Autumn 2013
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EUR turns 100 Alumni make an impact Hello BRIC countries
erasmus alumni magazine
Consultant with a difference A day in the life of Dave Jongeneelen
RSM LEADERSHIP SUMMIT 2013!
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RSM LEADERSHIP SUMMIT 2013 FRIDAY 4 OCTOBER 2013 BEURS - WORLD TRADE CENTER ROTTERDAM
The event is moderated by Dutch TV journalist Twan Huys.
Celebrate the 5th RSM Leadership Summit with us. Sign up now at WWW.RSM.NL/SUMMIT
ROTTERDAM SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT ERASMUS UNIVERSITY
It is 2013
The EUR is 100 and we are celebrating: with special events and official ceremonies, an extra emphasis on our staff and students, and public lectures and receptions throughout the city. The University has also managed to attract a number of big international conferences to Rotterdam. Here are just a handful of the activities:
02 SEPT
Opening of the Academic
Year and the Erasmus
University College
03 SEPT
International Conference on
Operations Research
04 SEPT
European Workshop on
Econometrics and Health
Economics 05 SEPT
HeartBeat Festival
It’s their anniversary
2 SEPT: The University’s
20 SEPT Conference:
100 years: Erasmus University Rotterdam www.eur.nl/100 100 years: Erasmus School of Economics www.eur.nl/ese/100 100 years: Erasmus Trustfonds www.trustfonds.nl 100 years: Rotterdamsch Studenten Corps www.hetrsc.nl 100 years: University Library www.eur.nl/ub 50 years: Faculty of Social Sciences www.fsw50.nl 50 years: Erasmus School of Law www.eur.nl/esl 150 years: Sophia Children’s Hospital (Erasmus MC) www.erasmusmc.nl/ sophia150jaar 35 years: ESHCC/ Social History www.eur.nl/eshcc 55 years: IHS (Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies) www.ihs.nl
centennial year officially starts with a celebratory but formal academic service in the Laurenskerk with Jet Bussemaker, Minister of Education, Culture and Science. She will also open the Erasmus University College on the same day.
the Naked Consumer
27 SEPT
Han Entzinger: valedictory
lecture and symposium
27 SEPT
Discovery Festival
5 SEPT: A festival with music
and more to celebrate the reopening of the Woudestein campus centre. With the band Kensington and more. Alumni are also welcome. www.eur.nl/heartbeatfestival
Rotterdam 01 OCT
IHS 55 years old
04 OCT
FSW50 Children’s Zones
reception in Rotterdam-Zuid
04 OCT
RSM Leadership Summit:
reinventing the future
04 OCT
In Praise of Medicine: pain
08 OCT
61st anniversary of the ISS
10 OCT
Erasmus Entrepreneurship
Congress 07 NOV
8 NOV: The University’s actual
birthday and the climax of the centennial celebrations. An academic ceremony that includes a trip down memory lane, the Foundation Day Lecture, eight honorary degrees and musical accompaniment by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. This is followed by a reception and a dinner. 13 APRIL: Many students, staff
and alumni took part in the Erasmus Charity Run during the Rotterdam Marathon in April 2013. We are going for it again in 2014. The money raised will be donated by the Erasmus Education Funds to the Playing for Success scheme.
Workshop with philosopher
Philip Kitcher
08 NOV
100th anniversary
13 NOV
Sophia Children’s Hospital
150 years old: Anniversary
Conference 15 NOV
100 jaar ESE:
book presentation
22 NOV
ISAM knowledge event
22 NOV Symposium:
Europe’s greatest good
07 DEC
Gala in honour of the
anniversary of the
Rotterdams Studenten
Corps (RSC)
13 APRIL Erasmus Charity Run 17 MAY
RSC anniversary event/
former-members day
4 JULI
European Universities
Games
erasmusalumni. magazine 03
07
Foreword Autumn 2013
Dear Alumnus,
Pauline van der Meer Mohr, Chairman of the Executive Board of Erasmus University Rotterdam
Congratulations! Erasmus University Rotterdam is a hundred years old. You may be wondering why I am congratulating you. The reason is that the University is not so much an institute or an organization, but rather a community of students, alumni, scholars, staff and partners, and this is what makes it is a special year for us all. We are lucky that many alumni still feel connected to the EUR. Later on in the magazine you will read about how European Commissioner Neelie Kroes believes that her time at our university made her the person she is today. And about how she is still glad to help her alma mater. The same applies to Erik van den Emster, former chairman of the Council for the Judiciary and a member of EUR’s Supervisory Board. In this issue you can also read about how alumnus Dave Jongeneelen gets top executives to consider why their companies exist at all and what benefit they are to society. For us, as Erasmus University Rotterdam, the answer to this question is clear: we want to produce talent and knowledge that is relevant to the individual and society. In other words, we want to make an impact. That was already the case in 1913 when, on the initiative of the business community of the city and port of Rotterdam, the Nederlandsche Handels-Hoogeschool was established. The entrepreneurship of those days and the pragmatic approach to society are still in our genes. We are therefore not so much celebrating 100 years of the Erasmus University this year as 100 years of impact. Impact from our research but definitely also impact from the people the University helped to shape, who went on to use their talents, skills and knowledge to help society. That’s right; I am talking about you, dear alumnus.
06
I look forward to seeing you at one of the activities during the centennial celebrations. For an overview see www.eur.nl/100.
24
Pauline van der Meer Mohr You can follow me on Twitter: @PvdMM
Colophon The Erasmus Alumni Magazine/ EA is published by the Marketing & Communication Department of Erasmus University Rotterdam. EA is sent free of charge to alumni of the EUR who are registered in the Erasmus Alumni Database. Register via alumni@smc.eur. nl. If you have moved, please let the alumni office know alumni@ smc.eur.nl. The EA has a circulation of 36,000.
A Dutch and English PDF can be found on www.eur.nl/alumni.
alumni@smc.eur.nl www.eur.nl/alumni
Edition Volume 3, EA 7 September 2013
Managing Editor Carien van der Wal, Alumni & Corporate Relations Officer
The next edition of EA will be published in May 2014
Editors Wieneke Gunneweg, Editor-in-Chief Mieke Fiers, Desk Editor
Editorial Address EUR, SM&C dept PO Box 1738 3000 DR Rotterdam
04 erasmusalumni. magazine
Contributors Andrea Fitrianto, Ronald van den Heerik, Eveline van de Lagemaat,
René van Leeuwen, José Luijpen, Geert Maarse, Pauline van der Meer Mohr, Dennis Mijnheer, Sanne van der Most, Henk Schmidt, Jerom Surur, Hans van den Tillaart, Carien van der Wal, Sjoerd Wielenga, Levien Willemse, EUR faculties including Erasmus MC, IHS and ISS. Advertisements Carien van der Wal, Armin Firouzi, Wahdaty
Printing Van Deventer, ‘s-Gravenzande
Cover Levien Willemse
Design Unit 20: Yoe San Liem and Maud van Velthoven
Translation University of Groningen Language Centre
Editorial Advisory Board (RAC) The RAC comprises representatives of the EUR’s faculties and alumni associations and has an advisory role with regard to the production of EA.
© Erasmus University Rotterdam No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publishers.
Contents 06 Back to college 08 Erasmus (anniversary) news 11 From Rotterdam to Sudan 12 A day in the life of Dave Jongeneelen 18 Sharing knowledge 19 Column: Andrea Fitrianto 20 Focus on research 22 Historic science news 24 In the news 26 Impact of Erasmus University 31 Why Rotterdam? 32 Alumni affairs 37 Column: Henk Schmidt
12
39 Family portrait
31
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Back to college Steven de Cocq van Delwijnen: ‘The participants come from all over Europe. It takes some getting used to, but it does make it interesting.’
06 erasmusalumni. magazine
‘I end up doing the work at night’ Steven de Cocq van Delwijnen (42) is following the Executive MSc in Accounting & Financial Management at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM), a special programme for Deutsche Telekom. ‘It’s a real slog.’ text René van Leeuwen photo Ronald van den Heerik
Why did you decide to do this programme? ‘I am doing the programme through the company I used to work for: Deutsche Telekom. The programme started at the end of 2010, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to broaden my theoretical knowledge. I have since started my own company: Red Q-C. I deal with things like business development, cost savings and change management. The focus of this Master’s programme is finance, accounting in particular, which is really useful.’ Your own company? That’s a big step, right in the middle of the on-going economic crisis. ‘If you think like that, you’ll never be able to take a risk. It’s a bit nerve-wracking, I have to admit. But it’s going well. As
‘I’ve got my own business, my studies and not forgetting family time’
Fancy studying again? Different EUR faculties and institutes offer postgraduate teaching. See, for example, www.erasmusacademie.nl and www.erasmusmc.nl/ onderwijs.
well as working on assignments, I’m now in talks with a number of bigger parties about developing a product. Having your own company is different from working for someone else: you’re also responsible for finding clients, bookkeeping and so on. So it’s a very busy time, what with my studies and not forgetting time with the family.’ Do you actually have time for your studies? ‘It’s a real slog, but that’s always preferable to sitting around on your backside. I always intend to have the assignments for the programme ready in good time, but the reality often proves otherwise. I end up doing the work at night, and spend the weekends studying too. I’m currently working on
my thesis; I recently handed in my research proposal. I want to do research into client acceptance. How do you avoid payment problems, which variables have a role and what is your risk score? Those kinds of questions. Ideally I’ll do the work on this in my free time, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it ends up being last minute once again.’ The programme began in 2010. Are you still motivated? ‘Definitely. Mainly because the programme is very practical in nature. The thesis is a good example: my research fits in well with the product that we are developing. Applied science, in other words. We work with modules and assignments. There are four modules per year, and they each take four days. The participants come from all over Europe. It takes some getting used to, but it does make it interesting.’ Is studying now very different from when you were a student? ‘For this programme you are on your own a lot. There is a great deal of independent study. I graduated from Erasmus University in 1995 as an economist specializing in traffic and transport. I was quite disciplined in those days and would spend whole days in the University Library. That’s different now I have my own business and my family, but it’s no less fun. It keeps you on the ball; you keep training that brain, which is always a good thing.’ Author René van Leeuwen graduated from the EUR last autumn in Sociology of Work, Organization and Management. Ronald van den Heerik studied Philosophy at the EUR between 1979 and 1983.
erasmusalumni. magazine 07
Erasmus (anniversary) news
The student days of... Heinz Hermann Polzer (Drs. P)
His letter caused the Corps to close They are now in the spotlight, but what were they like in the lecture hall? Erasmus Alumni Magazine takes a look at the student days of famous EUR alumni. This time: writer, poet, composer, singer and man of letters Heinz Hermann Polzer, or Drs. P. The doctorandus in his stage name refers to his degree in Economics from Rotterdam. In a letter the now 93-year-old Polzer writes: ‘It may surprise you that I went to study in Rotterdam in 1939, at the Nederlandse Economische Hogeschool. As a matter of fact, the metropolis and proud port greatly appealed to me. I had read about them in books such as the notorious Naakte Waarheid (Naked Truth) by Alie Smeding. That was where I wanted to live. I rejected other options and places– Amsterdam: too self-satisFor the very young
Dolf en Ben Dolf and Ben were bo-som bud-dies. They got up to much mis-chief to-ge-ther. They entered oth-er peo-ple’s gar-dens and ate every-thing up. But Un-cle Sam, the pat-rol-man, be-came very cross. He picked up a big club and went to the vil-lage. And who was giv-en a good hi-ding? You can pro-ba-bly guess. See you next time for an-o-ther story. Bye bye! Aunt-ie Pol-lie.
