Meet DOK interns Nynke and Cathy. Both are currently working at Rijkswaterstaat (RWS) and involved in ResiRiver. Get to know them as they tell you more about themselves, their first introduction to ResiRiver and their roles within the project.
Who’s who?
Nynke (left) and Cathy (right) met at the start of their internship in September. This internship is part of their education and achieving their Master of Science. Their educational backgrounds are quite different: Cathy is a certified teacher and is now studying Mechanical Engineering, while Nynke is studying Climate Studies. According to them, they make a great team. Nynke: "That's why Cathy and I are working together; Cathy focuses more on the educational aspect, whereas my focus lies in the content."
Discovering and gaining interest in Rijkswaterstaat
Cathy: “My first introduction to Rijkswaterstaat was at the annual ‘company orientation days’ in 2022. Although that event was two years ago, the aspect that stayed with me was the enthusiasm of the female Rijkswaterstaat representative.” Not only did she explain what the organisation does, she presented the myriad of opportunities RWS has for students and graduates. “I submitted my application and heard that I could come in for an interview,” Cathy resumes. “Afterwards I quickly received the good news that I could begin in September.”
Nynke reveals how she gained interest in Rijkswaterstaat; “I was intent on doing an internship in the public sector.” Previously, she had written a thesis at a research institute. “Now, I wanted to gain more knowledge on how to connect research findings with broader questions in society.” Rijkswaterstaat, with its core focus on water management, particularly aligns with her interests. “Applying for an internship there just felt like the logical choice to me.”
Together in the DOK team
“We are part of the DOK team at Rijkswaterstaat,” Nynke explains. “That is a team of interns. For each project or task, interns are paired up.” Their current position is Intern in Innovation and Sustainability. Cathy adds: “The whole DOK team stays connected. We see each other on Mondays and Wednesdays, and we often have lunch together.”
Sharing lessons
Within ResiRiver, Cathy and Nynke focus on Work Package 2. Their aim is to document the lessons and new insights that can be learned from all ResiRiver pilots. Tasks they are currently working on include:
- Adjusting an existing NbS poster design
- Developing a digital tour for the ResiRiver pilot site in Lyon
- Organising a new webinar
- Exploring whether it is possible to set up a learning platform.
Cathy summarises their work as follows: “Currently, a lot of knowledge is being gained within the pilots. We want to present it all in one place, so that anyone interested in Nature-based Solutions (NbS) can look there for inspiration.”
Cathy and Nynke primarily focus on providing the information, gathered within the ResiRiver pilots, to external stakeholders with an interest in NbS. Nynke describes the underlying idea: “Imagine someone outside our project with an interest in NbS. They decide to implement certain ideas or solutions but encounter a problem during that process. In that situation, they can check our learning platform to see if any of our pilots have had similar issues. And of course, how they solved them. The ResiRiver pilots are ideal real-life examples.”
Cathy hopes to finish her internship in November. Nynke will be involved until January 2025. When asked what they hope ResiRiver will achieve, their response is clear: “That ResiRiver becomes even more recognized as an exemplary project for others. And that it inspires people to get started with NbS.”