Interface - March Issue

INTERVIEW DJ LUDOVIKA

IT’S TIME TO HIT THE DRIVING RANGE!

TAKE YOUR AMBITIONS TO THE NEXT LEVEL

INTERFaCE MaGaZINE OF ThE rOTTErDaM SchOOL OF MaNaGEMENT, EraSMUS UNIVErSITY • VOLUME 29: ISSUE 3 • March 2013

THE ARAB SPRINGEgypt’s long road to democracy.

DUCKRACE

HOLIDAY HOTSPOTS

RECIPES

D E AV O N D V O O R H E T A F R O N D E N VA N H E T F U S I E R A P P O R T V O O R E E N I N T E R N AT I O N A L E B I E R B R O U W E R

W W W.G A A A N . N U

Š 2011 KPMG N.V., alle rechten voorbehouden.

INDEx

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MIND Bodylanguage!

Insights in using nonverbal communication

It’s time to hit the driving range!

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UNI Interview DJ Ludovika Alumni RSM now full-time DJ

Take your ambitions to the next level

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Duck Race

LIFE

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Five Things Citytrips Recipes - easy to make for lazy Sundays and early Mondays.

Photopage Holiday Hotspots

WORLD

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The arab Spring- Egypt’s long road to democracy.

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The academic spring - Open or Closed access?

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RSM New ways of working

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STAR STaR-Calender STaR is recruiting

Advertisements

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KPMG NIBC PostNL akzoNobel RSM PwC

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PRESIDENTIAL INTERFACE SPRING EDITION A FRuITFul wINTER FoR sTAR Is ovER. ThE ERAsmus RECRuITmENT dAys wERE AN ENoRmous suCCEss, ThANks To ThE CommITTEE who mAdE IT All possIblE. moREovER, oN bEhAlF oF ThE sTudENTs ANd CompANIEs I would lIkE To ThANk EvERy CommITTEE mEmbER oF sTAR FoR ThEIr EFFOrT! MOrE ThaN 2400 STUDENTS aPPLIED aND 100 cOMPaNIES caME TO OUr CAmpus To mEET ThE bEsT oF ThE bEsT sTudENTs. ThRoughouT ThE yEARs wE mANAgEd To EsTAblIsh A FouNdATIoN ThAT mAkEs IT possIblE FoR Rsm sTudENTs To gET INTo CoNTACT wITh A wIdE RANgE oF CompANIEs IN dIFFERENT INdusTRIEs. Spring is coming, but where will it take us? Committees are reaching the end of their projects. First the Bachelor Study Trips will take off to Beijing and Ho Chi Minh City, followed by the Race of the Classics. Whether they will succeed in sailing to England or not, that depends on the wind but their strong minds will do half the work for them. Additionally, Consultancy Castle will take place again

where STAR will host a two day event for the seven biggest consultancy companies to meet top students from all over the Netherlands. Nevertheless, other committees are still busy with realizing their event. I personally find it inspiring to see so many ambitious students working together.

Meanwhile, the new STAR Management Week committee was announced. Eight energetic students are ready for the adventure that lies ahead of them. In the end of October they will show you their view on how every pillar of STAR should be expressed.

The STAR board is working hard on the implementation of its policy plans. We already managed to complete a selection of it, but the question is of course: “What is in it for you?”

As a BA STAR member you can follow a language course at the LTC for a discounted price. Nevertheless, there are more things to come; we are trying to offer STAR members the possibilities to get summaries and exam trainings, and we are also linking STAR to a charity to support the community we are in. Likewise, we are also evaluating our current portfolio. Do we enrich our students enough? What should we add? What does not add enough value for our members compared to the effort we put in it? Next year we will have an updated portfolio that meets the demands of our members. These are only a couple of the 23 value driver our policy consists of.

I would like to end with a fantastic result. For the first time in STAR’s thirty five years of existence, all Master Study Clubs managed to offer a study trip to our members. As you know every master has a Master Study Club provided by STAR. For already a few years most of our Master Study Clubs managed to organize such a trip, but this year all twelve are going! Not the least places will be visited from Rio de Janeiro to Beijing, from Silicon Valley to Singapore, STAR will be present!