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The RSC is collecting photos and stories The Rotterdamsch Studenten Corps will be a hundred on 11 December 2013, good reason for a book of photos and stories. The editors of this centennial book are asking former members to provide input. The book will be presented on 17 May 2014, the formermembers day and first day of the anniversary week. If you would like to contribute to the Centennial book, see www.heteeuwboek.nl
‘The article was published in our association’s magazine at an early stage of the occupation and was immediately discovered by the censors’ Heinz Hermann Polzer fied; Groningen: too far away, etcetera. I therefore had to do Economics, a subject that I had already developed a healthy dislike of at school. But Economics was a science, and you could hold your head up high as a student of Economics. And the city had a lot to offer. My fellow students and I got to know it like the back of our hands.’ Polzer later gained fame with songs such as Dodenrit (Troika hier, Troika daar), De Veerpont (Heen en weer), Het Trapportaal and Knolraap en lof, schorseneren en prei. Polzer was already a writer as a student, where he wrote, for example, for the magazine of the Rotterdamsch Studenten Corps student association, of which he was a member. During the occupation he
wrote a short article about Dolf and Ben (referring to Hitler and Mussolini) and Uncle Sam (US). ‘The article was published in our association’s magazine at an early stage of the occupation and was immediately discovered by the censors. De Graaf van Limburg Stirum (the editor-in-chief) and I spent a few months (six or was it eight? I cannot remember any more) in the prison at Scheveningen. In retrospect, I can count myself lucky that we were not sent to Buchenwald or another concentration camp. Scheveningen was not that bad. The governor, a German of course, wasn’t too bad, not a fanatical Nazi.’ The occupiers officially closed the Rotterdams Studenten Corps and its building after the article appeared for reasons of ‘Deutschfeindlichkeit’.
Erasmus (anniversary) news
EA calls...
John van Swieten John van Swieten, neurologist at the Erasmus MC and rower, is one of the initiators of Head First, a rowing benefit for Alzheimer’s research, which the Erasmus MC Vriendenfonds is organizing. Head First will take place on 21 September 2013. Why Alzheimer’s? ‘Erasmus MC has been researching the causes of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia for two decades already. A benefit is a good way to draw attention to the disease and to raise money for costly research.’ Why rowing? ‘I came up with the idea on the new Willem-Alexander Baan rowing course. It’s a fantastic course! Rowing as a sport doesn’t have an event that is linked to a charity, and Alzheimer’s doesn’t have a sport that can raise money for it. It’s win-win-win: for the sport, for Alzheimer’s research and for the Willem-Alexander Baan!’ Can anyone take part? ‘Definitely! Even non-rowers. They can go on the rowing machines, and there’s a rowing clinic in the afternoon. For the rowers there are races on the water. You can enter in a team of four, or as a solo rower.’ www.headfirstrace.nl
Celebrating
excellent students The Erasmus School of Economics is issuing a Dean’s List to celebrate its anniversary. The top five percent of first-year Bachelor’s students from cohort 20122013 will receive a ‘Centennial Card’, which will enable them to participate in exculsive activities. The Faculty of Law has had a Dean’s List for some time now.
AT THE TABLE WITH MATTHIJS - TV presenter Matthijs van Nieuwkerk welcomed several different alumni to his table at the ‘d’EUR draaien’ Alumni event on 8 June 2013. In the photo are entrepreneur Michiel Muller, founder of Route Mobiel, former Rector Magnificus and Professor of Internal Medicine Steven Lamberts, and Saskia Stuiveling, president of the Court of Audit. The day was organized by the Erasmus Alumni Association, several other alumni associations and the Erasmus Trustfonds, as part of the EUR’s Centennial celebrations. (photo: Michelle Muus)
Voluntary work as a gift to the city It’s the EUR’s birthday and it is the one giving a gift. Under the slogan ‘create a little impact’, the University is introducing community service on a large scale. Providing extra tuition, helping the elderly, ensuring that poor children receive Sinterklaas presents: any of these could be part of the EUR’s Gift to the City. The idea is that thousands of students, staff and alumni will do voluntary work for the city. The University is actively seeking volunteers, but on the assumption that they might need a push in the right direction, the University is offering rewards, such as recommendations on LinkedIn, concert tickets or a special workshop. Alumni can also volunteer, or make rewards or funds available. www.erasmus4rotterdam.nl
www.eur.nl/ese/100/deans_list
erasmusalumni. magazine 09
Erasmus (anniversary) news
‘May this establishment yield the expected rewards and allow Dutch commerce to flourish’.
Erasmus University Rotterdam will confer
Telegram from Queen Wilhelmina wishing the Hoogeschool luck at its opening,
one for each faculty.
EUR to confer eight honorary degrees
no fewer than eight honorary doctorates on its official anniversary on 8 November 2013:
8 November 1913.
Looking back on paper No fewer than five books are being published about the Centennial
1 9 13 - 2 0 13
ambitie identiteit
Van nederlandsche handels-hoogeschool tot erasmus uniVersiteit rotterdam
of Erasmus University Rotterdam and related organizations.
en
Ambitie en identiteit Van Nederlandsche Handels-Hoogeschool tot Erasmus Universiteit, 1913 – 2013. Edited by alumni Paul van de Laar (Professor of History in Rotterdam) and Matthijs Dicke (Stad+Bedrijf Research Bureau). Richly illustrated in two sections: a chronological-thematic section (emergence, development, expansion, relationship with the city) and a section focusing more on the people: the University in action, the staff. Can be ordered from webshop.eur.nl
Erasmus School of Economics: Prof. Steven D. Levitt, a creative economist in fields including crime, known for his book Freakonomics. Erasmus School of Law: Prof. Cass R. Sunstein, one of the founders of behavioural law and economics, held a top legal position at the White House. Faculty of Social Sciences: Prof. Craig J. Calhoun, an eminent sociologist who uses science to tackle issues of general public interest. Erasmus MC: Prof. Brian J. Druker, a clinical oncologist who was at the forefront of the development of a medicine to treat leukaemia. Faculty of Philosophy: Prof. Philip S. Kitcher, the most eminent, most esteemed and most celebrated philosopher since the 1970s.
Een onzalig plan, mijne heeren! Book to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the Erasmus Trustfonds, founder of the EUR’s predecessor. Hein Meijers (former editor-in-chief of Quod Novum) describes the turbulent history and role of the Erasmus Trustfonds over the years. Richly illustrated with plenty of ‘brief histories’. Can be ordered from www.trustfonds.nl
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Neelie – brave meisjes schrijven zelden geschiedenis Book about one of the most famous alumni of the Erasmus School of Economics: Neelie Kroes. Author Alies Pegtel describes when and how Kroes conformed to the zeitgeist and to what extent she set the course herself as a female pioneer. More information at www.eur.nl/ese/100 and www.uitgeverijboom.nl
100 jaar ESE A detailed history of the oldest faculty. The text is interspersed with revealing quotes and biographies. Will be published mid-November. www.eur.nl/ese/100
Het Eeuwboek A hundred years of the Rotterdams Studenten Corps in words and pictures. Will be published on 17 May 2014. www.heteeuwboek.nl
Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication: Prof. Arjun Appadurai, one of the most influential scholars in the field of historical anthropology and the anthropology of globalization. Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University: Prof. Don C. Hambrick, for his theories on the role of top managers. Institute of Social Studies: Prof. Robert Chambers, an influential scholar in the field of development studies, who always puts people, and especially the poor, at the forefront of his work.
From Rotterdam to South Sudan
Politics and planting trees
Jerome Gama Surur studied at Erasmus University’s International Institute of Social Studies. He is deputy governor of Eastern Equatoria State in the Republic of South Sudan. He kept a diary for Erasmus Alumni Magazine. Monday
Friday
The topic of cattle raiding is on today’s agenda. This is one of the most pressing challenges in our country. In these difficult economic times, many people unfortunately see no alternative than to steal and plunder. It is our job to take measures against this.
No meetings are planned for a Friday. My office is open for individual appointments. As a member of parliament it is my duty to be available for consultation, particularly with my voters. But it is usually members of other political parties that pop in.
After fifteen years of armed fighting, our country, South Sudan, gained its independence from the Republic of the Sudan on 9 July 2011. As the deputy governor of the Eastern Equatoria State, I am mandated to be responsible for the supervision, effective and efficient functioning of all the 14 State Ministries and five State Commissions. My diary is full of meetings with these bodies every week. Monday: the ministers. Tuesday: organizations representing the community such as women’s organizations, youth networks and religious organizations. Wednesday: the United Nations Mission in the Republic of South Sudan (UNMISS), UN representatives, international and national NGOs and the heads of the committees in my state.
Saturday
Thursday Thursday is the day that, together with the governor and the cabinet ministers, we reach difficult but important decisions. Today, for example, we decided that cafés serving alcohol will only be allowed to open after five o’clock on a Monday to Friday. And we have christened Friday and Saturday ‘cultivation days’, in a bid to promote food production and thus become less dependent and more self-sufficient. It is always a busy but interesting day, because the topics we discuss concern the wellbeing of our society. The decisions are usually about improvements that will make life safer for all of us.
Saturday is tree-planting day. I am one of the founders of the AFED, the Agroforestry and Environmental Development Association. Each Saturday is dedicated to developing the organization and planting trees. We plant teak trees, eucalyptus trees, acacias and different types of fruit tree. We have also set up a tree nursery that produces different seedlings that are available in exchange for a sum to cover the costs. We also propagate and distribute young banana trees and cuttings of cassava plants and sweet potatoes. It is good, rewarding work. I view working with trees as a combination of exercise and stress relief. It also provides extra job opportunities, particularly for young people and experts in the field of agroforestry, and we are also working on a better environment.
Sunday Sunday is a day of prayer and family time. We take things slowly, but effectively, so that we can recharge our spiritual and physical batteries once more for the new week. I sometimes go out with my family in search of a bit of peace. But I often end up discussing politics with other people. Politics is quite simply an essential part of my life. Jerome Gama Surur (South Sudan, 1945) studied Public Policy and Administration at the ISS in the period 1984-1985.
erasmusalumni. magazine 11
A day in the life of Dave Jongeneelen
Alumnus Dave Jongeneelen
McKinsey in trainers
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He takes managers to Africa and dines in the dark to take CEOs out of their comfort zone. A day in the life of Dave Jongeneelen, former student of business administration and founder of Better Future. ‘People want to create something special’. text Geert Maarse photo Levien Willemse
As a student Dave Jongeneelen did an exchange in Boston. (photo: private collection)
CV Dave Jongeneelen 1972 Born in Stramproy 1990-1996 Business Administration at the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University 1994-1996 Japanese Studies in Rotterdam 1995 MBA in Canada (McGill University) 1996 Thesis in South Africa 1997-2003 Consultant at the Hay Group 2001 Holiday in Gambia 2003 Founded Better Future 2003-2013 Leadership programmes in more than 30 countries 2013 Launch of Buzz, a travelling training centre for female entrepreneurs in India.
