february 2013

magazine of the hague university

of applied sciences

28

House Hunting in tHe Hague Including 8 tips to find your way

En

glish

Ed

itio

n

Southern Europeans surviving the crisis

Catering test

Learn more about your Dutch lover

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tHu library. Where else?

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2 H/LINK • 28

28 • H/LINK 3

BackpackingIf you travel on the metro in Amsterdam, you might notice a deco-

rative sign at the Nieuwmarkt station that says ‘A place to live is

a right, not a privilege’ and a fake sledgehammer that’s been put

next to the tracks for dramatic effect.

These are reminders of protests that were held in the area during

the 1960s, when the city of Amsterdam wanted to demolish the

houses around Nieuwmarkt to make room for four-lane, quick con-

nection to Amsterdam Central Station. The neighbourhood is still

standing, and the road the city wanted now ends at Waterlooplein.

Housing is a right. That’s for sure, but space is limited in the

Netherlands and the demand is great. And, despite all of the well-

intended plans, student housing remains scarce. My advice is to

look at things differently. Try thinking of the hardships associated

with student housing the way you would think about the (mis)

adventures you’d have while backpacking. A backpacking trip to

India, for example, is only truly complete if you have spent at least

one day in a bus full of chickens, isn’t it? That’s the moment when a

vacation becomes a journey, a true experience.

My own ‘backpacking’ adventures involved, among other things:

illegally adding a wall so that my roommate wouldn’t have to

sleep in the kitchen – (the remaining kitchen was roughly the

same size as the toilet, but only a real complainer notices such

things); trying to cook dinner in student housing after picking up

a whole chicken (to save money) only to discover that the closest

thing to a knife in their kitchen was a potato peeler and deep,

intimate kissing with a classmate at the bottom of the stairs in an

effort to irritate her oversuspicious landlady.

You see? It’s just like backpacking. You can’t expect to take a

luxurious cruise in Rajasthan. It’s not going to happen, but if

you were expecting overcrowded buses you may find that your

tiny student apartment is actually paradise. Try to

enjoy those hot showers that come to an abrupt

end when someone else turns on the tap, and

enjoy the sudden visits of desperate lodgers

who were thrown out by their shady landlords,

because they make the journey more

memorable. •

René Rector

Editor-in-chief

EditorialContent6 taste test

THU switched to Eurest catering. Revamped restaurants and a restyled coffee corner are the result. What do students think about the flavors of the food court?

10 how to find a house in the hague Link investigated the housing situation of international students and visited two in search for suggestions. Including 8 tips.

14 surviving the Euro Crisis An exchange student from Greece and a student from Italy talk about the situation back home and a brighter future in The Hague.

8 Reduce the drop-out rate; stop pampering

16 Getting the IT Department in order

18 Prize-winning essay about internationalization at THU

Columns

4 Valentine’s Day in pictures

5 On the line with… Jolanda Lütteke about Enactus

17 Melting pot: dancing around the fire on Aruba

20 Gems: where to go out in The Hague, learn more about Dutch lovers and win a Piranha 3DD DVD

22 Self-image: Lee Harris

23 Spotlight: Gemeentemuseum by night

Schoolstraat 212511 AW Den Haag

070 - 3 65 73 06www.stanley-livingstone.nl

link is published and produced by the communication & marketing department at the hague university. editors room: ovaal 1.02 address po Box 13336, 2501 eh the hague email: link@hhs.nl f: 070 445 7554 i: link.hhs.nl editors dieuwke de Boer (070 445 8851), rené rector (070 445 8813, hoofdredacteur), martine seijffert (070 445 8814), youri van vliet (070 445 8796), lotte hoes (070 445 8796, intern) student editors yvonne Bal, anjani Bhairosingh, ilse van Beest, esther Bliek, martin cok, patty elbersen, can guneyli, Kerttu henriksson, tim de Jong, stefan van Klink, martina Koleva, simone Krouwer, laura van langen, paul van leeuwen, yvonne rijff staff dave van ginhoven, martine zeijlstra, christin zitter comic margreet de heer images mieke Barendse, Quintin van der Blonk, Kim eijkelhof, thirjeet gurwara, Bas Kijzers design mustafa Özbek, Josean the pie print oBt bv, the hague advertisement Bureau nassau, achterom 100c, hoorn po Box 4130, 1620 hc hoorn e: info@bureaunassau.nl t: 020-623 0905 f: 020-639 0846 i: www.bureaunassau.nl issn 2210-7983 copyright it is not allowed to copy articles of images without permission of the editors. link is published monthly in dutch and twice a year in english.

Ab

OU

T L

Ink

Valentine’s DayWow! The lovely images submitted

this month are heart-warming.

Information Services & Management

(IS&M) student Jeske Woudstra [1] – with a rose – found that romantic

boyfriends do exist. PABO (Education

in Primary Schools) staffer Marie

Hijmans [2] enjoyed a romantic ballet

moment. European Studies student

Tomas Miko asks the question:

‘why should Link feature Monika

Dimitrova’ [3] and provides the

answer: ‘because she is beautiful

and I love her!’ Fellow ES student

Noelia Caro delivers an ode to her

boyfriend Kris [4] who she says is,

without a doubt, ‘the cutest and

sweetest man in the world.’ Ingrid

van Ruyven, also from ES, has only

known Laurens [5] a year, but she’s

sure they’ll be together for a long

time. Lisanne Fioole from Human

Kinetic Technology [6] had just been

dumped when she met Roel, and

they’ve been ‘super happy’ for two

months. Bram van der Linden from

Marketing is ‘secretly in love’ with all

his girlfriends [7] but Denise (at the

bottom) is his favourite. Maike Mak

(IS&M) will be skipping Valentine’s

Day because her boyfriend [8] is

living in Macedonia and only after a

six-month separation was she able to

see him on New Years. But, the prize

for the most charming embrace goes

to Amber Swensen from PABO and

her boyfriend Robbert van Putten [9]. ‘We’ve been together for 9 years and

we’re still smitten,’ she writes, and it

certainly looks that way.

