Published: September 2025

Sharing some knowledge and insights by Rik Lardinois, third-year MSP student at Maastricht University

During my Honours Research Program, I have had the privilege of working on the Global Tree Assessment, focusing on the final tree assessments for the tropical plant family Annonaceae. It has been an amazing experience so far! Under the supervision of Dr Roy Erkens, I have been able to expand my research skills in the world of conservation biology. I’ve worked on analyzing data from big databases, learning how to interpret it and deal with the challenges that come
with it, like recognizing biases in the spatial data. This experience has given me a better understanding of how conservation science is done and the important role that data plays in this field.

One of the coolest aspects of this opportunity is that I can collaborate with experts from all over the world, in various fields related to conservation problems. Throughout the project, I worked with botanists, conservationists, and ecologists, from data analyst experts to experts in fieldwork. This multidisciplinary approach is exactly what I am taught at the Maastricht Science Programme, and now working in the same setting on a real-life conservation problem is really
worth it!

It’s exciting to see how my contributions, even as a bachelor’s student, are part of something bigger. Being involved in a real-world conservation project like the Global Tree Assessment expands my skillset for sure, but even more, it reaffirms that I want to help preserve biodiversity through conservation science!