Some mornings Dave Jongeneelen wakes in the spare bed of a family in Tanzania. Or – equally likely – in a loft in Bangalore or a hostel in Ecuador. With his company Better Future Jongeneelen organizes leadership programmes and strategy sessions. But instead of shutting the Dutch managers up in a classroom with a whiteboard and some team-building games for a weekend, he takes them to a school in Africa or a micro-credit project in India. It is about taking people out of their comfort zone. Making connections. Feeling. Ten years after its launch the company now has an office in New York and a branch in India, where Better Future buses travel round training female entrepreneurs. They are also working on expanding to Scandinavia. He now travels less than in the early years, when four or five months abroad were no exception. The most important reasons for this are his two small children. So today, on the day we shadow him, he does not wake up on the other side of the world but at the edge of the Utrechtse Heuvelrug, in Driebergen.
6.15 a.m. Jongeneelen gets up, somewhat earlier than usual. He has a breakfast meeting at 8:30 but first goes to the gym from 7.00 to 8.00. His son Jander (almost three) goes to day care. Girlfriend Wieke – or fiancée as he can now say – works from home as a coach. She will look after baby daughter Emme today (not yet one).
erasmusalumni. magazine 13
A day in the life of Dave Jongeneelen
8.32 a.m. A breakfast meeting in Oud-Londen Hotel, a stone’s throw from Better Future’s head office in the woods. Jongeneelen is meeting one of the other tenants of the complex that houses his company. Ex’tent, the green investment company of entrepreneur Eckart Wintzen, who died in 2008, is vacating the building next month. Jongeneelen’s company will then become the main tenant. Agreements about catering, cleaning and other practical matters need to be reached. Then it is off to the office.
want to know what we can do to help our people develop, as manager, as a leader?”It was the germ of what is now Better Future. ‘Two-way traffic. Not telling them what they should be doing in Africa, but learning from each other. Dutch managers and African entrepreneurs. The programmes are one or two weeks; our people sleep at locals’ houses and work on real-life cases. The first time we did it half of the village accompanied us to the airport at the end. Pickup trucks full of people, arm in arm with the Dutch. Extremely intense. I resigned from my job immediately.’
‘That human warmth, that joy – that’s what’s missing here’.
12.28 p.m. Lunch in the joint kitchen. As regards its interior, the complex can best be described as a cross between a spa, a paintball club and a South-African lodge (‘when people come in, you can see them thinking: “wow!”’). There are offices, meeting rooms and attics, and each seems to have a different theme. Unintentionally, by the way: it is more a consequence of all the different companies that work here. The kitchen is a bit like a barn, including the bales of hay and huge doors. Groups regularly dine in the dark here – ‘only then do people really connect’. Everyone in the building joins in the meal. Today there are about 15 of us, half of whom work for Jongeneelen’s company, including guests.
1.20 p.m. 9.46 a.m.
10.37 a.m.
‘It started with a holiday’, says Jongeneelen as we enter the hall of the office, passing shelves lined with wellie boots. ‘Last minute, from an advert in my grandma’s paper. Gambia, I didn’t even know where it was exactly. I was working as a consultant for Hay Group. It was the week before 11 September 2011. I had taken a suitcase full of clothes from home – my parents had a clothes shop – to give to people. After a few days on the beach we ended up at a local development project. The first thing they said was: “you just have to meet our director”.’ You can tell that he has told the story many a time already, but his eyes light up as he thinks about it again. What enthusiasm, what energy. ‘If you’re going to see the strength of people anywhere, it has to be there. If an African sees his colleague again after a night’s sleep, they greet each other as if they haven’t seen each other for ten years. That human warmth, that joy – that’s what’s missing here.’ ‘We were invited to the opening of a school the next morning. There was me in my shorts, whereas the rest of the people all had their best outfits on. For the rest of the week we only saw more projects. At the end of the holiday the Gambian director said: “we don’t need money, but we
Jongeneelen stands in the reception hall (an old gymnasium with terracotta walls and a painting by Anton Heyboer that is a few meters tall) to discuss his diary for today. Jaikumar Chandrashekar, the Better Future man in India, was supposed to be arriving today but has had some hassle with his visa. Another meeting has also been cancelled. Oh yes, and Jongeneelen has to pop home this afternoon too, because Wieke needs the car.
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11.14 a.m. Meeting with the HRM manager of FMO, a development bank that is hiring Better Future for a leadership programme. We are in what used to be Eckart Wintzen’s office (‘You can feel the energy here’). They discuss harvest sessions, first journeys, learning lodges and feedback sessions. The leather chairs creak, an African shield is hanging over the mantelpiece and on the table is a sweet jar containing rolled up pieces of paper: ‘catchwords’ and ‘answers’. Jongeneelen spoons the thick foam of his cappuccino into his mouth. Outside is a sea of green. It feels as though we are miles away from the inhabited world.
‘What we do is obviously a bit odd’, Jongeneelen says in the car on the way to his house. ‘Most consultants are aiming to maximize a company’s results. We tell them they might have to downsize.’ He lists some clients who sought salvation with Better Future last year: Zwitserleven, whose financial products had become so complicated that even the executives could not understood them. Snack producer Royaan, the company behind Kwekkeboom and Van Dobben, whose financial director was unsure whether he would actually serve the snacks to his children. Companies that were becoming alienated from the world around them; managers who felt they could no longer carry on. Thick reports don’t help you at all then, he says. You need to talk. Whilst out and about. ‘I truly believe that clients are better off with us than with McKinsey. It’s very easy to talk about “our” strategy, about where “we” are going. But you can’t change the world from a training room. We want to confront people. We ask questions like: what has really made you the person you are? Which moments did you learn from most? Then people hear stories from their colleagues that they had never heard before. And then the fundamental question: why does this company exist at all?’
Brainstorming with Coen Koomen, one of the regular trainers, during a walk in the woods: Jongeneelen tries to do this once a day anyway.
Wellies in the hall of the office, which is in the middle of the woods.
Lunchtime. Everyone in the building joins in the meal. Groups also regularly dine in the dark here – ‘only then do people really connect’.
When Jongeneelen pops home in the afternoon, daughter Emme has just woken up.
erasmusalumni. magazine 15
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Het Rendement van Geluk De eerste leergang in Nederland voor bestuurders van organisaties die van geluk een reëel doel (willen) maken: meetbaar, inspirerend en renderend. Veel leiders voelen intuïtief aan dat het anders kan en moet. In dit programma krijgen deelnemers tijdens 7 modules inzicht op welke wijze dat mogelijk is. Academici en professionals uit de praktijk onderbouwen de gangbare ‘gut feelings’ en gaan in op thema’s als belonen en leiderschap, maar ook structuur en strategie. Feiten worden gescheiden van de mythes, het mogelijke van het utopische. De leergang staat onder leiding van drs. Maurits Bruel (auteur van De Geluksfabriek) en ‘geluksprofessor’ prof.dr. Ruut Veenhoven. Het programma start op 25 september 2013. Program Director drs. Maurits Bruel: bruel@ese.eur.nl of 010 - 408 29 80
Het Brein in de Boardroom ‘Het Brein in de Boardroom’ geeft inzicht in de invloed van het brein en de onbewuste processen op ons gedrag. We denken wel dat rationaliteit en bewuste strategische keuzes de basis zijn van het denken en handelen binnen de boardroom, maar wetenschappelijk onderzoek toont steeds vaker aan dat onbewuste drijfveren de besluiten bepalen. Deze leergang opent nieuwe wijzen van kijken naar uw eigen keuzes en die van anderen. Niet alleen neurowetenschappers komen aan het woord, maar ook psychologen, filosofen, theologen en economen geven hun visie op de macht van het brein. Het programma (6 modules) start september 2013. Scientific Director prof.dr. Frans van der Meché: esaa-hetbrein@ese.eur.nl of 010 - 408 29 80
Boardroom Dynamiek & Boardroom Evaluaties Deze tweedaagse masterclass is ontwikkeld voor ervaren bestuurders die hun eigen effectiviteit en die van de board als geheel willen versterken. Aan bod komen internationale cases, de laatste inzichten op het gebied van board dynamics en evaluatiemethodieken. Deelnemers maken de meest recente, internationale Board Dynamic Test en krijgen inzicht in hun persoonlijke boardroom stijl. Zij zijn werkzaam op het niveau van directie, raad van bestuur, raad van toezicht of raad van commissarissen. De volgende masterclass vindt plaats op 7 en 8 november 2013. Scientific Director prof.dr. Fred van Eenennaam: vaneenennaam@ese.eur.nl of 010 - 408 29 80
The New CFO The New CFO voor de financiële manager richt zich op de kennisontwikkeling op financieel gebied en dilemma’s en actuele thema’s die zich in de bestuurskamer afspelen en daarbuiten. Met topsprekers uit de wetenschap en ‘thought leaders’ uit de internationale praktijk wordt de discussie aangegaan. Met bekende en gerenommeerde personen uit het bedrijfsleven als ‘fireside guest’ worden specifieke thema’s uitgediept. De meest actuele cases en inzichten van Harvard, Wharton, Insead en London Business School en Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam worden in de sessie besproken en bediscussieerd. U kunt flexibel deelnemen. Voor de gehele leergang ontvangt u 60 PE uren. Executive Director prof.dr. Bert de Groot: edegroot@ese.eur.nl of 010 - 408 13 02
Financiële Vraagstukken voor Commissarissen en Toezichthouders Voor commissarissen en toezichthouders met een niet-financiële achtergrond, zoals juristen, HR, IT en medici, is het niet eenvoudig goed grip te krijgen op de wereld achter de cijfers - met alle consequenties van dien. U gaat in een kleine groep actief aan de slag en leert de samenhang tussen financiën, strategie en bedrijfsprocessen beter te doorgronden. Na deze driedaagse Masterclass bent u, ook als niet-financieel specialist, beter in staat effectief toezicht te houden op de financiële positie van de onderneming. Data van de Masterclass zijn 24 september, 8 oktober en 5 november 2013. Program Manager drs. Josien van Cappelle: vancappelle@ese.eur.nl of 010 - 408 26 81 Uitgebreide informatie over de executive programs kunt u vinden op onze website: www.esaa.nl.
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ESAA is een onderdeel van de Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
Dag mee met Dave Jongeneelen
He dismisses the idea that some companies are only there to make money. ‘You can call me naive, but I don’t believe it. If you as a supermarket only sell me things that are bad for me, it will come to an end at some point. And don’t forget the employees. No one goes to work in the morning wanting to screw things up for everyone else. People want to create something special.’
1.45 p.m. A quick visit home. A cuddle with his daughter, whose hair is sticking up after her afternoon nap. He smiles proudly and is obviously putting off going back to the office.