[1]

[2]

[7][8]

[9]

4 H/LINK • 28

In pictures

Win 50 eurosComputers have become an integral part of our daily lives

and are an essential part of your studies. Link is curious about what your desktop looks like (and we forbid you from cleaning it up first). Is your wallpaper a beautiful

nature scene, or do you spend your days looking into the eyes of a boy/girlfriend on your desktop as you work? Is it

neat and tidy or chock full of documents and files?

Send us a screenshot by Tuesday, 26 February at link@hhs.nl. Let us know who you are and be sure to

describe the image to us. The best screenshot will win 50 euros.

[6]

[3] [4]

[5]

28 • H/LINK 5

On the line withJolanda Lütteke

‘Enactus: a win-win situation’Improving the quality of life: that’s the goal of Enactus. Last year the organisation was called SIFE (Students In Free Enterprise). Former European Studies student Jolanda Lütteke is the driving force behind Enactus at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. story Lotte Hoes • image Quintin van der blonk

Enactus has been in place at THU for about twenty months. What have you achieved so far?We initiated a project to help an Armenian woman start her own

business as a music teacher. Although the project was successful it

didn’t last long, because she returned to Armenia. We are currently

organising a job interview workshop for young people from the low-

income Schilderswijk area and we’re involved in a project to promote

affordable childcare in the Laak district. The idea is that this should

give mothers more time to work; in return, we ask them occasionally

to act as host parent and babysit other people’s children.

What prompted you to change your name? SIFE didn’t express our ambitions clearly enough. Enactus is an

acronym for Entrepreneurial Action Us, which is a much more

effective illustration of what we do. ‘Entrepreneurial’ means that

students identify opportunities to use their talents and put them

to use; with ‘Action’ we mean that students are prepared to take

action and the ‘Us’ reflects the sense among our members of being

part of a larger whole.

What are your plans for 2013?The first thing we want to do is recruit more members so that we

can launch more projects. We are considering setting up a project

with the school’s catering facilities to enable young people with a

disability to gain employment experience here. What’s good about

Enactus is that it gives students an opportunity to help other people,

and because we join forces with leading partners such as Schiphol

and Ahold this will add points to your CV. It’s a win-win situation! •

If you would like more information about Enactus at THU or want to join, send an e-mail to j.l.luetteke@hhs.nl. You can also attend an information meeting on 21 February from 4 to 7 p.m. in OV.k.53.

6 H/LINK • 28

A nyone entering the building for the first time

this year would probably never guess that

the central restaurant in the atrium looked

completely different last year. The same goes for the

Beans coffee corner just inside the main entrance,

which has undergone a metamorphosis, with its

tattered red leather chairs making way for a sleek

new design. On the third floor of Slinger, a whole

new canteen (food outlet) was realised last summer.

And at the new vending machines you can even get a

fresh-brewed cup of coffee.

All of these changes are the result of a new catering

policy and two new suppliers. From the 2012-2013

academic year, THU switched to Eurest after having

employed the services of Sodexo for many years.

Furthermore, vending machine specialist Selecta is

the new contractor for the institute’s snack and drink-

dispensing machines. So what do students think

about the changes? To find out, the Facility Manage-

ment Services Department (FB) put out a survey in

early December which students could complete on the

online portal. A total of 1,220 students and staff mem-

bers took part. René den Dulk of the FB expressed

satisfaction at both the number of respondents and

the results. ‘Last year we also surveyed satisfaction

and we’ve seen a clear improvement in the scores. For

taste testAt the start of the new academic year, many students were pleasantly surprised by the revamped restaurants and restyled coffee corner. Both are the result of a five-year contract between The Hague University of Applied Sciences and new caterer Eurest. So what are the initial reactions? story Martine Seijffert / kerttu Henriksson • images bas kijzers

Mitchell Horsford23, ArubaInternational Public Management, 1st year

I rarely eat at school, but if I do, I always eat the great tuna sandwich from the canteen. Also the pasta from the restaurant is very good for its price. In general, I think that the food is better than last year and the prices are reasonable. I don’t find anything especially missing. For me, the variety is fine for a school restaurant.

Catering

28 • H/LINK 7

the restaurants, respondents gave an overall score of

6.5 this year, compared to 5.7 last year [on a scale of 1 to 10, ed.].’

The higher scores seem connected particularly to the

factors of hygiene and tidiness, the availability of hot

drinks from the vending machines and the freshness

and quality of the products. Respondents were also

positive about the new option to pay by switch card in

addition to paying by chip card. But there is criticism,

too. Since paying by switch card takes more time, the

queues have also gotten longer. Nonetheless, Den Dulk

believes things are moving in the right direction. ‘We’re

now past the rush of the start of the academic year.’

The next step will be to follow up on the survey re-

sults, Den Dulk emphasises. ‘We’ve asked our suppli-

ers to develop an action plan based on these results,

and when we conduct the survey again next year

we expect to see higher scores.’ One of the aspects

surveyed that offers little room for improvement,

according to Den Dulk, is that of ‘price’, which scored

just under passing at 5.6. ‘If you simply ask about pri-

ces and nothing else, the response will always be that

they’re too high – even if you’re only charging 1 euro

for a sandwich,’ he explains. ‘In fact, the most expen-

sive sandwiches are our bestsellers.’ Den Dulk also

points out that prices have not gone up since the new

caterer took over. ‘Actually, overall, they’re lower.’

The new coffee corner has taken on the considerable

challenge of filling the shoes left by the trusted Mocka-

More, while also contending with competition from the

fresh-ground coffee vending machines. MockaMore

offered a wide range of coffee flavours, which students

miss at the new Beans coffee corner. On the plus side,

you get a complimentary biscuit with your coffee or

tea. And if it’s your birthday and you can prove it, you

can even get a free cup of coffee and a muffin. •

InternationalUntil last year, international students were most critical about the catering services. European students scored these facilities with a 4.9, and students from outside Europe slightly higher at 5.2. But as the latest survey shows, things have improved, with scores of 6.6 and 6.4, respectively, from a total of 141 international student respondents. Among the measures taken since last year is the labelling of products in English in addition to Dutch.

