Mark van der Loo, Statistics Netherlands and Leiden University, the Netherlands
Coordinator of EMOS at Statistics Netherlands
What are the most interesting aspects of EMOS for your institution and you personally?
EMOS offers Statistics Netherlands a natural way to connect to Dutch universities that have an interest in teaching and research related to official statistics. At Statistics Netherlands we have an extensive research program to continuously improve our methodology and many EMOS studens do their graduation work within that program. Statistics Netherlands has a tradition of hosting students on various levels and EMOS is a really good way of attracting students that have an interest in our field. EMOS also makes our office part of a network of more than 30 MSc programs in 17 countries. Such a network offers unique potential for learning and collaboration.
Being a researcher myself, I love teaching and working on research projects with students, both nationally and internationally. EMOS also gives me an excellent opportunity to collaborate with Academia and to collaborate internationally via the EMOS network.
What do you see as the key benefits of an education in official statistics for master’s students?
It is clear that governments but also societies in general are increasingly relying on statistics to make informed decisions. Statistical Institutes, are the most important providers of reliable statistical information about a region or country for policy makers and decision takers. Students who follow the EMOS programme will learn about these statistics, their (international) context, and how they are produced. I believe that people with such knowledge are of tremendous value, not just for producing official statistics, but also in using them for the benefit of any organisation they work for.
Is there anything else that you would like to share?
Official Statistics probably has a bit of a dusty image in the eye of the public. However, I have found it to be an incredably rich field with topics covering all aspects of society. It is also extremely interdisciplinary. To produce official statistics, insights from almost any scientific field you can think of are needed. The field is innovating rapidly, continuously, and often in international collaboration. So whether you have a background in social sciences or a STEM field, there is room for you to contribute. It is a way more exciting field to work on than many people think.
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