Text by: Rik Hendriks

COLOPHON

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The Interface Magazine is published

by STAR (Study Association Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University). The editorial staff aims to promote the exchange of knowledge, experience and opinions among all those involved with the Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University.

Executive Producer: Mirna Steur (brandmanager@rsmstar.nl) Editor-in-chief: Floris Vernooij creative director: Iris van Rijn Editors: Keely Bates and Marnix Boon writers: Floris Vernooij, Iris van Rijn, Keely Bates, Marnix Boon, Eline de Wit, Marjolein Broekhuisen and Lea Pollert.

Graphic design and production: OCC dehoog, media partners (www.occ-dehoog.nl) circulation: 7000 copies Mailing: Four times a year to students, employees and alumni of Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University; once a year to students of Economics and Business Administration across The Netherlands.

Advertising: Linda Weekers (commercial@rsmstar.nl) Adress: STAR Interface, RSM Erasmus University P.O. Box 1738, Room T04-53, 3000 DR Rotterdam; Email: interface@rsmstar.nl (not for change of adress); Tel: (010) 4082037; Fax: (010) 4089023 change of adress: To change your adress, please go to www.rsmstar.nl/mystar

Copyright© March 2013, study association STAR. No portion of the information in this magazine may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the editorial board.

IT’s AlmosT hERE! AFTER wEEks oF sNow, FREEZINg TEmpERATuREs, AdJusTEd TRAIN TAblEs ANd “ElFsTEdENToChTFEvER” ThE dARk wINTER dAys sEEm To bE bEhINd us FoR ThIs yEAR. All wINTER CoATs, glovEs ANd hATs CAN bE sToREd AwAy ANd ouR summER sANdAls CAN bE dug ouT oF ThE ClosET AgAIN. ThE TImE To sTART RElAXINg oN TERRACEs, wATChINg gRowN mEN wITh musTAChEs ENJoyINg ICE CoNEs oR wEARINg shoRTs whIlE IT’s STILL 10 DEGrEES OUTSIDE haS ComE. ThE TImE FoR gIRls To wEAR skIRTs wITh sNEAkERs ANd To hAvE bARbEquEs JusT bECAusE IT’s spRINg. ANd AlThough ThE AvERAgE souTh AmERICAN would STILL BE WEarING 3 LaYErS oF CloThINg RIghT Now, wE hERE IN ThE wEsTERN pART oF EuRopE sEE EvERy oppoRTuNITy whERE ThERE’s suNshINE As AN EXCusE To puT oN ouR suNglAssEs ANd ENJoy ThE NEw sEAsoN. While spring on the one hand symbolizes a transition from winter to summer with increasing temperatures and sunshine, on the other hand it is also known as a time for CHANGE. A change from darkness into the sunlight, from cold to more pleasant temperatures and, more symbolically, from the negative to the positive.

In the past years, the word ‘spring’ has

for instance been used to describe changes in ones own life or the entire society, which are viewed as transitioning from a more negative to positive vibe. The Arabic spring for example, which is nowadays viewed as a process in where countries go from oppression and prosecution to freedom, openness and democracy. But has it worked? Did something change, and if so, what changed and what needs to still change? These are questions you can find answers to in this Interface issue. Also, if you are a fan of “open source”, then the article on the academic spring might be of interest to you.

If you are thinking about starting your own business this spring, the articles on golf as a business tool, tips to improve your presentation skills and the interview with Hendrik Halbe will surely be fun to read.

If these subjects are to serious for you, we also present a list of fun cities, festivals and parties to visit this spring. And then don’t forget to read the interview with old RSM student Lodewijk Klosse, better known as DJ Ludovika, who is only 22 years old but already played alongside DJ Tiësto and Afrojack!

Finally, like the past edition, in this edition you can find a calendar with upcoming events, parties and exams for you to keep in mind and information about joining a STAR committees later this year.

For now, we as the Interface committee hope you indulge in reading this new edition and we hope that this spring will come with some surprising and pleasent changes, which will bring joy and ease into your life.