Veronika Bendulova19, SlovakiaInternational and European law, 1st year

I’m eating a chicken sandwich, which is one of my favourites. I think they are very tasty! In Slovakia, we only

have a proper lunch served, but here I can also just grab a snack. They

also offer healthy products; different salads and juices, for example. The

prices are more expensive than in Slovakia, but then again, so is

everything else. For a school canteen, I think the prices are reasonable.

taste test

8 H/LINK • 28

Study succes

no more pamperingFor years, The Hague University has invested in a series of projects related to study success, with the hope of reducing the number of drop-outs, getting more students on track in their progress and getting more students to graduate on time. In fact, they seem to have the opposite effect. Study success is a tough nut to crack. story Dieuwke de boer • image bas kijzers

‘W e’re here to challenge students to

get to the next level,’ declared Alma

Clayton-Pederson, while speaking

at the Study Success conference on 14 December.

Unfortunately, the latest statistics show that, since

the start of the Study Success Programme in 2009, the

university has actually seen fewer students making it

to that next level. The number of first-year diplomas

(called propedeuses in Dutch) that students have

earned on time, for instance, has fallen by five per

cent since 2009, instead of rising by thirteen per cent

as desired. Meanwhile, the university has made new

agreements with the Minister of Education that are

less ambitious in nature. Now, it is hoped that the

number of dropouts, the number of students who

switch studies and number of students who graduate

within four years will remain stable. The question is:

how do you make sure that happens?

Too looseAccording to Programme Director Bieke de Mol and

Senior Researcher Wâtte Zijlstra, ‘there is no single

answer’ and ‘it depends on the situation.’ The efforts

made during the past few years were not in vain,

they say. ‘Now we understand that this is a complex

problem that requires a comprehensive approach,’

says Zijlstra. In his eyes, many of the measures taken

in recent years were ‘too loose’.

One thing that seems clear is that it is difficult to

reach the right students with non-committal projects.

Statistical analysis of academic results indicate that

factors like gender, previous education and ethnic

background are important study success indicators,

but in order to offer equal opportunities and avoid

discrimination, it was decided in 2009 that many of

the measures would be opened up to all students. As

a result, ‘when it comes to things like tutoring, we see

the more ambitious students taking advantage while

the students who really need the help are less likely

to go after it,’ according to Bieke de Mol. This begs the

question: ‘What are we going to do about it?’ Zijlstra

says: ‘I don’t want to discriminate, but it is true that

we need improvement in certain groups of students

more than others. If you take a generic approach, you

dilute the effect.’

Problem analysisAccording to a recent report on the results of the

Study Success Programme, THU staff think that, so

far, the programme has taken a scattershot approach

that is too broad and ineffective.

There are no clear explanations for the continued lack

of study success, but THU staffers have suggested a

number of possibilities. Many think that the level of

the university’s incoming students is lower than it

used to be. Others suggest that students are sim-

ply not putting enough into their studies. Teachers

interviewed for the study said another major problem

is the lack of a clear understanding of the reasons why

students fall behind or drop out, a factor they think

28 • H/LINK 9

could have been addressed if a better problem analy-

sis had been conducted at the start of the programme.

The desired problem analysis may now be available,

thanks to recent research by Hans Siebers, a professor

at the University of Tilburg. Last year, he investigated

the link between ethnic differences and study suc-

cess and related study success issues at The Hague

University. He concluded, based on questionnaire

data, that THU students have the right characteristics

to be successful in their studies. Siebers’ research

attempts to explain why THU hasn’t managed to take

the favourable factors in the student body and turn

them in to study success. Along the way, he rules

out the factors that are most often seen as the

cause of disappointing results, including stu-

dent motivation, work habits and investment

in terms of time and study skills. In exonera-

ting the ‘usual suspects’, Siebers implicitly

casts a reasonable doubt on the approach

taken by the Study Success Programme,

which mainly focused on interven-

tions intended to improve student

study skills.

PamperingIf, indeed, none of the factors

above are the cause for the

lack of study success, what

else could it possibly be?

According to Siebers, the

real culprit is the fact that

students are not being

stimulated or challenged at

THU. ‘Do you want to pam-

per your students, or treat them

like adults?’ he asked, critically,

while presenting his findings during

the conference. He thinks, for example,

that teachers are far too accessible for

students. He says that because teachers try so

hard to be there for students, ‘students don’t have

the faintest idea how hard their teachers actually

work and it takes away the incentive for students to

make an effort to perform for their teachers.’ His re-

commendation is to make education about achieve-

ment and restore the authority of teachers, as well

as a professional distance between them and their

students.

Siebers’ study is but one of dozens of research pro-

jects conducted on the subject of study success. A

new workgroup is going to have to go through every

report in the pile and analyse the data within. In

March, they will report to the Board of Directors with

recommendations.•

10 H/LINK • 28

Housing

Gap Vivasitburi (29), is studying for a Master in International Communi-cation Management. He is from Thailand and moved to the Netherlands in August 2012.

‘a friend of mine studied in groningen and was really excited about his time there. Because of

him i also signed up for a master abroad in the netherlands. When i enrolled at thu, they sent

me to duwo. i asked whether i could get a studio or an apartment for myself, but that wasn’t

possible. so they just assigned me to this room. i live in an apartment on the 19th floor of the

stamkartplein tower. i share this apartment with one roommate. my bedroom is in the same

space as the kitchen, my roommate has a separate bedroom. i would have preferred my own

apartment or at least my own place to sleep. i don’t have a lot of privacy here. although it took

me some time to get adjusted, i’ve managed to make myself feel at home here. i have the thai

flag and a picture of the king of thailand here. i also have a picture of my family on my desk.’

