Ambassador Zaagman visits the Institute
On Wednesday 30 May, the Riddet Institute was honoured to host the Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to New Zealand, His Excellency Rob Zaagman. Ambassador Zaagman has been a long-standing supporter of the Riddet Institute and of our strong working relationships with the Netherlands, in particular our collaboration with Wageningen UR.
As well as collaborative research programmes between our two countries including PROTEOS and visiting scientists like Dist Prof Paul J Moughan, we have had several interns and PhD students come to the Institute from prestigious Dutch universities. In the last 12 months we have had seven interns from Wageningen UR and two from Avans University of Applied Sciences. Over the years, we have also had multiple PhD students from the Netherlands and from Dutch universities.
During his visit, Ambassador Zaagman heard about this close relationship and ongoing work not just from the management team but also from some of our Dutch students: Anika Hoogeveen, a Riddet Institute PhD student and Wageningen alumna, and Michael van Bemmel, one of our interns from Avans University of Applied Sciences. These relationships continue to blossom, and we thank the Ambassador for his support. As Ambassador Zaagman prepares to depart New Zealand for his home country, we wish him well on his journey and look forward to working closely with his successor.
