From Roman coin to physics experiments in a theme park: the varied world of head of the education office Marije Boonstra
‘No two days are ever the same – and that’s what makes it fun.’ But what does a head of the education office actually do? Marije Boonstra shares the many sides of her role: from drawing up timetables to launching innovative education projects, from tailoring programmes to students’ needs to international conferences with field trips to theme park Drievliet.
What do people often think about your job that isn’t true?
‘That all I do is make timetables. And that you can just copy and paste last year’s timetable into the new academic year.’ Marije Boonstra laughs: ‘That would make life easy, but it doesn’t work like that. We start planning the timetables in January for the academic year that begins in September. From collecting the preferences of all lecturers to fitting every course into the available rooms – it takes months to sort everything out.’
But there’s much more to it. ‘Education logistics involves far more than people realise,’ Boonstra explains. As education coordinator and head of the education office at the physics department, she finds tailored solutions for students when their programme hits a snag – for example, if they’re combining multiple study paths and the schedules clash. She also spends a lot of time evaluating teaching and improving the curriculum.
How did you end up in this role?
‘In quite a roundabout way. When I was fourteen, my parents got an allotment garden. The very first time I dug into the soil, I found a Roman coin. We had it examined by an archaeologist and that sparked my interest in studying Archaeology in Leiden. I had a great time as a student and later worked for several years as a consultant on excavations and soil research.’
When the construction industry was hit by the financial crisis, archaeological digs became less common, and Boonstra decided it was time for something new.
Thinking back to her student days, she applied for a job at the (now former) Casimir Research School – a collaboration between the Physics departments of Leiden University and TU Delft. ‘There, I organised the education and activities for the hundreds of PhD candidates working in quantum nanoscience and bionanoscience, and I coordinated the major NWO Gravitation programme ‘NanoFront’ from 2012 to 2022,’ Boonstra says.
In 2022, a position opened up at the Leiden Institute of Physics (LION) for an education coordinator. Boonstra took the opportunity. ‘Together with our fantastic team of five women, we run the education office. We handle all the organisational matters for the bachelor’s and master’s programmes in Physics, as well as the Leiden-Delft master’s in QIST, so the education directors can focus on the academic side of things,’ Boonstra explains.
Is your job varied?
‘Absolutely; not a single day goes as planned. My weeks always end up looking very different from what I expected on Monday,’ Boonstra says. This past year brought two major, exciting projects.
In September, they’re launching a new minor: The Mysterious Reality. The fifty students taking part don’t have a background in physics; they study subjects like philosophy, psychology, biology or even economics. The minor explores concepts such as time and the Big Bang. ‘I’m really curious to see how it turns out! I might even sneak into the lectures myself, just like some of the philosophy teachers.’
‘Another highlight was co-organising the GIREP conference with my colleague Paul Logman – the European conference on physics education research. We welcomed 330 guests from across Europe and countries like Mexico and the Philippines. One of the most memorable parts of the conference was the field trip to Drievliet theme park, where physicists took measurements on the carousel and pirate ship rides. The lab demonstrations were also a big success. The atmosphere was great, and our guests were genuinely impressed by the facilities we have here in Leiden.’
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The team responsible for the GIREP conference (Marije Boonstra on the far right) -
Results of the physics measurements performed in theme park Drievliet -
Group portrait during the GIREP conference
What’s the best thing about your job?
‘Three words come to mind: input, trust, and team spirit! The best part is being able to help improve how things are done and actually seeing your ideas put into practice – together with your colleagues. On behalf of our institute, I’m in daily contact with the faculty about improving how education is organised. One example is how teaching rooms are allocated within the science faculty (FWN).’
Space is tight across the university, especially when it comes to large lecture halls. ‘In the past, it took too long to reach agreements about room bookings. Thanks in part to my suggestions, we now have a central scheduling office that allocates the big lecture halls before we start building the timetables. That’s made a huge difference.’
Boonstra adds: ‘I feel a strong sense of trust in my daily work – from my team, the education directors, and the LION institute as a whole. Everyone knows each other and has a general sense of what’s going on. Even among education coordinators across the faculty, we’re becoming a more close-knit group. A fun example: during the We are Science Week, we took part in the pubquiz as a team – we came 17th out of 68 teams!’