2.56 p.m. A black Porsche drives up the gravel path.
3.06 p.m. Meeting with Casper den Daas from Fresh Forward, the creative marketing consultancy that Better Future collaborates with a lot. A European clothing firm wants to change its strategy. Jongeneelen has an empty notebook in front of him. A jug of water is on the table. On the wall behind him a sort of spider’s web has been drawn containing phrases such as ‘going on a journey’, ‘deeper dialogue’ and ‘confrontation with the truth’. The analysis is sharp. Jongeneel-
‘No one goes to work in the morning wanting to screw things up for everyone else’ 2.08 p.m. Brainstorming with Coen Koomen, one of the regular trainers, during a walk in the woods – Jongeneelen tries to do this once a day anyway – with a bottle of organic elderberry juice. On the agenda: a potential client from the banking sector that has already been ‘pumped full of leadership programmes’. Talking of inspiration: birdsong and the scent of wet leaves. We pass a school camp, two women having a smoke, the bike path from Woudenberg to Zeist, a patch of heather and two lads who are setting up a treasure hunt. They talk about a lack of courage. How you can do things differently. Transitions. The word ‘feeling’ crops up a lot. Halfway through Jongeneelen points to a clearing in the woods and smiles: ‘We were recently sitting there with the top of Ernst & Young. You could hear a pair of walkers say to each other: isn’t that Balkenende?’
reborn. But then you haven’t changed the culture of an organization. We now provide ways to change the whole organization.’
en says: ‘What about if we replace sustainability with quality of life? I think that at a certain point it will become a given that you show your client you care about your environment.’ Den Daas says: ‘We’re going to help them discover who they are.’
4.14 p.m. ‘When I was studying business administration there was little interest in these kinds of subjects. There were perhaps a few people in the Faculty who focused on corporate social responsibility. It was about the head and not the heart. It’s amazing if you think about it. Today the first thing we say is get rid of the CSR department. Sustainability must be integral to who you are. It isn’t something you do on the side.’ ‘Our approach has changed somewhat over the last ten years’, says Jongeneelen. ‘Our impact used to be very big in terms of the individual. Then you’d see a manager return from the jungle
5.15 p.m. Home and a game of football with Jander. Then it’s teatime.
7.31 p.m. The children go to bed and Wieke to yoga.
8.15 p.m. ‘I don’t work the extremely long hours most consultants do. I never have done. I sometimes work into the evening and when I’m travelling – about six times a year now – I work from early in the morning to late at night. But Fridays and the weekend are for the children.’ ‘Last week I spoke to Herman Wijffels for an hour. He said that in many cases the internal logic of companies has taken over from their social purpose. A bank is there to provide entrepreneurs with credit. A clothes manufacturer must make clothes in which people feel good. We at Better Future are there to help companies find their way.’ ‘We don’t have any shareholders looking over our shoulders. For us it’s about a more sustainable world. It’s about knowing that if you walk into a shop in a few years’ time you’ll see some kind of result. It’s about buying other croquettes than you did a year ago. That’s fantastic. It isn’t training for the sake of training. For me it’s about the impact.’ Geert Maarse studied Business Administration (2006) and General Cultural Sciences (2008) and did a Master’s degree in Media and Journalism (2009) at the EUR. Levien Willemse studied Social History at the EUR between 1981 and 1989.
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Alumni share knowledge
Setting up shop in one of the BRIC countries Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRIC countries) are booming. Investment bank Goldman Sachs expects them to have become the four dominant economic powers in the world by 2050. We therefore asked entrepreneurial EUR alumni: How do you make the leap to the BRIC countries and what are the biggest pitfalls? text Dennis Mijnheer Illustration Hans van de Tillaart
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Business Economics and Philosophy alumnus Tjaco Walvis is the co-owner of They advertising agency. Location: Delhi, India. ‘In India you have to be in it for the long term. My experience is that you need a liquidity buffer of three years if you want to set up shop here. The difference in working ethic is striking: whilst we were visiting our Indian clients they worked very hard, but as soon as we were back in the Netherlands the work stopped. If you want to start a business in India, you will need to station someone there full time in order to supervise the Indian staff and solve the everyday problems. If you don’t, you’re almost guaranteed to fail. You need a few years to learn about how the market works exactly, to get to know clients, to understand the completely different business culture and to be able to put together a good team. Many processes are vague and cash flow is
a problem for many businesses. Invoices are often paid late. Contracts carry a lot less weight here than in the Netherlands, and if you have a commercial disagreement it’s complicated to take it to court. In India it’s all about trust.’
Business Administration alumnus Walter van Dijk is the co-owner of G-Nius Russia and LowLands Accounting. Location: Moscow, Russia. ‘After the fall of the Soviet Union Russia underwent a growth spurt and although it too was hit by the crisis, the economy is now growing again by about four percent per year. The growth is strongly linked to oil and gas revenues. The economy remains one-sided, but there is a lot of capital available for investment projects. Russia is a tricky country, though. For Dutch entrepreneurs who want to take the step, it is advisable to involve someone with experience. It is difficult to obtain permits and corruption is rife.
Column Andrea Fitrianto
Another big problem is finding Russian staff who are used to working for a foreign country. Russians don’t tend to take the initiative. In many Russian companies it’s usual for the boss to micromanage everyone. However, Russians are very keen to learn, and many now have an MBA. Lots of young people go abroad to study or do a placement as well. Russians are very good clients, and they are prepared to pay for quality. Furthermore, it is not unusual in Russia for customers to pay the full price in advance. They are used to payment before delivery.’
Milton Rivera Manga, Economics alumnus is a self-employed consultant and coach. Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil ‘It’s complex to start up a new business in Brazil. You come up against fiscal structures that are both illogical and difficult. It’s relatively easy to set up a one-man business, because there are separate laws governing this. In 90 days you will have all the papers you need to get started. But if you want to set up a medium-sized business, it often takes a year before the paperwork is in order.
‘Contracts carry a lot less weight here than in the Netherlands’ I would recommend finding a local partner. Dutch entrepreneurs will have to get used to how the people communicate. Brazilians always want to be nice, but this makes it difficult for them to tell you bad news: for example, they don’t find it easy to say no to a quote. They don’t respond, and this is a sign that they’re not interested. The Dutch manner of communication is more direct and simpler. It’s not very difficult for foreign companies to find new clients: the economy is growing and they definitely don’t close ranks on foreign companies.’
Three of a kind My year at Erasmus University’s Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) was a valuable experience. The lectures were mainly attended by students from the southern hemisphere with only a few students from the north. I joined the student rowing club to become more familiar with Dutch culture. I discovered that there are two types of rower: rowers who train every morning and are on a special diet to keep them fit and rowers who mainly row for the social side of things. I belonged to the second group. Rowing is an excellent exercise in teamwork. And it’s a very special way to enjoy a bit of nature. After my studies at the IHS I continued to work in the field of urban development and post disaster interventions. In that environment nature sometimes seems a long way away. I’ve always been a bit envious of botanists and conservationists. Not that I’m complaining: I feel lucky to have been able to spend the last eight years travelling from city to city providing technical support to poor communities, where, incidentally, I often bump into other IHS graduates. My career recently underwent a development of which I could only have dreamed. Two years ago I was working in Davao City in the Philippines on a community project to improve a slum. The women in the community were setting money aside to fund the first modern bridge in the country. The bridge was made of bamboo. That’s right: bamboo! Since then I have started working with the urban poor to build reliable constructions from bamboo. It’s a combination of three elements: the city, the community and nature. We don’t just build structures: we build communities. And working with bamboo has brought me that bit closer to nature again. Three of a kind, it’s like a revelation. Andrea Fitrianto (1976) is an Indonesian architect who works with communities on projects to help them to rebuild cities after disasters. He studied at the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS) in 2007-2008.
Dennis Mijnheer studied Business Administration at the EUR. He graduated in Marketing Management in 2003.
erasmusalumni. magazine 19
Research in focus ERGO The Erasmus Rotterdam Gezondheid Onderzoek (ERGO), known internationally as The Rotterdam Study, is a long-term population study of 15,000 people aged 45 and older in the Rotterdam borough of Ommoord. The research by the Erasmus MC aims to found out more about the development and progression of diseases in the elderly.
COMBINING DATA
HEARING Medical physicist and audiologist André Goedegebure is coordinating the hearing research within ERGO. The research participants undergo a hearing and a speech test. They also undergo a balance test. Goedegebure: ‘This entails giving them a pair of glasses. We then move their heads and follow how their eye movements respond to this. It tells us something about their balance.’
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Is dementia related to impaired hearing? If you want to answer such a question, you will need to have data about hearing and brain development in one and the same group. This is what is happening with ERGO. The participants undergo a whole bunch of tests, examinations and scans. And the tests are all repeated four years later. ‘Data is being collected from different fields and that is the great strength of ERGO’, says André Goedegebure. ‘What is more, the data is very precise and on a large scale.’
HEART DISEASE What is the risk of someone with no symptoms developing heart disease in the next ten years? Researcher Maryam Kavousi is trying to answer this question, and is using the ERGO data for this. What are the predictors? And what is the difference between men and women? ‘Heart disease occurs about ten years later in women than in men. For a woman the risk of dying from heart disease is comparable with the risk for a man who is ten years her junior.’ ERGO is ideal for Kavousi’s research. ‘If you want to find predictors, you need data from a longer period, and from many people. Furthermore, there is a lot of detailed information in the ERGO data, which is what makes ERGO unique.’
DEMENTIA GENES Hieab Adams has just begun his PhD research. He is researching the causes of neurological diseases in the elderly such as Alzheimer’s, strokes and Parkinson’s by studying the genes and MRI images of the brain. ‘We know that some genes cause such diseases, but we do not know how. If we knew this, it might help us find ways to prevent them,’ says Adams. The data from people with, for example, a genetically increased risk of dementia but who have not yet developed the disease is particularly interesting. ‘Do we then already see changes in the brain? Where exactly? And what does this mean?’
text Mieke Fiers photography Ronald van den Heerik
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Wetenschapsnieuws Historic science news
Highlights from a hundred years of science news from the EUR. 1999
Democratic triangle
1969
Nobel Prize for Economics
Cultural sociologist Anton Zijderveld’s democratic triangle (published in 1999) illustrates the relationship between market, state and civil society. What stands out is the important role he ascribed to civil society and its organizations such as associations, cultural groups and unions. Zijderveld was awarded a second PhD in 2006, this time in Philosophy.
In 1969 econometrician Jan Tinbergen was the first Dutch person to win the Nobel Prize for Economics. He was awarded it for his ground-breaking work in developing econometric models with mathematical comparisons. He shared the prize with the Norwegian Ragnar Frisch.
2003
SARS virus unmasked In 2003 virologist Ab Osterhaus played an important part in the identification of the SARS virus that causes the SARS respiratory disease. A year later his Erasmus MC team found that an existing medicine helps fight the SARS virus. Osterhaus, ‘Mr Virus’, works for the World Health Organization and sits on a number of different committees that aim to prevent infectious diseases in people and animals.