‘i don’t have a lot of privacy with my bedroom being in the kitchen’

28 • H/LINK 11

HouSe HunTinG in The Hague

It’s not easy to find a place to live in The Hague. For international students, it can be even harder, especially when they are confronted with a strange city and confounded by regulations and information that is usually all in Dutch. Link investigated the situation of international students and visited two in search of suggestions. story Martine Seijffert / Yvonne Rijff • images Mieke barendse

I t’s a rainy day in August. May arrives at The

Hague University of Applied Sciences from China

with two large, pink suitcases. She had only just

decided on attending THU in July and, as a result, she

was too late to register for housing with the Duwo

housing agency. Now she’s here, standing in the

Dutch rain with no place to live. Luckily, she meets

another student from China who does have housing.

The other student takes May home, where she will

spend the first few months of her studies sleeping on

the couch.

To be fair, May might not have gone about things

in the best way, but this is just one example of the

kinds of hopeless situations that some international

students find themselves in when they arrive in The

Hague, especially if they aren’t properly prepared.

First-year students who register with Duwo on time

are guaranteed Short Stay Housing for a year, but

what if you weren’t able to register on time, or if the

year is over and you have to move out? And what, for

that matter, do you do if you have to find a place on

your own?

The best advice is to start looking sooner rather

than later, because space is limited. Back in 2010, it

was discovered that The Hague has a vast shortage

of student housing. At least three thousand new

places were needed. The municipal government

said in its Housing and Spatial Development Plan

that it aims to end this shortage by 2020. This year

will see the completion of the ‘Rode Dorp’ (Red

��You can find everything you need to know about finding a place to live, in English, at www.ikzithier.nl/en.

��If you’re too late to register for the towers on the Waldorpstraat, keep a close eye on www.studentenwoningweb.nl, because it’s possible that some of the students who are moving to the Waldopstraat are leaving older Duwo rooms empty and available.

��The Hague’s Student Union has published a booklet full of housing tips. You can request it, and request assistance at info@haagsestudentenvakbond.nl.

��Check the website www.housinganywhere.com, where students who are going abroad for a while, often sub-let their rooms to other (international) students. This is particularly ideal for exchange students. ti

ps

12 H/LINK • 28

Village), a project by Staedion, in the Schilderswijk

neighbourhood. Duwo has already realised two

new towers on the Waldorpstraat and Rob Brons,

head of THU’s Board of Directors, is in talks with

the owners of the old Tax Service (Belastingdienst)

building just across from the front entrance to

Den Haag Hollands Spoor station. ‘It hasn’t been

finalised yet,’ he says, ‘but we have a terrific plan to

create accommodation for 300 students.’

These construction projects are creating new

possibilities, but Qushal Bansraj, chairman of The

Hague’s Student Union (Haagse Studentenvakbond)

is still worried. ‘I’m not convinced that things are

moving fast enough,’ he says, ‘Granted, 2020 is a

ways off and the 3,000 places that were promised

may be coming, but The Hague University is trying

to attract more and more international students and

I am not convinced that 3,000 homes will be enough.’

Rob Brons, on the other hand, is optimistic about

the efforts made by both City Hall and the housing

corporations to address the shortage. ‘We have close

contact with the municipality of The Hague and I’m

familiar with their plans,’ he says, ‘and they are hea-

ding towards 4,000 new homes.’ He also sees new

opportunities for student housing in some of The Ha-

gue’s empty office buildings. ‘A quarter of the offices

in The Hague are unoccupied at the moment. So far

it hasn’t been possible to convert them into student

housing because of regulations and red tape, but

thanks to the pressure on the housing market, that

will probably change,’ he says.

The current housing shortage is not the only problem

facing international students. There is also a shortage

of clear information, which creates a gap between

the expectations of incoming students and the reality

of available housing. In particular, internationals are

often disappointed about the costs. Duwo is another

subject that isn’t always popular (see the story about

Gap on page 10), even though the housing organisa-

tion has been trying, in a combined effort with THU,

to improve things since 2011. Students no longer have

to pay a year’s rent to THU in advance, for example.

Another change is the possibility to use Duwo’s re-

servation system to look at available homes. Gijsbert

Mul, director of the local Duwo office in The Hague,

has noticed a decline in the number of complaints. At

the same time, he points out that, starting this sum-

mer, many older Short Stay facilities will be replaced

by spaces in the new tower across from the Megasto-

res on the Waldorpstraat. This will reduce the number

of shared rooms – a positive development given that

few students favour living, eating and sleeping all

in one room, together with someone else. ‘This way,

there are more choices and students will only have

to room together if they choose to do so,’ says Mul.

International students who want to rent a room after

their Short Stay period ends will still have to take care

of that themselves, though. Mul advises that, as soon

as students arrive, they should register at

www.studentenwoningweb.nl.

The Hague University is also trying to help students

manage their expectations, which can be a little too

high at times. The university’s website even goes so

far as to say that finding a place to live is both difficult

and expensive. However, Rob Brons is keen to point

out that THU is here to provide access to education

and research, not housing, saying that, ‘If you choose

to come and live here, you do have to take some of the

responsibility.’ •

��Arrange your own student house. A house with 1,200 euros rent may seem out of reach at first, but if you can fit four people into a house, the costs aren’t bad. Look at expat websites like www.expatriates.com, www.expatica.com or www.expatrentals.eu.

��Investigate whether or not you qualify for rent subsidies at www.toeslagen.nl. You have to meet certain conditions (like an independent living situation). Go through this information with someone who speaks Dutch, because a lot of important informa-tion isn’t mentioned on the English version of the site.

��You might find a place to live through squatting prevention initiatives (what the Dutch call Anti-Kraak). You don’t have the security of other rental agreements, but you usually get an attractive price. You may want to check out www.adhocbeheer.nl, which arranges these rentals, but one of their conditions is that you have to be referred to them by someone already renting a home from their organisation.

��Check the Facebook pages for your study programme, many of which can be found on the THU Facebook page, as well as the bulletin boards at school where people post requests and offers for housing.

We have a terrific plan to create accommodation for 300 students

28 • H/LINK 13

Aleksander Aleksandrov (24) studies International Communication Management at The Hague University. He is from Bulgaria and moved to the Netherlands in September of 2011.

