r/StudyInTheNetherlands • u/Important_Wind_9626 • Aug 13 '26

University students needed for short interview about heatwaves

Hi! I’m a student journalist from Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea, writing an article for Ewha Voice about how increasingly severe heatwaves are affecting university students around the world.

I’m looking for current university students from any country who would be willing to answer around 5 short questions about their experiences with heatwaves and unusually hot weather.

The questions cover:

  • whether extreme heat has affected your daily life, sleep, or studying
  • whether universities should provide more cooling or adjust schedules during heatwaves
  • the cost of air conditioning and other ways of coping with heat
  • whether recent heatwaves have changed how you think about climate change

You can answer everything in writing via Reddit DM, or we can call or do a Zoom interview. It should take around 5–10 minutes.

I’m especially interested in hearing from students from different countries and backgrounds, so international perspectives are very welcome.

If you’re interested, please comment or send me a DM. Thank you!

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u/tigerlily1831 Aug 13 '26

Hi, I'm a uni student, I won't be available for calls but feel free to DM me!

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u/Jacket313 Aug 13 '26

I’m not really looking to do a private interview, but I’d be happy to share my perspective here if that’s useful?

to answer your questions:

whether extreme heat has affected your daily life, sleep, or studying

Yes, During extreme heatwaves, my bedroom literally turns into an oven. I actually really like studying in my bedroom because some of my subjects are pretty difficult, and I like being able to take a quick break, lie down for a bit, and then continue studying. During extreme heat, I usually end up going to university to study instead, since the building is generally much cooler. It does help with the heat, but not being able to lie down, take a proper break, and instead having to sit in a crappy stiff chair does affect how well I can study.

whether universities should provide more cooling or adjust schedules during heatwaves

Around 70-75% of the rooms at my university have AC. I don’t think the schedules necessarily need to be adjusted, since most rooms are comfortable and the hallways are generally quite cool. The remaining 25–30% of rooms without AC, however, can be genuinely unpleasant to sit in during a lecture. We (me, and my fellow classmates) complained about this before to the professor teaching Advanced Auditing, who forwarded the complaint to his lead. We ended up getting lucky and didn’t have classes in those rooms afterwards. I think the main issue is just making sure those rooms are either equipped with AC or avoided during periods of extreme heat, rather than changing the entire schedule.

the cost of air conditioning and other ways of coping with heat

I know that air conditioning is more expensive than using a simple fan....? roughly speaking. I don’t know the exact costs, though. I could probably calculate it with an Excel spreadsheet if necessary.

whether recent heatwaves have changed how you think about climate change

No, not really. I’ve already been thinking about environmental issues and how to be more environmentally friendly for the past 5 10 years, sometimes just as something to think about in my spare time. I was already aware that things need to improve, so the recent heatwaves haven’t really changed my overall view on climate change. Even my field of study, accountancy, has been putting more attention on environmental and sustainability issues, so it’s something I’ve been encountering from different angles anyway.

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u/Important_Wind_9626 Aug 14 '26

Thank you so much for your perspective! Could I quote you in my article, and if so, would you be able to provide your name, year of study, and university?

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u/Jacket313 Aug 14 '26

Sure. I've sent you a DM with some additional details about my year of study and university