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1968
First prenatal diagnosis
Hans Galjaard, Professor in Cell Biology at the Erasmus MC, made the first prenatal diagnosis in the Netherlands in 1968. He came up with the idea of using ultra-chemical techniques on cultured amniotic fluid cells. This made it possible to determine diseases or defects in unborn babies..
1983
Basis of the current healthcare system In an article for Economisch Statistische Berichten in 1983 Wynand van de Ven, a professor at iBMG, set out the contours of a general health insurance act: health insurers would use supplementary insurance to compete. It forms the basis of today’s healthcare system, which was introduced in 2006. In their
1958
2005 2008
Cleverest timetable
NS, the Dutch railway company won the Franz Edelman Award in 2008 for its ‘clever timetable’. The prestigious prize was partly thanks to the work of Rotterdam academics who had already been working with the NS for years on making optimal use of staff, material and track. This takes some effort, because the rail network is one of the busiest networks in the world. The collaboration is still intensive, with EUR academics who also work for the NS and ‘NS PhD students’.
Biodegradable stents In 2005 thirty heart patients received stents that could be broken down by the body itself. Until then these thin coils that keep narrowed arteries open had been made of metal. Intervention cardiologist Patrick Serruys – also known as the ‘father of the stent’ – was involved in the whole development of the stent and has continually worked on its improvement from the first stents at the beginning of the 1980s, to coating them with drugs, to using biodegradable material.
New York Convention
The New York Convention was signed on 10 June 1958 in response to the growth in world trade. It regulated the recognition and enforcement of arbitration between the signatory states. Legal scholar Piet Sanders helped draft the treaty. Sanders was appointed professor in civil law and the basic principles of civil proceedings, trade law and bankruptcy law and international private law a year later. He continued to research arbitration in an international context and helped draft the influential Uncitral Arbitration Rules of the United Nations. He is also the spiritual father of the European public limited company.
1984
Measuring happiness
Sociologist Ruut Veenhoven was awarded his PhD in 1984 in Rotterdam for research into happiness. He was one of the first scholars to focus on measuring and comparing contentment.
Twenty Concerns about the Future HealthCare System in 2002 Van de Ven and his colleague Erik Schut made some changes to the policy. Many of their proposals were adopted.
With his thesis Veenhoven laid the foundations for the World Database of Happiness, which contains all research in the field of happiness. The database is growing: it currently contains some 3,600 studies with a multitude of results. In 2012 the database was rehoused in the EUR institute Erasmus Happiness Economics Research Organisation.
erasmusalumni. magazine 23
In the news
Ben Kempen was awarded Pieter van Zuuren sold lecture
the first diploma in ‘Business
notes and book summaries
Administration Sociology’
How are students doing who made the news in the past? This time four alumni, one from each 25 years of the EUR. text and photos Sanne van der Most
1935
1968
Pieter van Zuuren 99 years old, Nederlandse Economische Hogeschool
Ben Kempen 67 years old, Sociology
What were you up to in 1935? ‘I always dutifully attended lectures, but I was one of the few. I therefore made and sold lecture notes in order to fund my studies – book summaries too later on. A very lucrative business. It was a very special time. I was an active member of RSG. A fun association where I made a lot of good friends. I have fond memories of it.’
What were you up to in 1968? ‘I was doing the business administration specialization in sociology. It was brand new. I finished at the end of May 1968, but as I was the only one, I had to wait for the next group to graduate.’
What did you end up doing? ‘I became secretary of the association representing the interests of Rotterdam businesses that had been hit by the war. I later became a journalist and a consultant at the Safety Institute.’ How are things with you now? ‘I turn a hundred this year. Everything takes that bit longer to do, which is only to be expected. My wife died five years ago. That’s the downside of getting older. But I’m reasonably healthy. I have two children and they also have children.’
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How do you look back at your student days? ‘I had already completed a programme at the Sociale Academie and already had a job. I was therefore that bit older and that bit more serious. I did my degree in Rotterdam in the evenings, so I didn’t really have much of a student life then.’ What do you do now? ‘After my sociology degree I worked at the Nationale Woningraad housing association until I retired in 1995. I was also chair of the Economisch Instituut voor de Bouwnijverheid. Then I set up my own business, a consultancy for management issues and finance. That is what I still do.’
Heleen Mosselman ensured that the sports complex got
Meta van Ouwerkerk
a canteen
brought aid to Albania
1983
2007
Heleen Mosselman 53 years old, Dutch Law
Meta van Ouwerkerk 26 years old, Business Administration
What were you up to in 1983? ‘After playing sports on the campus everyone went to the cafés on the Oostzeedijk. Hans de Wilde – like me a member of the Sports Board – and I arranged for a canteen for us in the sports complex.’
What were you up to in 2007? ‘I was an active member of Stichting Mara, a student foundation that supports small-scale initiatives providing medical aid to Balkan countries. I and two other members of the Laurentius student association went with a transport to Albania to bring aid and set up a medical post.’
How do you look back at your student days? ‘A very relaxed time. I was studying law, but mainly spent my time playing volleyball and the piano. We didn’t have many lectures and I got through the work easily enough. My law degree taught me how to apply logical reasoning and critical thinking. People always recognize the lawyer in me, even though I have been doing something else for years. I could channel my love of organizing into the many volleyball tournaments.’ What do you do now? ‘After I graduated I went to work for the government, first as a lawyer and later in different managerial positions. I recently became a policy director at the Ministry of Defence.’
How do you look back at it? ‘I learnt to put things into perspective. People there have so very little. If on occasion I didn’t feel like exams or was fed up with something I just thought back to then and remembered how lucky we are here. My student days were amazing and great fun. I really got a lot out of them: studying in Brussels and Prague. Special experiences that give me that edge in job applications.’ What do you do now? ‘I’m a sales trainee at Unilever in Rotterdam. I’m working there as an account manager at the moment.’
Sanne van der Most studied Civil Law at the EUR. She graduated in 1999.
erasmusalumni. magazine 25
Erasmus University and the centennial year
lecture in 1913
A century of impact It is the EUR’s birthday. The theme of the centennial celebrations is ‘impact’: the impact of teaching and research; the impact on the city, society and the people themselves. Neelie Kroes: ‘I have a lot to thank my alma mater for. It is where I learnt to think.’ text Sjoerd Wielenga photos historical collection EUR photo archive illustration Lobke van Aar
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‘We understand that in Rotterdam a committee of 46 gentlemen has formed, which intends to establish a Nederlandsche Handels Hoogeschool here in the city’, wrote the Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad on 28 April 1913. The Nederlandsche Handels-Hogeschool (NHH) was the initiative of the well-known Rotterdam entrepreneurs Ruys, Mees and Van Stolk. Cities such as Leiden and Amsterdam had had a university for centuries already. ‘They looked at Rotterdam with some disdain, because the NHH provided a very practical education’, says Paul van de Laar, Professor of History of Rotterdam and himself EUR alumnus. The economics programme was the first in the Netherlands. Van de Laar: ‘The changing economy at the time created a need for better qualified people who understood new technology, organizational behaviour and economics. The vocational school was not enough. There was a need for an academic
basis. At the NHH students were not just given courses in economics but also in product knowledge, language, history, geography and technology. A really fun programme!’ When the Hogeschool opened, the Rotterdamsch Nieuwsblad wrote enthusiastically about an ‘important institute [that] will be the jewel in our city’s crown, a centre of higher intellectual life and the source of many valuable, new connections for our business community.’ The new Hogeschool was expected to have an impact on society. This was what the founders had in mind, and it is what the University still has in mind. The theme of the centennial celebrations is therefore ‘impact’: impact on science, society and people. Experimental education The NHH thus began in 1913 with an Economics
Building C in 1971
Parking lot in 1970
programme. In 1939 it changed its name to the Nederlandse Economische Hogeschool (NEH). Not until 1973 did the NEH merge with the Medical Faculty of Rotterdam, which was founded in 1966, to create today’s Erasmus University Rotterdam. The number of programmes and faculties has taken off since then. However, Van de Laar can list a number of things that are typical of the centenarian. Rotterdam, for example, has been known since its foundation for its experimental, new approach to programmes. This is true for the law, medical studies and history programmes, he says: ‘That is why I myself chose to study Social History here.’ A second constant in its history is that many Erasmus students do not live in Rotterdam. The NHH had many students who were studying in the evening or who travelled back and forth by train. ‘That is still the case’, says Van de Laar. ‘People have never wanted to study in Rotterdam for the city but for the
degree.’ Two alumni who do not fit that picture are Neelie Kroes and Erik van den Emster. Both lived and studied in Rotterdam. And both still have close ties with their university.
‘Other universities looked at Rotterdam with some disdain because the education had a very practical focus’ Learning to think Neelie Kroes began at the NEH as a seventeen-year-old in 1958 and would become ‘the most powerful woman in Europe’. She is on the centennial year’s Advisory Committee,
erasmusalumni. magazine 27
Erasmus University and the centennial year
M Exams in building
van J.A Ruys, C.A.P. rs of the NHH: Founding fathe es C. Me Stolk and mr. W.
in 2001
Opening building F in 198 5, with Minister Deetma n
which is only logical she thinks. ‘I have a lot to thank my alma mater for. If this is how I can help, it’s the least I can do.’ The NEH had a huge influence on her, she says. ‘It was there that I learnt to think. The programme was very downto-earth. You were taught not only to come up with economic theories but also practical applications.’ Kroes has benefitted greatly from this in her political career – her posts have included minister and European Commissioner, and she is now vice president of the European
Neelie Kroes: ‘Professor Kuiler helped fuel my love of Europe’ Commission. Her major in ‘International monetary relations’ taught her about the world of money, finance and logistics. Kroes: ‘In those days Professor Kuiler was already one of the great champions of a united Europe and logistics. It wasn’t taken very seriously at the time, but Kuiler was a visionary who helped work on what was really at stake. He helped fuel my love of Europe.’