‘a friend told me about this great apartment for rent at the housing agency ocean Blue. i moved in within

a week. my roommate petar and i share a spacious living room of approximately forty square meters. We

spend most of our time in there, as it’s very comfortable and cosy. to remind me of Bulgaria, i have the

Bulgarian flag and a lot of photos from home. i always keep holy water in the house, as this is a family

tradition. When i moved here, i used the water to bless every room.

i’m more than happy with this living situation. We pay approximately 460 euros each, including gas,

electricity, water and internet. i would advise students looking for a house to come to the hague at least

one month before the semester starts. you’ll have enough time to find a home and there are more places

available than in september.’

‘i’m more than happy with this living situation’

14 H/LINK • 28

Crisis

eScaPinG THe euro criSiS

I nternational & European Law student Mihailo

Jovetic (19) is really happy to be studying at The

Hague University of Applied Sciences. ‘Italy is

not very study-friendly. Students attend lectures

with hundreds of students. At THU, I know my

teachers.’ But the biggest problem in Italy, accor-

ding to Jovetic, is not studying. The bad situation

starts when students have their bachelor or masters

degree. ‘It is very unlikely that you’ll find a good,

fulltime job. If you have the opportunity to leave

Italy, you do.’ In Italy, it was common to get a per-

manent contract and job security after graduating,

says Jovetic, but not anymore. ‘The government is

reducing costs by getting rid of permanent contracts.

It brought Italy into a social crisis. I would be lucky

to get any job after I finish my bachelor degree.’ Star-

ting up his own company is not an option either. ‘No

bank is willing to give you a loan. You would have to

be super-qualified and that’s not possible for starters

with a brand new degree.’

Jovetic packed his suitcase full of books and went

to study Law at THU. He is not the only one. A lot

of exchange students from these countries are also

heading for higher education in the Netherlands

and THU is no exception. The number of exchange

students from Greece, Italy and Spain varied from 76

in 2009-2010 to 94 one year later, and 86 this year. The

number of bachelor students from Southern Europe,

however, has more than doubled since 2010.

Eva Kavaliotou (22), an European Studies exchange

student, is one of the newcomers. She is trying to get

as much study experience abroad as possible. There

is nothing wrong with her own, Greek university.

‘The Athens University of Economics and Business

is better than THU, but a diploma from THU is worth

much more because it shows you have been abroad,’

Kavaliotou says. ‘I love Greece, but I can’t survive

The Euro Crisis has hit students from Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal hard. Cutbacks on education and high unemployment have encouraged them to pack their study books for some time abroad. Link talked to Eva Kavaliotou, an exchange student from Greece, and Mihailo Jovetic, from Italy about their situation back home and a brighter future in The Hague. story Martine Zeijlstra • images bas kijzers

28 • H/LINK 15

eScaPinG THe euro criSiSthere.’ It’s total chaos in Greece and in her university,

she says. ‘If we open up the classroom windows, we

hear people shouting and screaming at the police. A

lot of demonstrations take place in this area and that

makes it really hard to concentrate.’ Due to cutbacks,

there are very few computers available for students

‘and if you have to do experiments in the labs at our

university, there are so many students in the room

you can hardly move.’

The students that get a bachelor or masters degree

also have a lot of trouble finding a suitable job. ‘My

friends who have already graduated in Greece and

found good jobs, get a very low salary,’ says Kava-

liotou, ‘one of my friends got a good job at an office.

She has her bachelor’s degree and speaks three

languages, but still she only gets five hundred euros

a month! And she is one of the lucky ones. Most stu-

dents can’t find a job after graduating and have to live

with their parents.’

A lot of people believe they have better opportunities

if they go abroad. The economic crisis makes students

decide to leave Greece. As an exchange student, Kava-

liotou gets a better CV. ‘I’m learning to communicate

in another language and meeting different cultures.

I would very much like to come back here. THU is

so big and has so many facilities. And here I learn in

practice what I would normally only read in books.’

Both students say they chose to go abroad to take

their future into their own hands and avoid becoming

part of a lost generation, staying with their parents

forever. ‘My generation in Italy won’t get a job

contract at all,’ Jovetic says. ‘In the Netherlands, stu-

dents get a chance to have a contract if they perform

well during an internship,’ Jovetic thinks, adding

that: ‘This school prepares you for the real world by

teaching you the essence for the field where you will

work. You are not extremely dependent on very good

contacts to get a job, like in Italy. You just have to give

all you got. You get these opportunities as a student

in Holland. Not in Italy.’ •

In Greece, if we open up the classroom windows, we hear people shouting and

screaming at the police

16 H/LINK • 28

I t has been over seventeen years since The Hague

University opened its main campus in Laakhaven.

That might not sound like a long time ago, but

back in 1996 people thought it was pretty impres-

sive that they had an e-mail address. As IT director

Marianne van der Werke sees it, that is the problem

in a nutshell: the university was built with and for the

technology that was current at the time.

Since then, the entire IT landscape has shifted drama-

tically, in a way that couldn’t have been predicted in

1996. Over time, more and more programmes, functi-

ons and demands have been placed on the original IT

infrastructure. Consequently, seventeen years later,

the school has a complex, clogged and partially impro-

vised network where no one would dare to attempt

further changes for fear that the whole house of cards

might collapse.

Something has to change. At the moment, the servers

need improved security and there is no test envi-

ronment for software development. Some education

software is not suited to the Windows 7 operating

system used by school computers and only runs on

equipment that is no longer available. If something

goes wrong with the available equipment, there is no

way to replace it. ‘You have to seek out new alterna-

tives, together with the users,’ says Pieter Gremmen

leader of the ‘basics’ project, ‘you can’t keep a system

going like this.’

The fact that there are so many basic infrastructure

problems raises questions about how things could

get this bad. The IT Department is prepared to take

responsibility. For years, the department has been fo-

cused on problem solving and troubleshooting, leaving

little time to invest attention in a broader, long-term

strategy. ‘We’re always putting out fires, but we don’t

get around to fire-proofing for the future,’ says Grem-

men. In his eyes, it requires a new way of thinking

about IT. Wi-fi access is a good example. Everyone was

complaining about the strength of the wi-fi signal, so

the IT department expanded the network capacity.

