, so I could follow interdisciplinary courses from medicine, psychology and child studies. I undertook many internships and was very enthusiastic about participating in research in any way I could.

Before starting my PhD, I spent a year as a Research Assistant in the Language Development Department at the Max Planck Institute. The position helped me to get a better idea of the type of research I find the most interesting. It was also how I met my eventual PhD supervisor, dr. Judith Holler.

What are some of the highlights of your doctoral life so far?

I recently taught a research practicum course to Psychology bachelors students. It was an amazing experience to meet such smart and motivated students. Seeing them grow and become more confident about their own research skills was really rewarding. I also received great feedback, which will help me improve the course (and my teaching!) even further. Another highlight is that I travelled to Aarhus (Denmark) to speak with an associate professor from a related discipline about my research as part of an IMPRS science communication course. I was lucky to receive a guest office while I was visiting, and really loved meeting the people there and learning about their work.

What advice do you have for peers or those considering doctoral studies? 

I think an important aspect of doing science is to share the acquired knowledge with a wider audience. As researchers, we develop highly specialised expertise in our respective (sub)disciplines, making it difficult to see our contribution to society. My solution is to participate in outreach activities and write blogs for MPI TalkLing on a wide range of subjects related to the language sciences. My research has also received some attention in the media. All these experiences keep me motivated!