Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo! Send out an open-ended question, wait two hours and watch as varying responses come flooding in your inbox. Many people at the UT seem to have much to say about the topic of internationalization, so much so ― all of the 21 responses would not fit neatly into the International pages (32-37) of the first published UT Nieuws monthly magazine. Although not in the print edition, scroll down to read golden nuggets of opinions, reflecting the growing pains of a university that is trying hard to be viewed as ‘international’ in the eyes of the world.
“Three of the Caribbean islands belonging to The Netherlands Antilles have recently become "villages" in the Kingdom of The Netherlands― at first sight, a minor extension, but an immense increase in precious aquatic biodiversity. So was the joining of ITC (an island at some distance from the campus) in becoming the sixth faculty. It provided a big boost to the international profile of UT. It is difficult to be more international than this faculty. Through the years, I joined students walking through the tea gardens of Assam and the game park border zones of Zimbabwe and Mozambique. I climbed some of the thousand hills in Rwanda and chaired exams at the KNUST University in Kumasi, Ghana, where I saw a huge amount of satellite images of Spain and Vietnam, showing how surface and plant reflection patterns translate into wheat and rice performance indicators. And above all, my colleague Profressor Skidmore and I saw one of our PhD students end up as the Minister of Agriculture in Burkina Faso. What more is there left to be desired?”
Professor of Sustainable Agriculture Eric Smaling, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation
‘The UT is a very international place – particularly at the student and PhD level – where people from various backgrounds work and life together. For a relatively small university, the UT has numerous active international student associations that do a great job on and off campus. I enjoy the UT policy that core documents and communications are in English – that makes participation in the “universitas”, the community of teachers and students – possible. This is a basis of strength for the UT that, however, needs to be fostered. Internationalization should not stop at AiOs, but should be consciously used for faculty development. International communication should not stop at the Web site but should, for example, also include that “hard-to-find-but-yet-so-important” document from the finance department. With a conscious mind aimed at creating an international “universitas”, I strongly believe that everyone truly enjoys the Dutch flavor that the UT is embedded in.’
Assistant Professor Rainer Harms, NIKOS Institute
‘The student body at the ITC Faculty is unusually international, both in number of nationalities (say >50 at any time) and proportion of foreign (>90%) versus European students. In contrast, the faculty, more so at the professorial level, is nearly exclusively of Dutch nationality and the male gender, the Dutch variety of the WASP. In visiting the USA or British universities, the number of, for example, Chinese and Indian professors strike me. The most remarkable omission in the ITC Faculty seems a professor from an African country, considering most ITC students originate from Africa. Nature or nurture?’
Dr. Hein van Gils, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation
‘The words of the famous Dutch theologian Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam seem apt: “I am a citizen of the world, known to all and to all a stranger.” The UT is indeed a citizen of the world. It is networked with the world’s best academic communities and looks for solutions to global problems. The academic and student bodies come from an increasingly diverse range of international contexts. This strong global engagement and variety in personnel is reflected very prominently at the Faculty for Geo-Information and Earth Observation Science. Staff and students come to engage, learn, and share ideas, before taking them into the wider world for practical application of their knowledge. In this way, the UT isnotto all a stranger and its alumni reside, work and are known across the globe.’
Rohan Bennett, Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation
‘The UT is already remarkably international. The ITC Facuty is an obvious example of a very international faculty, given its mission. If you look further, and particularly at the technical or beta faculties, at the graduate level the UT is strikingly international. For example, in my own group, more than 50% of all PhD and postdoctoral scholars are of international origin. This trend is probably the rule rather than the exception. In Applied Physics, five of the professors are of international origin.
The Netherlands has not generally been on the radar screen of international students, primarily because of issues to do with language. What many international students and expats do not realize is that the Netherlands is one of very few countries in continental Europe where you can easily lead your life in English, all the way from buying bread to negotiating the bureaucracy. All our Master's programs are offered in English, and indeed some of our bachelor education is moving in this direction. That said, the UT doesn't profile itself sufficiently well or actively to attract a broader group of international students, although we have a world class reputation in some areas, such as nanotechnology.’ Professor of Nanobiophics, Vinod Subramaniam, MIRA Institute
‘The UT may not be the most international university worldwide, but if I believe recent statistics from a US News & World Report, our university, with around 10% foreign students, does not score badly at all! Columbia, Princeton, Harvard and Yale Universities have similar percentages of foreign students, belonging to the top 25 list of universities that have international students in the US. I think this is not bad at all for a relative small, and not very well known European university that is housed in a place most foreigners cannot pronounce properly, let alone know where it is!
The number of international students has risen, even faster since a number of international Bachelor programs were introduced over the past few years. The international character of the UT is also reflected in the composition of its staff. In our faculty alone, there are colleagues from around 40 different nationalities.