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As president of the Rotterdamsche Vrouwelijke Studentenvereniging, an association for female students, Kroes had a good relationship with the faculty. ‘As we were a small association, we had extra contact with our professors. We could take part in discussions, organize conferences and also involve the professors in them. They were proud of what we achieved and liked to encourage us. It was clear to them that we girls were capable of getting a good degree and adding some depth to the association. And we could bridge the gap between the faculty and the students.’ Lubbers, Pronk and Ruding The student revolutions that took place in other student cities in the 1960s passed Rotterdam by, says Kroes. ‘There was simply not the climate for it. We felt that we could talk about the content of the lectures. We were given the opportunity to organize and discuss things. We didn’t have the urge to camp out on the pavement of the Pieter de Hoochweg and occupy the building.’ Neelie Kroes comes from the NEH generation of prominent figures such as Ruud Lubbers, Jan Pronk and Onno Ruding. She thinks it is a coincidence that these influential alumni all came from Rotterdam. ‘The generation of politicians that
in 1943 Reading room
Jan Tinberge n collects No bel prize in 1969
followed us often came from the VU University. But is interesting to see that a thorough and highly regarded programme such as in Rotterdam trained people who ended up in these posts.’ But why is it that she was the only woman in the group? ‘I decided to use my degree for activities away from the home. Other girls decided to work part-time or stay at home. I have never regretted the decisions I made. I would do the same again.’ Kroes thinks that women still do not hold a strong enough position in society. But much has changed since she took her seat in the lecture hall as a first-year student. The few female students at the NEH at that time had to sit in the front row, Kroes recalls. ‘I think the professors expected it. There were some advantages to it though. There was always room, and you could hang on every word that the professor said – depending on the professor. The rule was a given for me. It was no reason to mount the barricades.’ When Kroes – by then a member of the faculty’s academic staff – became engaged she was summoned to the president-curator of the NEH. Kroes: ‘That was almost equal to being invited to appear before God Himself. He said: ‘Congratulations on your engagement. I want to make an agreement with you. If you discover that you are pregnant, you will resign.’ I agreed. Imagine agreeing to that! In
retrospect it is hilarious. It was normal in those days – although even then some women would have told him where to go. But I was too much in awe of authority. Later on I stopped accepting the traditional roles, but that is a different story.’ Mistrust It was not much later, in 1969, that Erik van den Emster began his law degree. It proved a success: he was a judge for years and recently said goodbye as chair of the Council for the Judiciary. Rotterdam was not his first choice, he admits. ‘I wanted to become a judge even when I was still at secondary school. I actually wanted to study in Leiden – the programme there was the leading one at the time – but I lived in Rotterdam and my father refused to pay for a room in Leiden. The programme in Rotterdam was quite new and was looked at with mistrust by other cities. Erasmus University still had to prove itself. It has since succeeded.’ Van den Emster looks back fondly at his student days in Rotterdam. His main focus was his studies (‘I was a good boy’) and did not join a student association. This was also because he still had to do military service as well. He was in the first group of students who attended lectures in the new building on Woudestein campus. ‘Professor Ter Heide
erasmusalumni. magazine 29
Erasmus Universiteit en het lustrumjaar
Ron Fouchier: ‘I want to protect people from new flu outbreaks’ shut the curtains of the lecture hall to stop us being distracted’, he remembers with a smile. ‘We also worked in groups a lot. Writing papers together taught me a lot about working with others. The result is then better than the sum of its parts. I discovered later that the panel of judges in court also worked like this.’ Van den Emster majored in criminal and civil law. He also attended different optional courses, such as psychology and sociology. ‘They really helped me as a judge. In criminal law you deal with people’s psychological backgrounds.’ In his work as a judge Van den Emster regularly used what he had learnt
Erik van den Emster: ‘Erasmus University still had to prove itself’
For virologist Ron Fouchier, Impact, the theme of the EUR’s centennial celebrations, is not an empty word. In his research he focuses on those problems that really do have a great effect on society. Fouchier recently gained international fame when he and his team developed an infectious variant of the H5N1 bird-flu virus. Fouchier spent ten years working as an AIDs researcher in the United States before that, stopping ‘at the point when there were drugs to keep people alive’. He came to work at the Erasmus MC in 1998 and began research into flu viruses. ‘Flu, like HIV, is a serious problem. Each year half a million people die of it and ten percent of the population becomes ill. If there was a serious pandemic that resulted in people dying, every Dutch person would have to regularly attend funerals. That is why I work on flu and not on, let’s say, a random cold virus that has a lesser impact on the population. I want to protect people from new outbreaks. For me as a scientist public-health research is a calling. As we receive a lot of taxpayers’ money, it is also our responsibility to give something back to society. This is how we have a direct impact. It happens under great pressure and under the watching eyes of the whole world.’
on the law courses. ‘One of the professors taught us to look at criminal law in a different, unorthodox way. He said, for example, that he thought it was strange that most traffic fines were issued to people who run red lights when it’s much more dangerous to cut people up. However, you don’t get fined for that because it can’t be proven. Dangerous violations are therefore not pursued and less dangerous things are. He therefore taught me to look at the discipline in a different way and to put the law into perspective.’ Van den Emster is ‘back’ at the EUR in different ways: he is a member of the Advisory Boards of Erasmus University and the Erasmus MC. ‘I am very proud of the fact that I am on the Supervisory Board of Erasmus University. This is my own university, and I owe it a lot. Now I can give something back.’ Van Emster is also on the Advisory Board of the Rotterdam Legal Faculty Association, and was recently even made an honorary member. ‘If I look at the members of the Faculty, they are a lot more mature in their dealings with each other. When I was a student there were arguments between professors where emotions ran high. You don’t get that kind of squabbling any more. A spirited discussion is fine, but arguing is counterproductive. Luckily that is a thing of the past.’ Sjoerd Wielenga completed his Master’s degree in Media & Journalism at Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2007.
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Bio-terrorists This proved to be the case in 2011 and 2012 with the controversy about the H5N1 virus that Fouchier and his team were developing. They found that the bird-flu virus can spread through the air between mammals and therefore also potentially between people. The researchers discovered new mutations that were linked to this transmission of the virus. The American National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) wanted to prevent Fouchier from publishing about his discovery in a scientific journal. It was worried that bio-terrorists would use this sensitive information. A row developed and the then State Secretary Bleker even enforced an ‘export ban’ on Fouchier’s article. The research was delayed by a year, and was finally published in June 2012. Fouchier says: ‘The discussion about publishing had to take place at some point. It was just a shame that it was with regard to my research. It kept me from my normal work for a year. There were two discussions: do you have to do this work? And do you have to publish about it?’ Messi and Rihanna Due to the prestigious research Fouchier ended up in the Time 100: The World’s 100 Most Influential People. ‘As it is an American magazine, I was a bit worried that I would end up in the rogues’ gallery – next to the president of Syria, for example. Luckily, that wasn’t the case.’ He ended up between Messi and Rihanna. It doesn’t mean much to him, he says. Just because his research has had an impact doesn’t make him an influential person. And, he continues, it is about influence on politics and society rather than academic impact. But he is doing well in this area too: the research ended up in the scientific journals Nature and Science’s top lists for 2012.
Why Rotterdam
‘Whenever I can, I’m in my supporter’s kit at De Kuip’ ‘Stop talking, start doing’ is what Rotterdam is about. It is also what top ING executive Nick Jue is about. His favourite place: De Kuip. ‘All together around the pitch’. text Eveline van de Lagemaat photo Levien Willemse Name: Nick Jue (47) Degree: Business Administration Graduated: 1989 Proud of: Feyenoord and the De Kuip stadium
Nick Jue was born and bred in the Blijdorp district. His father had a clothes shop there and Nick helped in the business from a
young age. It is where he learnt to do his sums. He later studied business administration at the EUR. ‘I dreamt of buying failing businesses and making them turn a profit. It came from a sort of idealism, a feeling that I still recognize in my current work. I didn’t end up saving companies, nor did I take over my father’s clothes shop. He died when I was just starting my career. The shop no longer exists. My links with Rotterdam have remained, despite having lived in many other places. What is special is that when I make business contacts I always have the biggest click with people from Rotterdam. We share a feeling of the Dutch expression that translates as “just act normal – that is crazy enough”. A good reason to be in Rotterdam is ‘my’ club Feyenoord. Whenever I can I head to De Kuip with one or both of my daughters, who are 12 and 14, in full supporter’s kit (scarf and club shirt). And regardless of whether the boys do well or not, we always applaud at the end the game. And that in De Kuip! It’s a stadium where you still all sit together around the pitch. It gives you a feeling of togetherness.’
Eveline van de Lagemaat studied Social History at the EUR, specializing in communication and education.
erasmusalumni. magazine 31
Alumni Affairs
Erasmus University Rotterdam Corporate Relations & Alumni Team Room A1-51 Burgemeester Oudlaan 50 3062 PA Rotterdam Telephone 010-4081110 Fax 010-4089075 alumni@smc.eur.nl www.eur.nl/alumni Alumni Advisory Board Rinske Brand, Marcella Breedeveld, Michel Dutree, Jan Hendrik Egberts, Bon de Jonge van Ellemeet, Sietze Hepkema, Frans van Houten, Ila Kasem, Guus Lubsen, Derek Roos, Dominic Schrijer, Frans Weisglas, Henk Weltevreden, Pieter Zevenbergen (chair)
Opening of the Campus Heart Campus Woudestein has undergone a massive renovation and now has a special campus heart: a vibrant meeting place in the centre of the grounds. For a short while on Thursday 5 September instead of university grounds the campus will become festival grounds. A special afternoon and evening for staff and students, alumni, construction partners and the neighbours in Kralingen. 5 September, from 3.30 p.m., Campus Woudestein www.eur.nl/heartbeatfestival
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UL library card EUR alumni receive a discount on the university library card and pay €15 instead of €30. Request your UL library card by sending an e-mail to alumni@smc.eur.nl stating your surname, initials, address, date of birth and former student number. Alumni group on LinkedIn Find out about the centennial celebrations and developments at the EUR. LinkedIn: Erasmus University Rotterdam Alumni (official) group. Facebook: Erasmus University Rotterdam Alumni. Twitter: @erasmusalumni Erasmus Alumni Database Help keep our Erasmus Alumni Database (EAD) up-to-date by providing your current address. If you have lost your login details, please contact: alumni@smc.eur.nl, 010-4081110. Opening of the Academic Year Official start of the centennial year 2013–2014. Following the opening of the new Erasmus University College (former Onderwijsmuseum) the academic cortèges will travel to the Laurenskerk via the Binnenrotteplein. Monday 2 September 2013, 3.30 to about 5.00 p.m, followed by a reception, Laurenskerk Rotterdam www.eur.nl/opening 100th Anniversary On 8 November 2013 at 3.30 p.m. it will be exactly 100 years ago that the Nederlandsche HandelsHoogeschool opened. The
centennial will be celebrated with a trip down memory lane, the centennial lecture, eight honorary degrees and a lecture by economist and honorary doctor Steven Levitt, known for his book Freakonomics. Musical accompaniment by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra. Friday 8 November 2013, De Doelen Concert and Conference Centre, www.eur.nl/100 Language & Training Centre EUR (TTC) The TTC is the EUR’s expertise centre and partner when it comes to language tests and language and communication training. The TTC has a range of courses for students and staff. Alumni receive a discount on the language courses: in your first year after graduation you pay the student fee (50%), after that you receive a 10% discount. See www.eur.nl/ttc. First-year alumni can also register for our CV and cover letter workshop. Erasmus Sport www.erasmussport.nl Sport for alumni At the Erasmus Sports Centre on the campus you can try out 50 different sports at an attractive rate under the supervison of experienced instructors. Erasmus Sport also has 25 student sport associations that alumni can join. Special alumni offer In August we have opened the doors of our new state-of-theart fitness centre. We have a
special offer for alumni: purchase your annual membership before 1 October 2013 and pay the one-off centennial celebration deal of €149 including use of the gym. European Universities Games 2014 The centennial celebration will conclude in 2014 with the European Universities Games, the biggest multi-sport event for students in Europe. More than 2700 student athletes from 45 European countries will battle for the title in badminton, basketball, handball, tennis, futsal, football, rugby 7s, volleyball and table tennis. 24 July to 8 August 2014, around Woudestein Campus www.eugames2014.eu, info@eugames2014.eu, Twitter: @Eugames2014 #EUGames2014, facebook: com/eugames2014 SG Erasmus Kirstin Feberwee, Willem Scholten Room E1-36 Telephone 010-4081144/1394 www.eur.nl/sgerasmus SG Erasmus holds lectures, debates, courses, shows and events for students and alumni of the EUR.