There are fewer complaints, but no one has stopped

Trouble shooting

The IT facilities at The Hague University of Applied Sciences are out-dated. The shortcomings are so severe that the Information Technology Department has launched a new project under the title, ‘De basis op orde’ (Getting the basics in order). According to the department, ‘It requires a new way of thinking about IT.’ story René Rector • image bas kijzers

‘When i don’t hear any more complaints, i’ll know we’re on the right track’

Melting pot

28 • H/LINK 17

‘When i don’t hear any more complaints, i’ll know we’re on the right track’

to think about whether or not it is desirable to have

wireless internet everywhere. Van der Werke points

out: ‘I have even had some teachers ask if I could hang

up a signal jammer, because students are so busy with

their smartphones during class.’

The ‘basis op orde’ project will involve an expansion of

the IT department, with new workers coming in so that

the team can do more than put out the fires. New trai-

nings and procedures will help to keep the department

and the IT infrastructure on the rails.

No matter what happens, students and staff should be

able to expect that this year, service requests will be

handled more quickly, and as far as the physical infra-

structure is concerned, it is expected that THU’s house

of cards will soon be transformed into a manageable

and solid construction project. ‘We have to reduce the

number of bugs in the system,’ says Van de Werke. ‘An

IT system that just works is something we all want.

When I don’t hear any more complaints, I’ll know we’re

on the right track.’•

Dancing around the fire on ArubaWill Yue, a first year IBMS-student from Aruba, cooked us a traditional Aruban meal, Arroz con pollo. This dish is best served during a traditional Aruban party, after dancing around the fire. story kerttu

Henriksson • image bas kijzers

What are we eating today?Arroz con pollo, chicken mixed with

vegetables and rice and with fried

plantain on the side. All you have

to do is prepare the meat, rice and

vegetables, add some spices and

mix them together. Just like with

Spanish paella, you can adjust the

dish to your own taste. It is a tradi-

tional Aruban dish that is usually

served at traditional dinner parties

since it is so simple to make for a lot

of people.

What are traditional Aruban parties like?For example, on 24 June Arubans

celebrate Dera Gai. It is a more than

hundred-year-old harvest tradition,

which symbolizes the burning

of bad energy that people have

picked up in the last year. In the old

days, the celebration began with a

cultural dance around a fire, during

which a blindfolded person had to

beat a rooster with a stick while

dancing. After the rooster was beat

to death it was burned in the fire. These days we use plastic roos-

ters, because killing a real rooster is too cruel. Now, we only burn

all our garbage and we celebrate until the fire goes out. However,

because of my family’s Chinese background, our family traditions

mostly come from Chinese culture.

Does your Chinese origin influence on your cooking?Yes, I learned to cook by observing the cooks at my family’s old

Chinese restaurant. Although I also learned the basics of different

cuisines when I was previously studying hospitality manage-

ment, Asian cuisine is my favorite.•

Would you like to invite Link into your kitchen and tell us about your roots? Send an email to link@hhs.nl.

reciPe on link onlineFor the recipe and a short video on how to make Arroz con pollo,

go to: link-en.hhs.nl

45 minutes

mild, but can be made spicy

Around 10 euros for 5 people

Required cooking skills: none

Not vegetarian

arroz con pollo

18 H/LINK • 28

Prize-winning essay

Since the beginning of the 1990s, October 3rd has

marked Germany’s official Reunification Day (Tag der Deutschen Einheit). Then, all over the country,

people celebrate the end of the socialist dictator-

ship. People recapitulate what they were taught

in public schools and what their parents told them

about the past.

Somehow, everybody writes his own national histo-

ry. This is what I believed in, what I did myself. But

then I went abroad – to the Netherlands, Russia,

and the United Kingdom. Living abroad has been a

fruitful experience and in a lot of ways, one could

argue that I got to learn so much about foreign cul-

tures, intercultural communication, cosmopolitan-

ism and other current buzzwords. Without a doubt,

my life was being internationalised.

However, celebrating Reunification Day in a foreign

country opened my eyes to a very different point of

view: internationalisation is not learning about oth-

ers, it is learning about yourself. By looking at what

internationalisation means in a higher education con-

text and what its main criticisms are, this essay deals

with the great potential that internationalisation has.

It might sound naïve, but I argue that internationalis-

ing higher education institutions such as The Hague

University of Applied Sciences helps to make the

world a more peaceful place – if policies can effective-

ly support individuals in reinventing themselves.

Internationalisation is most commonly defined

as ‘the process of integrating an international,

intercultural or global dimension into the purpose,

functions or delivery of post-secondary education’

The last English edition of Link included a challenge to students and staff to participate in an essay contest. The topic was the importance of internationalization at THU. The jury has awarded the prize, and an iPad 3, to third-year European Studies student Sven Marschalek (23) because ‘his essay lifts the debate about internationalisation to a higher level.’

How THinkinG aBouT ourSelVeS creates a

better world

28 • H/LINK 19

(Knight, 2010). Other authors state that interna-

tionalisation is not a goal in itself, but rather a

means to an end. Internationalisation does not

do any good if universities just perform it as a

source of extra financial revenue or as a global

image-provider. While it may be true that more

international students, more exchange partner-

ships and more credits devoted to international

topics may create more internationality, it does

by no means automatically imply that you learn

anything about yourself. That last point is cru-

cial for internationalised institutions to provide

for future graduates that strive for a more equal

and more peaceful world.

To illustrate this point, I shall take a very simple

example from my personal experience that out-

lines how internationalisation helps to develop

the auspicious feeling of empathy. I refer to a

pretty Dutch experience, namely going to the

kroeg (bar) with a group of Dutch friends. In the

Netherlands, etiquette dictates that you buy

rounds if you get a drink. It took me a while to

get used to getting ‘sponsored’, even if, at times,

I could not have paid half of the drinks I had.

