Welcome and thank you for joining me on this adventure. For the newbies, you can catch up on previous posts: first blog post, second blog post here, third blog post here, fourth blog post here, fifth post here, sixth post here, seventh post here, eighth post here, the ninth post here, tenth post here, eleventh post here, twelfth post here, thirteenth post, fourteenth post here, fifteenth post, sixteenth post, seventeenth post here, eighteenth post here and nineteenth post here.

“I came, but can I see?” has been the title of this series of #NWOVidi2025diaries blog posts even as I played with the NWO’s Veni, Vidi, Vici grant scheme. In fact, “I came, but can I see?” is currently the question that is pending and being decided upon by the NWO panel who interviewed me this morning. I am one of 20 excellent candidates (proposals) they will interview and then they have to decide which 7 (out of 20) gets the grant. I don’t envy the panel members as their work is not going to be easy. None of us 20 candidates would have gotten this far if our profile and research idea was not of the highest quality – however you might want to measure that. Therefore to decide which proposals get funded and which do not is going to be a difficult one. Thankfully, I have done my part and I don’t have to carry the headache of decision making at this moment 🙂

How did it go with the interview? I hear you ask. Well, I can’t draw much conclusion from how I feel it went. Afterall my proposal is centred around emotions and I know that in-the-moment-feelings are not always accurate measure of someone’s moral orientation or decision making process. Of course feelings and emotions do play a role in decision making. The short answer to my perception of the interview experience is that it went well. I had a laugh, I had fun and I think I made some panel members smile – or maybe they were laughing? They had to keep a straight face as much as possible so the challenge was on them as to smile or laugh at jokes. I answered the rapid-fire questions as best as I can and showed as much enthusiasm as I could while trying to quickly compose a coherent response in the middle of talking. There were two questions that I thought I waffled on for a bit too long and could have given more coherent answers. But maybe that’s not how it came across to the panel members. Who is to know? I am not a mind reader and I can’t faces. It also appear that my idea of making a tapestry as a process and output of societal engagement/impact was quite a memorable one. But this says nothing of the eventual outcome of the process.

This was my first ever in-person grant interview so I wasn’t sure how best to approach it. My previous two interviews for a grant were both done online so I had a well-developed routine. But this was new terrain and meant that I had to figure things out on the go. I ended up driving from Wageningen to Utrecht and arrived 45 minutes too early. I sat in the car in the car park listening to music and trying to read Thankfully, I was on the NWO Veni Panel in April 2026 so I had witnessed the interview process from the other side of the table where I could observe the nervousness of candidates. This time I was going to be the nervous candidate and in the spotlight. As it turns out, the receptionist at the building remembered me from April and made the joke that I already know my way around the building. Taking the lift to the 8th floor brought back my experience in April when I took the lift every day for one week. The familiarity brought some calmness but knowing what was ahead did cause a bit of a ripple in my calmness. When I got into the waiting room, one of the panel secretaries also recognised me from the April gig. We chatted a bit about then and now, and how the tables have turned for me. It was not long before the candidate ahead of me in the interview schedule came back into the waiting. She was very excited about being done with the interview. She explained that she enjoyed it and that us candidates should consider it an enjoyable experience to have the opportunity to discuss our work/proposal with a grant interview panel. Before I knew it, I had been given the signal to enter the room of the interview….

Inside the interview room, quiet hellos were said with nods and smiles. The chair of the panel explained the process to me: 5 minutes presentation and then 15 minutes Q&A discussion. Just like that I was given the floor and had to find my flow. Before I knew it, the chair was ending proceedings because we had exhausted the allocated 20 minutes. The time went by so quickly amidst the fun of a Q&A discussion. This is a summary of how it went for me today at the interview.

You can find my presentation slides below as well as the accompanying text of the narrative.

I’m thankful to God that I made it this far in the process. Whichever way the outcome goes, I gave it my best shot and I can trust in His plans for me concerning this research project. I’ve now packed up and stored away all the papers and notes on this #NWOVidi process – out of mind. I’m done with it and feel rather delighted that it is over – for now. I’m free ☺️

Now there is nothing left for me to do than focus on the many items in my ‘in-tray’ and email inbox that I have neglected over the course of going through the Vidi application process. Waiting is the name of the game now and I will hear back on the outcome sometime in October.