Since mid-February, I’ve been doing an internship at the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) group at the Victoria University of Wellington. I focus on an important New-Zealand export product: leather. New Zealand is an island with very few plagues and parasites, so its leather is of high quality, making NZ an important player on the global leather market. Still, seven percent of leather production is of substandard quality, so it’s interesting to be able to determine leather quality at the earliest stages.

My project mainly focuses on early leather quality identification using NMR, and has been realized with the help of the Leather & Shoe Research Association of New Zealand (LASRA). After studying leather production and visiting a tannery, you start to realize what it takes to turn animal hide into a perfect piece of leather for extravagant Louis Vuitton bags or Boeing seats.

During and after my internship I try to enjoy the breathtaking surroundings. Since seeing The Lord of the Rings I’ve been fantasizing about the mountains and the scenery. Once you see it in real life, it’s truly a dream come true. During Easter, Peter de Vrieze (a fellow TU/e student) and I explored part of the North Island. After several mountain hikes, you know why you decided to travel to New Zealand. The magnificence of the country and the interesting project have already made this a wonderfully educational experience with a high wow-factor!