Dylan Molenaar is an assistant professor in the Psychological Methods department. He did his bachelor’s, research master’s, PhD, and Postdoc11 in Psychology at the UvA. One of his current projects in collaboration with Cito22 focuses on an international survey that measured mathematical skills in over 70 countries. Dylan also lectures the first-year course ‘Research Methods and Statistics’, which he once followed himself. Let’s have a look at his office and three items that accompanied him during his academic journey.
Dylan Molenaar is an assistant professor in the Psychological Methods department. He did his bachelor’s, research master’s, PhD, and Postdoc31 in Psychology at the UvA. One of his current projects in collaboration with Cito42 focuses on an international survey that measured mathematical skills in over 70 countries. Dylan also lectures the first-year course ‘Research Methods and Statistics’, which he once followed himself. Let’s have a look at his office and three items that accompanied him during his academic journey.
Pillow on window ledge
‘A former colleague of mine and I used to share an office in which we had our own window ledge. I told her of my idea to put a pillow on mine, but never bought one. However, she did, so you could occasionally see her relaxing on her window ledge. When she went back to the States, she gave me her pillow with the words, “Dylan, because it was your idea, here. You have the pillow”. I did move offices after that and took the pillow with me. But over the years, it has become somewhat awkward to sit on it. Because, while I am working on official matters, it just doesn’t look like that for those passing my office.’
Coffee cup from Blond Amsterdam
‘I always have my own coffee cup, which is usually plain white. Over the years, I lost most of them in the G building. Because, if I forgot them in the office of a colleague or the kitchen, there is no way of telling whether that plain white cup is mine or someone else’s. Thus, to prevent this from happening, I bought a noticeable cup from the brand Blond Amsterdam. Their cups are painted in a colourful and distinct style so there is no chance that I will lose this one.’
Whiteboard
‘We use this whiteboard for brainstorming ideas or explaining our approach to others. There is little space for new ideas, but we keep looking for blank spaces we can write on. We did try to erase some old notes, but they have been on the board for so long, the sponge cannot get rid of them. However, we were able to clean some of the board, so the notes of Robert Zwitser, whose office this used to be, are not on there anymore. He even checked.’
Pillow on window ledge
‘A former colleague of mine and I used to share an office in which we had our own window ledge. I told her of my idea to put a pillow on mine, but never bought one. However, she did, so you could occasionally see her relaxing on her window ledge. When she went back to the States, she gave me her pillow with the words, “Dylan, because it was your idea, here. You have the pillow”. I did move offices after that and took the pillow with me. But over the years, it has become somewhat awkward to sit on it. Because, while I am working on official matters, it just doesn’t look like that for those passing my office.’
Coffee cup from Blond Amsterdam
‘I always have my own coffee cup, which is usually plain white. Over the years, I lost most of them in the G building. Because, if I forgot them in the office of a colleague or the kitchen, there is no way of telling whether that plain white cup is mine or someone else’s. Thus, to prevent this from happening, I bought a noticeable cup from the brand Blond Amsterdam. Their cups are painted in a colourful and distinct style so there is no chance that I will lose this one.’
Whiteboard
‘We use this whiteboard for brainstorming ideas or explaining our approach to others. There is little space for new ideas, but we keep looking for blank spaces we can write on. We did try to erase some old notes, but they have been on the board for so long, the sponge cannot get rid of them. However, we were able to clean some of the board, so the notes of Robert Zwitser, whose office this used to be, are not on there anymore. He even checked.’
Footnotes
- A Postdoc is a temporary position that allows a PhD to continue their training and research at a university without having to write an additional dissertation.
- Cito is a testing and assessment company which was founded by the Dutch government. It is involved in educational testing e.g., after primary school in the Netherlands, but also operates in other countries.
Footnotes
- A Postdoc is a temporary position that allows a PhD to continue their training and research at a university without having to write an additional dissertation.
- Cito is a testing and assessment company which was founded by the Dutch government. It is involved in educational testing e.g., after primary school in the Netherlands, but also operates in other countries.