However, adapting to the Dutch concept of going

out, I figured that, in Germany, having a night out

could be twice as much fun if we adopted a simi-

lar habit. Thus, I took the idea home. I learned

about myself. I learned to think win/win.

Universities must engage in critical reflection,

re-think their teaching and researching prac-

tices and critically evaluate their reward system

and their notion of pedagogy. Internationalisa-

tion has to be implemented in such a way that

it allows students to draw a connection to their

home experiences. It must provide them with

the means to critically reflect upon and reinvent

themselves. If we are able to find ourselves in an

increasingly interconnected world and if we re-

alize that it is us that have to change first, then

we will be able to make the world a better place.

And, as the German photographer Richard Hoff-

mann once said: ‘The shortest way to yourself

leads once around the world.’ •

This essay has been edited for space. To see the entire essay, including references, see Link Online link-en.hhs.nl

Internationalisation is not learning about the others, it is

learning about you

the Jury’s comments:

‘Sven’s essay places personal experience in the context of topical literature on internationalization in higher education. He skilfully develops an interes-ting point of view: encounters with foreign countries and people from different cultures teach one about oneself. Critical self-reflection and an open attitude towards others create the conditions for a better world. Sven’s essay lifts the debate about internatio-nalization to a higher level.’

The jury consisted of Susana Menéndez, Member of the Board of Directors of The Hague University of Applied Sciences, Ineke van der Meule, Director of the Centre for Lectorates and Research, René Rector, editor in chief of Link and Jos Walenkamp, Lector for International Cooperation. For the winner, there were two prices: an iPad 3, which was given to Sven by the jury, and publication of his essay in Link.

20 H/LINK • 28

Gems

And all that jazzNo, this is not a restaurant. And neither is it exclusively Spanish. Just to avoid any misunderstandings about Est est est! on Wagen-straat, I can tell you right now what makes it so special: jazz and surprisingly good food.

Just imagine the setting: red leather chairs, tiny tables with green-and-white chequered table-cloths, low-hanging ceiling lamps and creaky, vintage Frank Sinatra

coming out of the speakers. The old records are changed by a waiter at a turntable station set up in one of the corners of the dining area. Next to this is the entrance to the

kitchen, where we see the chef toiling away at our starter: potato soup. Well, ‘toiling away’ may be something of an exaggeration; we’re surprised to see that we’re the only guests. Our waiter as-cribes that to the time of year, right after Christmas. Normally speak-ing the joint – which replaced what used to be Scallywags last August – is jumping.

The potato soup, a creamy yellow substance served with truffle oil and smoked (!) paprika powder, is indeed delicious and has a surpris-ingly smoky flavour. Now, on to the main course: Frank Sinatra has been replaced with a sensual female voice (Ella Fitzgerald?), which goes perfectly with my companion’s bavette – French beef, cooked to succulent pink perfection – and my seafood paella. Instead of the typical saffron rice, my paella is made with risotto. The seafood contingent is represented in large

quantities: mussels, little clams, shrimp... with some green beans and cherry tomatoes popping up from underneath the rice here and there. Scrumptious!

Now it’s time for desert: home-made cheesecake with a cookie-crumb bottom. Later that evening space is created for the weekly jazz session, held every Saturday. The room is starting to fill up while we wait for the musicians to appear. Fortunately, they have Estrella on tap and, as long as the old vinyl is still spinning on the turntable, we won’t be going home any time soon. • MS

unusuAl dutCh

lllllJazzbodega Est est est! Wagenstraat 144 tel. 070-7855686Main course prices: between € 16.50 and € 18.50Estrella beer: € 2.25

The Dutch loverFor those of you who might have fallen in love with a Dutch guy

or are in any other way romantically involved with one, here is

something you should know about the species, at least, if you

want to avoid Valentine’s Day disappointment. You didn’t get any

red roses? Not even a note or a card with a description about how

much he loves you (to the moon and back), how he wants to stay

with you forever and ever or – what were you expecting – a love

poem? What? Did he forget it was Valentine’s Day at all? Ahhh…

the Dutch man.

First of all, you should know that Valentine’s Day isn’t such a big

deal in the Netherlands. We copied a lame version of it from the

Americans, but most Dutch men and also a lot of women see it as

a crass, commercial tradition (though it’s possible some say this

to avoid disappointment). You almost hear how the Dutch guy

thinks: ‘Why is this rose 3 euro on Valentine’s Day, when I could

get it for 50 cents yesterday?’

Instead, he says your love isn’t about clichés like roses and love

poems. He says he loves you every day, and not just on the 14th

of February and he will show you by helping you fix your bike, by

replacing a broken light and by negotiating with you about where

to go out for dinner so he’s sure you’ll like the place, instead of

romantically reserving a table by surprise (possibly in the wrong

restaurant). That’s real love, right? • MS

image: Shutterstock.com

28 • H/LINK 21

PARTY SPOT > grotE MArkt I like Grote Markt a lot. The only dis-

advantage is that the pubs there close

at 2 o’clock. The atmosphere and the

people are really nice. It is not really a

party area but it’s a nice place to chill.

The feel of a lot of bars together is

cozy and the people are open-minded.

CLUB > Club 7

Club 7 is located on the Prinsegracht

and has an international night every

Tuesday. I go there a lot because I

also work there as a photographer.

This is more of a party spot for

dancing and such.

RESTAURANT > Est Est Est! Est est est! is a restaurant located

on Wagenstraat 144. What makes it

special is the regular live jazz perfor-

mances. The staff is friendly and the

vibe there is nice and Spanish. Plus,

of course, the food’s good.

RESTAURANT > ViP (VEry itAliAn PizzA) VIP is located on Kettingstraat 13 and

has all the Italian food you could hope

for. I like the atmosphere of VIP. And,

yeah, they have really good pizza.

They’re also quite cheap with pizzas

ranging in prices from 6 to 10 euros.

