Meet Remon Balster (21, student of Industrial Engineering and Management), and Clara Stegehuis (20, student of Applied Mathematics). This summer, they are the shooting stars of our University: They are selected into the Netherlands-Asia Honours Summer School, that aims to attract more Dutch talent onto the Chinese market. A 6-week Asia experience awaits them!
The summer school is organized by the Dutch government and Dutch businesses in China, and includes intensive courses, projects and company visits in Hong Kong and Shanghai. The group consists of 30 high-profile students from all Dutch universities. “We were selected by a committee from McKinsey, AkzoNobel, the University of Utrecht, University of Delft and the Social and Economic Council,” says Remon.
Remon and Clara are well prepared for their once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They will leave on June 24th, but already followed 3-day Master classes and trainings with the rest of the group. Clara: “We were informed about cultural specifics that we have to take into account. It made me very curious about how the classes will be in China, since they are not used to having discussions in class to the extent we do in The Netherlands.”
Remon expects to become more familiar with different habits as well: “Chinese are very patient, whereas we are more to-the-point. Personal connections and etiquette are more important to get things done. We can learn these things, but we do not deploy them by instinct. To tackle them correctly in negotiations directly influences the success of doing business in China.”
Both Clara and Remon had no special affiliation with China before. In that sense, the aim of creating more awareness for the country, worked. “There are many opportunities to enhance business relations,” Remon explains. “For example, around 700.000 technicians graduate in China every year, while we have a deficit in experts.” Next to that, Clara believes that there is a lot of interest amongst Dutch students to explore the Asian nation: “I have spoken with many people who also would have liked to join this summer school.”
The central question is of course if Clara and Remon are planning to work in China themselves. Clara: “First, I would like to go there and see for myself what the country is like.” Also Remon does not know yet, but is open towards it: “It depends on the type of job, but I am definitely willing to consider working there for a few years.”
Remon sums up: “In general I am very much looking forward to collaborating with the Chinese. We will be matched with Chinese ‘buddies’, so that we can experience the cultural similarities and differences up close. Clara and I both follow Dutch bachelors, so we are not used to that yet.”
Mariska Roersen
