Coordinators
Fernando Gabriel Garcia Teruel
I came to Wageningen from Mexico to study an MSc. in Biosystems engineering, although in the process I stumbled upon other things to do besides my studies. During the academic year 2021-2022, I took part in the WU student council as the chair of S&I. There I learned more about WUR and all the associations around including RUW and the Jester, which got my attention and allowed me to write and illustrate different topics from a critical and satirical point of view. Next to that, I had the opportunity to co-found Uitwaaien Magazine to promote art in Wageningen and bring campus and city life closer. This more artistic and critical perspective pushes me to work further at RUW.
I’ll be coordinating the capita selecta and the art corner in Aurora, plus helping with the Jester and university relations. Feel free to reach out at fernando.gabrielgarciateruel@wur.nl (long, I know)
Dafni Petratou
I come from Greece and I currently work in Wageningen as a visual artist and process facilitator. I came to RUW to find a space that keeps me engaged in learning and understanding about local, national, and international topics of our current reality. In RUW, I am mostly involved in the Jester newspaper communicating with volunteers about their contribution to the paper, collecting and proposing ideas for articles, writing, and illustrating for the paper, designing the paper’s final appearance, etc.
What I additionally want offer is being active in organising events that aim to bring diverse communities together. It’d be great if RUW could reach out to more individuals and groups and find a way to tap into their full potential.
Feel free to contact me at dafni.petratou@wur.nl if you want to get involved – it would be great!
Vignesh Raghunathan (Wega)
I came to the Jester for its refreshing critical thinking and to the RUW foundation via the Jester. I am from India and spent my life there before coming here to study for an MSc. in Climate Studies. The decline of independent media back home had seared into me the value of independent press in society. In my undergrad I made a satire news page with a few friends of mine, the jester feels like a natural extension of that project.
I am mostly involved in the Jester coordination, which includes recruiting writers, editors, and illustrators. Organizing pitch meetings and developing article ideas into their final form. Compiling all the illustrations and articles in InDesign, getting them published and distributed across all the newsstands on campus.
I want to see RUW as a place where critical thinking is blossoming. Where students leave with sharp analytical skills in addition to valuable experience in professional writing and illustrating. You can contact me via vignesh.raghunathan@wur.nl
Marina Muñoz
I am half Italian, half Spanish and I arrived at Wageningen unexpectedly, without planning it. Then, I discovered the University and the exciting Masters that were offered. I started the Master of Environmental Sciences, but I also got involved in different activities as a circus group and a music collective. When I found out about RUW Foundation and Jester I was really interested because I love organizing events and learning new skills (even more when the events are related to critical thinking, politics, ecology or arts!). Luckily, I could join this team and become aware of different issues in our context, expanding my knowledge and points of view. Now I take care of the Capita Selecta and the website of Jester, and I hope I will get more and more involved in the newspaper edition. It is a great opportunity for students to have a safe space where we can always discuss, talk, write, illustrate, create, share, and learn all together through critical and satirical thinking.
Feel free to contact me via marina.munoz@wur.nl and I will be happy of answering to you 🙂
Board
Jesse Opdam
Life started on farms in the Netherlands, from the clayey soils in the Flevopolder to the sandy soils in Brabant. This skin of the earth has always intrigued me, it provides the foundations of nearly all life on the planet. It led me to study International Land and Water management in Wageningen. And it has brought me to many unexpected places, from the tropical island Saba, to the semi-arid Altiplano of Spain and the remote Highlands of Scotland. In future work I aim to develop sustainable ways of land management and food production. I would like to do that from the ground up, involving people that are closest to the solutions. That’s where my link with RUW lies, looking critical at current ways of education, research and sustainability.
I am the Chair of the RUW Foundation, so I am responsible for supporting the team and making sure everyone has what they need to succeed in their projects. Please reach out if you have any questions about RUW and would like to understand how you can be involved!
Tamkin Haider
I have been slowly working towards my MSc in Environmental Sciences at Wageningen University (since 2019), where I’m currently immersing myself in the intricacies of sustainability reporting. Born and raised in Bangladesh, I later became a naturalized Dutch citizen, spending an equal number of years both at home and abroad. From waitressing at local restaurants to representing students’ interests on the Student Council, I have come to appreciate getting my hands dirty (literally and metaphorically). Now, my word cloud couldn’t get simpler than yoga, coffee, work, books, plants, dogs and OTTs.
I recently joined RUW Foundation as a treasurer for its mission to make science more engaging, and essentially more interesting, through carefully crafted events and projects. Besides being here to help with the financial side of things, I am also here to learn from and grow with RUW and the Wageningen community. Feel free to reach out via tamkin.haider@wur.nl if you have any questions, ideas to explore, or just want to chat about sustainability.