On behalf of the whole Interface committee, Text by: Floris Vernooij

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THE FIVE ‘FIVE THINGS TO DO aROUND ROTTERDaM, IN THIS ISSUE: ENJOYING THE FIRST SUNBEaM!’ spRINg Is FINAlly ComINg! ANd AlThough wE ENJoyEd ThIs AuThENTIC wINTER, wITh somE AmAZINg sNow ANd ICE, wE sERIously CAN’T wAIT To TAkE oFF ouR wINTER CoATs ANd sTART FEElINg ThE suN! ThAT’s why wE hAvE lookEd up ThE bEsT TERRACEs IN RoTTERdAm FoR you. wE FouNd ThE mosT woNdERFul plACEs, wITh somE oF ThE bEsT vIEws IN TowN. spRINg plEAsE ComE IN sooN, sINCE wE REAlly wANT To FEEl ThE FIRsT suNbEAm oN ouR skIN whIlE dRINkINg A wEll-dEsERvEd bEER oN oNE oF ThEsE bEAuTIFul TERRACEs! Text by: Eline de Wit

GRaND CaFÉ PRaCHTIG One does not have to think twice where the name ‘Prachtig´ which means beautiful in Dutch, comes from. The lounge-terrace here is absolutely stunning during summertime. It is for sure a great place to enjoy the first sunbeam! Located close to the Erasmusbrug, giving you a perfect view over the Maas. For us it’s no surprise that this terrace made it to the 17th place of the best terraces of the Netherlands.

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CaFÉ ENGELS Perhaps you’ve already heard about café Engels, but did you know there is an awesome terrace situated on top? For the ones who don’t know café Engels, it’s located just next to Central Station. And the rooftop terrace is really incredible!

Just wait for the green flag, which means that you can go up, and enjoy a simple drink or even an entire meal.

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NaI CaFÉ HOTEL NEw YORK When the weather is nice, HNY probably is the best place to be. This terrace offers you the best view you could think off: the skyline of Rotterdam. And when it gets too crowded on the terrace just pick up your bottle of wine and bring it with you to the lawn right in front of the terrace, whilst enjoying the sun on great lounge beach chairs.

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Last but definitely not least, you really have to check out the NAI café. You’ll find this place next to the Museumpark, where it offers its guest an inspiring meeting place. This place looks really modern, which is only one of the reasons for their 22th place in the top 100 best terraces. Another reason could be the fantastic view this café offers. Or the taste of the coffee, which make you feel like you’re in Italy. Or perhaps it’s the free wifi that’s available here. Thanks to that you don’t have to spend every single day in the university library, but you could study here as well while you’re enjoying the sun.

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DE TUIN If you had enough of the crowded city of Rotterdam and you want to see some green, the Kralingsebos is of course the place to be. During the spring you’ll find lots of students enjoying the sun, talking, chilling and (pretending) studying over here. But for those of you who are too keen to sit on the grass, ‘De Tuin’ is a great place to enjoy Kralingsebos and still see the beautiful skyline of Rotterdam!

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In case the terraces mentioned here are all full or you want to check out other places, one should definitely go to the Oude Haven. You’ve probably all been there before, but for those of you who don’t know it: here you’ll find more than enough terraces, little lunchrooms, dining places and pubs. Definitely worth trying!

As mentioned in the previous Interface issue, we’re always searching for nice things to write about. So, if you have great ideas of places we should go to or subjects we should write about please do not hesitate to contact us: interface@rsmstar.nl.

Please make sure to name your e-mail: ‘5 things’

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lodewijk Klosse BSc Business Administration, RSM Started as a DJ Winner of DanceTour’s DJ contest Signed management contract

2008-2012 2009 2010 2012

INTERVIE

IN EvERy publIshEd EdITIoN oF INTERFACE wE wIll INTERvIEw A youNg gRAduATE oF Rsm AbouT ThEIR lIvEs ANd ThoughTs. how dId ThEy EXpERIENCE ThEIR TImE AT Rsm? whAT kINd oF woRk do ThEy do? ThEsE ANd moRE quEsTIoNs wIll bE ANswEREd IN A sERIEs oF INTERvIEws. ThIs EDITION FEaTUrES: lodEwIJk -ludovIkA - klossE, dJ ANd pRoduCER. Text by: Marnix Boon

Could you tell me how you experienced your student life in Rotterdam?

It was awesome of course, just like every other student experiences it I guess. In my opinion, Rotterdam is a great city.