Brown Bag Lecture: The Seven Secrets of a TEDWorthy Speech Lunch lecture by presentation expert Victor Vlam (Debatrix) who discovered the seven secrets of an enchanting speech during his campaign for Obama.
Wednesday 2 October, 12.30 1.30 p.m., Erasmus Pavilion, in English, free admission Brown Bag Lecture: Brain scientist Maarten Frens Lunchtime lecture using fragments and experiments to show how we can use external stimulation to make the brain work better. Prof. Maarten Frens is Professor of System Physiology and principal of the Erasmus University College. Tuesday 8 October, 12.30 1.30 p.m., Erasmus Pavilion, in English, free admission Erasmus Studio Top academics reflect on current affairs together with guests from the world of politics, the world of culture, the media and the city of Rotterdam. Uncompromising and profound. From Britt Dekker to Don Poldermans; from Eurocrisis to Rotterdam pop culture. Presentation: Geert Maarse. Next edition: Tuesday 8 October, 8.30 p.m., Rotterdamse Schouwburg Erasmus Trustfonds R. Rijntjes Telephone 010 4110596 secretariaat@trustfonds.nl www.trustfonds.nl Anniversary book The book Een onzalig plan, mijne heeren! Het Erasmus Trustfonds 100 jaar stevig onder de stormen will be published to celebrate the centennial of the Erasmus Trustfonds. You can order it at www.trustfonds.nl, €19.13
under the heading ‘EAV membership’. LinkedIn The EAV has set up an online LinkedIn alumni group where ESE alumni can contact each other and find out about meetings.
General Erasmus Alumni Association Bon Ellemeet/Alexandra Staab PO Box 4382 3006 AJ Rotterdam Telephone 06-19955994 (Bon Ellemeet) / 010-4149407 (Alexandra Staab) eav@ erasmusalumnivereniging.nl www. erasmusalumnivereniging.nl The Erasmus Alumni Association (EAV) is the only general association of alumni at the EUR and has almost 4,500 members.
Erasmus School of Economics ESE Alumni Affairs Charles Hermans hermans@ese.eur.nl Room H7-19 Telephone 010-4081803 www.esealumni.nl ESE maintains links with alumni Together with the Erasmus Alumni Association (EAV) the ESE organizes a number of annual events such as the ESE Alumni Day, on the opening day of the EFR Business Week in the spring, and the Autumn Day. If you are not yet a member of the EAV, you can register via www.esealumni.nl,
Centennial Fountain On Thursday 5 September Chair of the Executive Board Pauline van der Meer Mohr will open the new campus heart with the Centennial Fountain. Alumni and the Friends of the ESE have helped make this fountain possible. More information: www. esealumni.nl/lustrumfontein. You can register via the homepage of ESE Alumni by clicking on the green banner ‘Opening Campus’.
d’EUR draaien – were you there? This celebratory event, organized by the Erasmus Trustfonds, EAV and student associations and hosted by Matthijs van Nieuwkerk took place on 8 June in and around the Auditorium. (Photo: Michelle Muus)
ESE is celebrating its Centennial Numerous activities will take place in the coming months. www.ese.eur.nl/100 www.twitter.nl/ESEcentennial, www.facebook.com/ ESEcentennial, LinkedIn: Erasmus University Rotterdam Alumni (official) Erasmus Education Fund The Fund supports initiatives that enable underpriveleged, talented young people to go through further education and thus become the leaders of the future generation. www.erasmuseducationfund. nl Alumni training Keep your knowledge up to scratch at the EUR. You can find an overview of the programmes at:
www.esealumni.nl under the header ‘Alumni activities - > Alumni Training’. EFR Alumni Association Room HB-20 Secretaris@efralumni.nl www.efr.nl/alumni You laid the foundations for friendships for life in your year at EFR. The alumni association would like to help you maintain these friendships.
erasmusalumni. magazine 33
Alumni Affairs
Ex Duplo bestuur@exduplo.nl Ex Duplo, the alumni association for graduates of the EUR Master of Science (MSc)/Master of Law (LL.M.) programme has close ties with In Duplo, the association for MSc/LL.M students. Ex Duplo organizes a number of activities each year and provides an exclusive online network for its members. Accountancykring www.esaa.nl LinkedIn: Accountancykring ESAA – a subgroup of Erasmus School of Accounting & Assurance (ESSA) The Accountancykring welcomes alumni of the postgraduate Accountancy programme. Events are held twice a year on programmerelated topics such as the credit crisis, AFM supervision and the pension markets. Membership and the meetings are free of charge. If you participate in an event you will be awarded credits for the NBA (The Netherlands Institute of Chartered Accountants) mandatory continuing education programme. Bachelor Honours Class Alumni Society Nicky Hoogveld Pigeonhole H6-26 secretary@esehonours.nl www.esehonours.nl Contact other alumni and find out about our activities on www.esehonours.nl. FSR (Financial Study Association Rotterdam)
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Erasmus University Rotterdam Burgemeester Oudlaan 50 Room H14-06 Telephone: 010 - 4081830/ 010 - 4081331 alumni@fsr.nu www.fsr.nl The FSR alumni association organizes a number of receptions and activities throughout the year, publishes the magazine de Kroonrede twice a year and circulates a digital almanac. The association has members of the FSR as well as of the former accounting, accountancy & controlling association ‘Pacioli’ and the former Finance Association Rotterdam ‘Pecunia’. Erasmus Institute for Financial Planning IFP Alumni Affairs Theo Hoogwout Room H16-07 Telephone 010-4081491 hoogwout@ese.eur.nl Master’s programme in Financial Planning Post-Master’s programme, suitable for financial consultants who wish to provide integral advice. Runs from September 2013 to June 2014. Lectures on Thursday from 9.30 a.m.5.30 p.m. on Woudestein Campus. Start: Thursday 26 September 2013
Faculty of Social Sciences Alumni Affairs Alumni Officer for the Faculty of Social Sciences: Marjolein Kooistra 010 4082135 kooistra@fsw.eur.nl
FSW 50 – celebration in 2013 The FSW is celebrating its 50th birthday in 2013. Special events have already taken place, such as a very successful alumni evening about Framing & Priming. FSW50 is holding breakfast and reception sessions in the city throughout the year, also in the autumn. www.fsw50.nl Twitter: @FSW50_erasmus, LinkedIn: FSW50_erasmus and Facebook: fsw50_erasmus. Contact person: Marjolein Kooistra kooistra@fsw.eur.nl
Valedictory lecture Prof. Han Entzinger On 27 September Professor of Migration and Integration Studies Han Entzinger will give his valedictory lecture in the Auditorium of the EUR. More information will follow at www.eur.nl/fsw Public Administration Contact person: Lalita Rambhadjan rambhadjan@fsw.eur.nl Public Administration Erasmus University Rotterdam (ABEUR) www.eur.nl/fsw/ bestuurskunde/abeur/ abeur@fsw.eur.nl Find out what’s going on by visiting the LinkedIn groups: ABEUR (general alumni group for Public Administration), IMP Alumni (Master’s in Inter-
national Public Management and Public Policy), Master’s in Work, Organization and Managementand Research Master’s in Public Administration and Organizational Science alumni. Twitter: @ABEUR_alumni, @EUR_BSK ABEUR organizes themed sessions and company visits each year. If you have any interesting ideas for lectures or field trips, for example, please mail them to: abeur@fsw.eur.nl.
Psychology Psychology Alumni Association alumni-psy@fsw.eur.nl LinkedIn group: Psychology Alumni Erasmus University Rotterdam The Psychology Alumni Association sends out a
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Bestel nu Vanaf heden geopend Webshop Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam
webshop.eur.nl Page 1; RSM MBA Lifelong Learning_EA Magazine_(13397)_16jul13
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WE WILL HELP YOU GO FURTHER‌ RSM Alumni Lifelong Learning Scholarship At Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University (RSM) we believe in and foster life-long learning. In recognition of this ideal, we are offering alumni from the RSM and EUR Bachelor and/or Master degrees a Lifelong Learning Scholarship awarded as a tuition fee waiver for the 2014 intakes of our MBA programmes.
Find out how the MBA can complement your previous degree and enhance your career by contacting Maria-Rosa Parra from the MBA Admissions office at mparra@rsm.nl
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erasmusalumni. magazine 35 00
Alumni Affairs
newsletter three times a year and organizes alumni events. Psychology graduates automatically become members of the alumni association. Sociology Sociology Alumni Association ww.eur.nl/fsw/sociologie/ alumni alumnisociologie@fsw.eur.nl LinkedIn group: Sociology Alumni Association
Facebook: Erasmus University Rotterdam The Sociology Alumni Association holds two events each year: one linked to the Master’s degree in Labour, Organization and Management and the other to the Master’s degree programme in Urban Issues and Policy. If you would like to hear about these activities, become a member (for free) and mail us.
Erasmus School of Law (ESL) Alumni Affairs Hanz Zwart Room L5-37 zwart@law.eur.nl www.frg.eur.nl/alumni ESL 50 years old The Erasmus School of Law celebrates its 50th birthday in 2013. More than 12,000 students have now graduated.
In Praise of Medicine: Pain The eighth edition of In Praise Of Medicine, a public lecture at the Erasmus MC, has the theme of pain. Scientific researchers focus on different aspects of pain, such as neurobiological background, recognizing pain and pain treatment. Top scientists Dick Tibboel (Erasmus MC) and Kanwaljeet J. Anand (University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital) are following in long-term studies how vulnerable people experience pain. The lectures will be interspersed with performances by talented students from Codarts Rotterdam, the college of music, dance and circus. 4 October 2013, 2.30 p.m., reception from 4.30 p.m., De Doelen Concert and Conference Centre www.erasmusmc.nl/lofdergeneeskunst
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Be Inspired Lothgenoten Student Society wants to inspire law students with guest speakers from industry and academia. The theme on 19 April was ‘Motives & Law’ and on 24 May it was ‘Language & Law’.
Be Inspired, Motives & Law
EU Law in the Overseas Territories New Challenges and Citizenship Issues Conference with speakers in-
cluding Cor James (representative from St Maarten), Prof. Dimitry Kochenov (University of Groningen), Prof. Arjen van Rijn (University of Curaçao). 5 and 6 September 2013, www.esl.eur.nl/OCT
member of the Alumni Association. If you wish to continue to receive the Monitor magazine, you can become a Friend of the Erasmus MC. See www. erasmusmcvrienden.nl.