By improving our international marketing activities, in combination with more exposure to international student fairs, press and online media will profile the university as a top quality research university and contribute to a boost in enrolment of foreign students. Moreover the proactive attitudes of UT faculties that offer English-speaking Masters and increasingly English-speaking Bachelors, in combination with reasonable tuition fees and a logical cost-of-living, will all contribute to making the UT an attractive destination for foreign students. This is not a small achievement, if we consider that until only a few years ago, the Netherlands was not considered as a logical destination for foreigners, in regards to BA and MSc studies. In the future, the composition of our foreign students will be more representative of the world “student market,” yet at the moment, the German students are somehow overrepresented at the UT.’
Assistant Professor Efthymios Constantinides, NIKOS Department, School of Management and Governance
‘The UT has a much better reputation outside the Netherlands than within. Whether it is for the Solar powered car race, Mesa+, CHEPS or NIKOS, the UT is known and admired. I never fail to get a positive response when in need of foreign partner-researchers to work with and I am also proud to say that our work and reputation regarding gender neutral job advertising, the fair promotion of women and the FFNT we are well known for in the NL, is also getting known abroad, positioning the UT as a 21st century university.’
Emeritus Professor Carla Millar, Ambassadors Network at the University of Twente
‘The question is an open-goal opportunity for many ITC staff, obviously, and I’d like to reflect on my 10-day mission to Rwanda. Essentially every week, one or more ITC staff members could write up a very similar account to the question you posed. My mission involved two components: the organization of a two-day workshop and the support of the PhD work from one of my students.
The workshop's topic was to identify the opportunities but also the obstacles for incubating a private sector in the area of spatial information in Rwanda. Among the 40 attendants, there were many Rwandans obviously, including the Minister of Natural Resources and the Registrar of the Land Centre. But there were many more countries represented: two people from Switzerland, representing a company in Kigali; one person from Spain/USA, representing the GIS market leader Esri Inca; a Seattle-based geo-entrepreneur, a representative from the Dutch embassy, and two staff members from the ITC.
The PhD work of Clarisse Kagoyire involves social networking with coffee farmers to inform them from a spatial perspective, and hopefully improving their information position which might allow for them to grow better coffee, and as a consequence, sell at better prices. Coffee is a global product, with many stakes and stakeholders, and a cash crop with strong economic importance for exporting countries. The Starbuck companies of this world want to know where to obtain the best product, and spatial models can tell us the whereabouts, if properly validated. Such validation requires farmer inputs, for example, ground truth, and this is where we hope the social networking comes to help full circle. Clarisse's work shows global connections which lead to an experimental platform, allowing for coffee farmers to share their information and receive good-practice advisories in return. The foreseen system has been given a name in Kinyarwanda: "Sakaza, Muhinzi," meaning "Farmer, disseminate!"
Associate Professor Rolf de By, Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation
‘The UT is not aware how international it is. One of its faculties, the ITC Faculty, is an established vibrant global community with a huge international network. It is all there to develop the UT further into a real global university!’
Liza Groenendijk, Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation
‘When it comes to property rights and administration of land, the UT is overwhelmingly international, for example, education and research at the land administration courses at ITC. Issues such as security of tenure, reliable real estate markets, fair land taxation, and full compensation after expropriation are taken for granted in our country: they exist as accepted institutions. How different is it elsewhere? By reading only daily newspapers, one observes how many people struggle for their land right, fight against forced eviction, lack opportunities for secured loans, and face land grabs by elites and multinational organizations. Indeed, UT finds itself at the centre of the global quest for good land governance.’
Professor Paul van der Molen and Professor Jaap Zevenbergen,Faculty of Geo-information Science and Earth Observation
‘Internationalization is a mind-set that cannot be formed overnight. I do see a gradual change in the School of Management and Governance, as it becomes more international. The number of foreign students and staff in my surrounding has increased in recent years. In my program – Bachelor International Business Administration – a semester is specially allocated for our students to study abroad. We are also encouraging students to secure internships in foreign firms. These positive developments are happening because of our appreciation of the changing world. Yet, we are by no means an internationally renowned entity. We have a long way to go: needing to polish up a bunch of things here. It is a pure coincidence if I’m outside the Netherlands that I will find someone who knows the UT. Although this has to do with the small size of my school; the world is after all a big place, and I do not reckon an immediate urge from my buddies to make ourselves more known internationally.’
Professor of Corporate Finance Rez Kabir, School of Management and Governance
‘Being a member of a research group with PhDs and Post-docs from 12 different nations, I am working in such an international atmosphere that is not comparable to any other universities in the world! Besides this fact, I also like the possibility provided to form international student associations. These facilities help to organize activities that students can express their cultures to others students and create a nice environment for those of the same culture, beginning on the very first days they arrive at the UT.’
Yakup Kilic, Chairperson of Turkish Student Association in Twente (TUSAT)
‘I travel a lot, and when I tell people I meet who come from various disciplines: “I am from the University of Twente.” Many times they say: “Oh, I know of Twente, they’re doing great things there.” So we’re visible through our work.’
Assistant Professor Shawn Donnelly, Department of Legal and Economic Governance Studies (LEGS)