Though it is wide and stretched out, at the same time it feels small and cozy. I met so many fun and interesting people. As every student should, I thought of my studies as secondary to a lot of things. I am quite sure that thanks to that mindset I was able to become the DJ I am nowadays.

You decided not to enroll in a Masters program. what exactly is the reason behind this choice?

Well, that was definitely a hard decision. Just like most other students, I actively familiarized myself with all possible Masters.

When I reached the point where I had to make a choice between the various Masters options, my music career skyrocketed at the same time. It was not the case that I didn’t want to do a Master, however I would not have had enough time to study if I choose to fully focus on my music. Hence, I decided not to start a Master within the first two years.

which Master are you mainly interested in?

I found entrepreneurship very interesting. That is probably something I inherited from my parents, as they are entrepreneurs themselves. Together they are the owners of a hotel, just outside the city of Apeldoorn. As my parents live right next to the hotel, I was inevitably involved in the family business from child on. What attracts me a lot about being an entrepreneur is the fact that you are able to fully decide the direction of a company by yourself.

Do you also regard DJ’s as entrepreneurs?

It doesn’t seem very obvious for most people, however that is definitely how I experience it myself. I set out my own directions and make my own decisions. Now that I have a management contract, I am for instance constantly busy with forming a brand around me as a person. That triggers the feeling that I am sort of a company myself.

when did you start DJing?

Basically, during the second year of my studies. Since I was a little boy, I always found music interesting. As I became older, I followed the DJ scene on a close foot. I am the type of person

Ew w

11 who finds a lot of things fun, and invests a lot of time in them. For instance, I played golf almost full time after graduating from high school. Next, I played poker on a very profitable level. After a while, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want to play poker for the rest of my life. Hence, I invested the money I gained from my poker career into the first parts of my studio, by buying my first DJ set. So that is basically how it all started.

When was the first time that you DJed in front of a big crowd?

In the beginning, I just practiced for fun with the set that I bought. After a while, I asked myself what I could do with the skills that I obtained. I noticed that in Apeldoorn, where my parents live, DanceTour was organizing a DJ contest. So I thought it would be nice to participate in that event. What I never could have imagined was that I actually won the contest. Therefore, I was allowed to warm up the crowd before the main artists, like Chuckie and Afrojack, appeared on stage.

at what point did you become an international DJ?

Besides the amazing experience of opening before Chuckie and Afrojack, I was additionally invited to compete against the winners of all Dancetour DJ contests. Since I ended up in the top 5, GoGo asked me to come along to Croatia to play in various clubs. It was a perfect opportunity to gain international experience. Soon after that the international gigs became bigger.

There are a lot of different genres in house.

How would you describe your own music?

The house scene changes almost constantly. It is hard to find an all covering name for my tracks. I guess my music is a mix between progressive house and some other tunes, electro and trap for example. Almost all the time I use vocals, so that is characterizing for my tracks. So my focus is basically on progressive house, however in my opinion you shouldn’t be restrained by the genre itself and should do what feels right to you.

Did you ever think about quitting your bachelor in order to be able to fully focus on producing music?

No, to be honest I never considered that. My parents always taught me that it is good to have something to fall back on, some kind of degree for instance. In case my music career doesn’t turn out the way I’d like, I am glad that I have my bachelor to fall back on. Two years ago, I started producing my own music. At that point I began to study more intensively in order to finish my Bachelor as quickly as possible. But I never thought about quitting.

Did you already meet famous artists?

Yes, it is quite a nice list to be honest. I played alongside a lot of famous DJ’s such as Steve Angelo (Swedish House Mafia), Afrojack, Kaskade, Alesso and R3hab. Also, I opened for one of my personal favorites Deadmau5 once. But the greatest experience was for sure finishing after Tiësto and Nicky Romero at a huge festival in Mexico.

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cURIOUS ABOUt tHE tRAcKS MAdE BY lOdEwIJK? Tune in to his stream on soundcloud.com/ludovika

I heard something odd happened in Mexico. Could you tell us about it?