Nudging and beyond Conference Current applications and new perspectives on behavioural insights. 7 and 8 September 2013, register at www.esl.eur.nl/ nudgingconference
LinkedIn The Association provides a network for Alumni and young doctors on LinkedIn. You can register for the private Erasmus MC Alumni Association group via the link on www. erasmusmc.nl/alumni. We will use this group to inform you about events. Medical students in the Erasmus MC Faculty can register from their fourth year. They may contact you through this group.
Second Alumni telephone campaign You might receive a phone call from the ESL. A specially trained team of students will be phoning ESL alumni in the evening sometime in the period from 16 September to 12 October to find out about study and career and ask whether they would be willing to make a financial contribution to student projects. Alumni can make a valuable contribution to ESL by making their expertise, network, time and money available.
Reunion If you would like to organize a reunion for your year group, the Alumni Association can help you arrange it.
Faculty of Philosophy Alumni Affairs Ceciel Meiborg H5-23 Tel. 010-4088980 meiborg@smc.eur.nl
Erasmus MC Erasmus MC Alumni Affairs/ Erasmus MC Alumni Association Elles de Waard Room Gk-954 PO Box 2040 3000 CA Rotterdam alumni@erasmusmc.nl www.erasmusmc.nl/alumni From now on free membership of the alumni association As of 1 January 2013 you no longer have to pay to be a
Faculty of Philosophy Association (ERA) Burgemeester Oudlaan 50, H4-15 www.erarotterdam.nl contact@erarotterdam.nl ERA organizes a number of regular events, including a pub lecture on the first Monday of the month. There is a drinks party every third Thursday, with a discount for ERA members. Keep an eye on our Facebook page for the dates.
Column Henk Schmidt
Alumni can join ERA for €15 per year. As a member you receive a subscription to Twijfel magazine, and we will inform you of interesting activities for alumni. If you register you will receive the book Nu even niet! by the Rotterdam philosoper Gijs van Oenen as a gift. You can register at www. erarotterdam.nl Twijfel Faculty magazine Twijfel, the platform for students and lecturers from the Faculty of Philosophy, appears twice a year. You can subscribe to Twijfel for €10 per year by sending a mail to redactie@ twijfel.nu. If you would like to sponsor Twijfel as a Friend of Twijfel please send a mail to redactie@twijfel.nu.
Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication ESE Alumni Affairs Sabai Doodkorte Room L3-30 Telephone 010-4082874 alumnieshcc@eshcc.eur.nl www.eshcc.eur.nl/alumni LinkedIn If you would like to stay abreast of all news, events and vacancies at ESHCC, you can join the closed group ‘Alumni Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication’ on LinkedIn. Register through the link on www.eshcc.eur.nl/alumni. Employment Market Orientation Days 2014 If you are a recent alumnus, you are welcome to participate in workshops and information sessions to prepare you for the employment market during the Employment Market Orientation
Days. From Wednesday 27 February 2014, www.eshcc.eur. nl/amo Alumni Network Reception 2014 The Employment Market Orientation Days will end with an Alumni Networking reception. You are welcome to attend. Thursday 16 May 2014. Invitations will be sent through the LinkedIn group.
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Alumni Relations Manager Jennifer Ritfeld Room J4-35 Tel. 010-4082698 alumni@rsm.nl www.rsm.nl/alumni RSM Leadership Summit 2013 – Reinventing the future How do the leaders of prominent international companies see the future? What are the most recent developments and research findings in this field? Find out at the RSM Leadership Summit. Talk to CEOs and broaden your network at the anniversary reception. Friday 4 October 2013, 1.008.00 p.m., Beurs -Worldtrade Center, Rotterdam
Lifelong Learning RSM Executive Education offers short open programmes in the field of leadership, strategy,
Normal
When I started my studies at the end of the 1960s going to university had become a possibility for the many. And the lecture halls really were full. The flower-power generation arrived in such numbers that you were lucky if you had even spoken to a lecturer in person before your final exams. I can remember an older philosophy lecturer who tried to keep the traditions alive and held oral exams at his house. After the baby boomers arrived he continued to do this for a year. The next year, however, it was a multiple-choice exam. As there were so many of us, no one noticed if you did not attend lectures. Extensive use was made of this. Instead of going to lectures I spent a whole winter reading all eight Anton Wachter novels by Vestdijk. I passed my exams, so did not feel that I had missed much. More than half of the students did not make it over the finish line, by the way, and the rest took eight years to get there, but nobody minded. The times they are a-changin’. It is now unthinkable that you would not show your face at university for long periods of time. Students work in small groups of 10 or 20 and are supervised by a lecturer. There are a lot of practicals. Attendance is compulsory. At our university you really are expected to pass your first year in a year. Resits have for the most part been consigned to the past, so the possibility of postponing your exams – and consequently developing study delay – no longer exists. It is known as ‘nominaal is normaal’. The measures have meant that students are more likely to graduate and they do it faster. Our lecturers are extremely proud that our students, as a study by the New York Times showed, are the most employable of all Dutch students. Were things better in the past? You cannot expect me to answer that with a yes. After all, I myself have made a modest contribution to these changes. But it was definitely freer then: the freedom to stay in bed as long as you wanted in the morning. As a student nowadays you simply have to keep your eye on the ball. Henk Schmidt (1947) is Rector Magnificus of Erasmus University Rotterdam. He studied psychology at Utrecht University.
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Alumni Affairs
marketing, sales, finance and innovation. Fulfil your ambitions and improve your management and leadership skills. www.rsm.nl/open RSM on social media Like, follow, share, post and meet fellow alumni on social media. RSM is active on LinkedIn: Alumni Network Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University Twitter: @AlumniRSM Facebook: http://www. facebook.com/ RSMalumnipage Giving Back More and more alumni want to show their commitment to their alma mater, and luckily there are plenty of ways to do this. Alumni can give guest lectures, act as mentor, offer placements or give workshops or presentations. How do you want to give something back? www.rsm.nl/alumni/ givingback
International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) ISS Alumni Affairs Sandra Nijhof Kortenaerkade 12 2518 AX Den Haag Telephone 070-4260414 alumni@iss.nl www.iss.nl/alumni
ISS Alumni Fund The ISS Alumni Fund was established in 2012 to provide financial support to future students. These generally ‘mid-career professionals’ from developing and transitional countries follow an MA programme at the ISS in the field of development economics, for example. www.iss.nl/alumni ISS Alumni – connecting the world ISS wants to strengthen the global network of ISS students, staff and more than 11,000 alumni with alumni meetings over the whole world, a bi-monthly newsletter and active LinkedIn and Facebook groups. www.iss.nl/alumni
Institute of Policy & Management Healthcare (iBMG) iBMG Alumni Affairs Ernst Bakker Room J7-25 Telephone: 010-4088878 alumni@bmg.eur.nl www.bmg.eur.nl/alumni www.ambg.nl The Health and Policy Management alumni association (aBMG) facilitates contact between graduates in Health and Policy Management and iBMG. Alumni Actueel Newsletter iBMG and aBMG publish a newsletter four times a year. Alumni receive the newsletter by post or in digital format. You can register or unregister via alumni@bmg.eur.nl
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Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies Ms Sarah Steendam MSc Ms Charmae Pyl Nercua Wissink, MSc. IHS Alumni Relations Office alumni@iss.nl www.ihs.nl/alumni +31 (0)10 4089874 New member of the Alumni Relations Office A warm welcome to IHS alumna Charmae Nercua (UMD4). She will join Sarah Steendam in running the Alumni Relations Office. A big thank you to her predecessor Ore Fika. IHS connects! Let us know of any changes of address (www.ihs.nl/login) if you wish to continue to receive our newsletters. You can also join our IHS alumni linked-In group. We regularly post vacancies here. IHS Alumni International You managed to find the funds to come and study at the IHS. Now you can give something back to up-and-coming students who also want to work as an urban professional having followed an MSc programme at the IHS. Make a contribution to bank account number 116909462 in the name of IHS AI fund. Alumni Get Alumni Campaign If you are still in touch with your classmates or can get in touch with them through the grapevine, please help the Alumni Relations Office to update old course lists (e-mail and home address). Send us a
mail at alumni@ihs.nl with your name and group and we will send you a list of the names and details that we have. You will receive a reward once your class is complete. IHS 55 years old IHS is celebrating its 55th birthday in 2013. The kick-off was on 19 April with a fantastic alumni day. Our sports day was on 8 June and we are planning a small conference in October. A year in which we are celebrating 55 years of working on cities.
Refresher Courses: Post disaster shelter provision and urban resilience (Ethiopia, October 2013) A rights based approach to resettlement, (inter)national standards and local practices (India, November 2013) World Urban Forum 2014 IHS Alumni International (www.ihsai.org) is inviting all alumni to participate in the eighth World Urban Forum. The second IHS AI award will be presented at this major urban forum to an excellent, leading urban professional, and there will also be opportunities to network. April 2014, Medellin, Colombia, www.ihs.nl/alumni
Familieportret
Jan-Paul Bruins 26 years old Economics, graduated in 2012 Law, graduated in 2013 In the painting: his great-grandfather Gijsbert Weijer Jan Bruins 1883-1948 the first professor and Rector Magnificus of the Nederlandsche HandelsHoogeschool, Rotterdam, in 1913
‘I take after my great-grandfather when it comes to entrepreneurial spirit’ Although Jan-Paul Bruins did not know his great-grandfather Gijsbert Weijer Jan personally, he has set up an archive about the former Rector Magnificus and other family members who have settled in all corners of the globe. text and photo Ronald van den Heerik
It was only after Jan-Paul Bruins had already been studying for a while at Rotterdam that he discovered that his great-grandfather had been the very first Rector of EUR’s predecessor, the Nederlandsche Handels-Hoogeschool. He does not know much about the private life of this Gijsbert Weijer Jan Bruins, but in his research for
the archive he did find a letter from Gijsbert Weijer Jan to his son, Jan-Paul’s grandfather. In this letter he apologises for not having attended his son’s wedding. He was not there because President Roosevelt urgently needed him. ‘My great-grandfather was a particularly entrepreneurial man who alongside the many positions that he held in the international financial world also worked on the creation of the IMF and the construction of the Bretton Woods gold standard. I recognize this entrepreneurial spirit in myself. During my studies I was a member of the University Council for a year, had a full-time position on the board of the EFR Faculty Association and did two placements, one of which was for Heineken in Nigeria.’ Just for the fun of it, Jan-Paul regularly runs round the Kralingse Plas. He also sails a catamaran and goes
climbing in the Alps once a year. He has become involved in the Trustfonds, which the HandelsHoogeschool set up a century ago. ‘Having spent three whole years complaining that the Trustfonds, which is now a hundred years old and the majority of whose members are older than 60, goes about its work in a rather somewhat oldfashioned way, I was asked last year to translate this criticism into something more tangible. The Jong Trustfonds that I set up as a result now has more than 60 members and organizes a whole range of activities. An autopsy clinic in the Erasmus MC is the first thing that springs to mind: unique that the public could attend this.’ Jan-Paul is responsible for ensuring that the members of the Jong Trustfonds feel committed to the University and the city, and that they develop a vision that could lead to a new strategy for the Trustfonds.
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