FESTIVAL > PArkPoP Parkpop is a free festival (one of the

largest in Europe) held every summer

in The Hague. This year is will be on

the 30th of June in the ‘Zuiderpark’.

The line-up hasn’t been announced yet

but the atmosphere is fantastic there

when the weather is good. Two years

ago, Jamie Cullum was my favorite act.

Melancholy in a cheerful packageAfter they were both dumped, Daniel Johansson and Joakim Sveningsson decided to take the energy they were putting into their relationships and channel it into music. Eight years and five albums later, they still haven’t let go of their melancholic heartbreak.

The greatest talent of Sweden’s Friska Viljor is the way they make music that manages to sound miserable and upbeat at the same time. They’ve

done it again with Remember Our Name. Tragic, English-language lyrics are combined with cheerful ukulele riffs and catchy melodies. Just like their previous albums, Remember Our Name has the duo working with a wide variety of different tools. Besides the more conventional instruments, they use the melodica – a keyboard flute – mandolins, banjos and different horns on this album, giving it a folky and sometimes even Mediterranean atmosphere.

While the vocals might take some getting used to, the familiar melodies and range of tempos make the album an easy listen. • Ivb

toP

5

After their spring break

‘banquet’ in the horror hit

Piranha 3D, the blood-

thirsty piranhas are now back for their next snack at the Big Wet

pool park, where a crowd of sexy twenty-somethings are getting

ready to party hard. But while they’re out looking for a good time,

booze and hot bods, these unsuspecting guys and girls find them-

selves up against an even bigger challenge: escaping the eager

jaws of the hungriest killer piranhas ever! With Christopher Lloyd

and Ving Rhames reprising their iconic roles and joined by ‘young

bloods’ David Hasselhoff, Gary Busey and Esquire Magazine’s

‘2011 Sexiest Woman Alive’ Katrina Bowden, Piranha 3DD

promises to be another great big bloody 3D bonanza.

special offer for readersLink is giving away three DVDs. For your chance to win, send an

email to link@hhs.nl, stating ‘Piranha 3DD’ in the subject line, be-

fore 8 March. Don’t forget to provide your contact details!

The winners will be notified on 11 March.

sPECiAl offEr

... by ugo Moruzzi

Ugo Moruzzi is a graduate of Architecture and Construction Engineering and the Chairman of the student association Inter-Access. He loves to party and meet new people. story Laura van Langen • image Mieke

barendse

lllllfriska Viljor - remem-ber our nameGenre: Indie, Rock, PopFriska Viljor will be perfor-ming at the Bitterzoet in Amsterdam on 28 February

Win a Piranha 3dd dVd!

22 H/LINK • 28

Every month in Link, one of the ‘Academy Teachers of the Year’ presents themself through a self-drawn picture. So how does this picture represents their way of teaching?

Self-image

‘I like talking about Lady Gaga’

Nice portrait!That’s me, drawn a little out of

proportion and with a tie on,

of course. I always wear a tie.

Around me are some of my fa-

vourite lines, like the fact that I

think a 5.5 is ‘uncool.’ Students

who aim for a 5.5 are going to

end up disappointed. ‘Dedica-

tion, not vacation’ is something

I expect from my students.

They have to want to read their

marketing books, even in the

weekend or on vacation. Lady

Gaga is an important part of my

marketing classes. That’s why

it says ‘Go Gaga!’ ‘Uggs are for

uglies’ is a reference to another

opinion of mine that I am happy

to share in class.

So you enjoy talking about things that are popular with students?Yes. That’s what I do. Students

find the material more interest-

ing if they can connect with

the example. Lady Gaga is an

excellent subject for modern

marketing success. By start-

ing with these types of topics,

you create an interactive

atmosphere, and that promotes

learning. I’m fairly relaxed

when it comes to rules as

students rarely step out of line.

Rules aren’t really necessary in

a class that works. I want the

messages to be thought provok-

ing and I want students to want

to come to class.

What attracted you to teaching?Nothing specific. I just sort of

rolled into it. I used to work in

marketing in the tourism indus-

try, in about forty countries. I

was asked once to give a guest

lecture and it turned out to be

a lot more fun than I expected.

I wouldn’t want to give up my

experiences as an international

marketing professional, though.

All those different places and

people have made a contribu-

tion to my profile. This gives

quite an advantage to a lec-

turer, not the least of which is a

very broad and varied vision on

the world of marketing.

How do you stay sharp as a teacher?I don’t really have to try to

stay sharp. That takes care of

itself as long as you’re always

looking around and listening.

I believe that lecturers have a

sixth sense about this. Every

morning I put my tie on with a

smile and can’t wait to get to

work. The Hague University

is a big school, but it never

feels too big. I like the contact I

have with colleagues and with

international students. Every

day I’m curious and hoping for

something exciting! •

lee HarrisLecturer at the Acadamy of European Studies and Communication Management (ESCM)

age ‘over 35’ Teaches Marketing Teaching since 1990in a few words curious, active, allergic to the word ‘no’ and optimistic

Lee Harris puts all his energy into showing his students the ropes in the world of marketing. His students laud him for his ability to liven up the toughest course material. story Simone krouwer • images Mieke barendse / Lee Harris

28 • H/LINK 23

Spotlight

delft blue by night

‘It’s fun to visit a museum at night for a change’, enthuses Industrial Design Engineering student Sieds Medemblik. On 16 January, he took part in ‘Night at the Museum’ at the Gemeentemuseum. story Lotte Hoes • image bas kijzers

As dusk fell, the museum opened its doors to admit all visitors free of charge. It also organised work-

shops and guided tours of various exhibits, such as Delftware Wonderware, presenting a collection of

Delftware pottery. Medemblik was particularly enthusiastic about the hours of the event: ‘Because of

school, I can only visit museums at the weekend, but I like the idea of just going with friends at the end

of an ordinary weekday!’ •

24 H/LINK • 28

sudoku

5

5 7 2 3 6 8

6 9 1 7

7 5 1 2

8 3 7

3 2 6

2

1 3 6

9 8 4

The Flip Side