Sure! Not too long ago I was invited to play on BPM festival in Mexico. The plan was that I would finish after Tiësto, who would be done in a few minutes. As I was preparing myself to go on stage, of Tiësto’s manager came to me. He asked me if he could have a look at my headphone. Though I thought it was a bit of an odd question, I gave him my headphone. Before I knew what was going on, he slammed my headphone on his knee until it was broken. At first, I didn’t know what to say and kind of lost my mind. I had to go on stage in a matter of seconds, without a headphone! With a smile on his face, he told me that he and Tiësto had done this multiple times the last couple of weeks. The case was that Tiësto had just launched a new headphone line, so it was something like a PR stunt. Tiësto, who had been watching all of this from a short distance, came by and gave me his own headphone whilst laughing. Though it was a unique experience to meet him, I kind of still regret that I don’t have my old headphone anymore.

who is the best DJ in your opinion?

That is a hard question, as there are so many different DJ’s with their own unique characteristics. It is very personal which characteristic you find the most important. But I guess that I would say Avicii, because of his big achievements. The fact that he has been able to step up between names like Armin van Buuren and Tiësto is very inspiring. I admire his brand and his sets are for the biggest part filled up with his own productions. He has really been able to leave his mark on the entire DJ scene in just a few years. That’s one of my own goals too!

where do you see yourself in 5 years?

If everything goes as planned, I hope that I’ll be touring around the whole globe. I really would regard it as a gift if I would be able to produce music that will be enjoyed by people all around the world.

7 OPPOSItES:

Make a fast decision and pick one: New York – Beijing Euroshopper – Biological products Career – Spare time Rock – Jazz CEO – CFO Usain Bolt – Michael Phelps Sustainability – Profit

New York Biological products Career Jazz CEO Usain Bolt Sustainability

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CITYTRIPS

AlThough mosT oF you pRobAbly woN´T hAvE AN ACTuAl spRINgbREAk, ThIs TImE oF ThE yEAR loNgs ITsElF pERFECTly FoR A gREAT CITyTRIp. JusT TRAvEl ARouNd EuRopE FoR A loNg wEEkENd oR A mIdwEEk ANd FoRgET AbouT sChool ANd All ThE oThER ThINgs you´vE bEEN busy wITh. CAll youR FRIENds ANd hAvE AN AmAZINg TImE IN oNE oF ThEsE bEAuTIFul CITIEs. wE´vE RANkEd ThE FollowINg CITIEs FoR you, so ThE oNly ThINg you hAvE To do Is pACk youR bAgs ANd go!

Text by: Eline de Wit

8. dUBlIN The best reason why to visit Dublin? Because you should experience visiting a pub over there.

Seriously, that’s the best reason why you should go to Dublin. You can literally find a pub on every corner of the street. Of course, there is so much more to do in Dublin. For example, you can visit great pieces of art in the National Gallery of Ireland. Or you can visit the Bram Stoker Dracula Experience. This is a modern place dedicated to the life of Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula. Or just skip all of that and go to the pub!

7. cOPENHAGEN Copenhagen, capital of Denmark is located on the islands Seeland and Amager. We don’t know whether it is the 17th century buildings, the bicycles or the canals that make this city feel a bit like Amsterdam. But what we do know is that this city will make you feel at home! We recommend Christiana, a hippy part of the city where you’ll find fairylike houses and modern bars. The government is not fond on this part of the city, but as a student you’ll probably love it!

6. PARIS Although it is a pretty expensive city to hang out, it’s fairly cheap to get there, due to the short distance from Rotterdam. Take the Thalys, which bring you to Paris in only two and a half hours and which will cost you about €55,- Visit the regular places like the Eifel tower, the Notre Dame, the Sacre Coeur, the Arc the Triomph and the Louvre. Be amazed by the great architecture of this sights. At night you should go to Quartier Latin to find relatively cheap bars and cafes.

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5. ANtwERP Antwerp. So many cultural things, so many awesome shops, so many nice bars and SO close by Rotterdam. Actually we can’t name one reason not to go to Antwerp. Almost broke? No problem, a train ticket from Rotterdam to Antwerp only costs around 4 Euros. No time to travel? No worries, it’ll only take you 30 minutes to get from Rotterdam Central to Antwerp Central. You see?

We really can’t come up with reasons why you shouldn’t go to Antwerp!

Start your visit at the Grote Market. From this square you’ll get a good impression of Antwerp’s historical centre hence, you are immediately close to all other places. You can walk to the Meir, thé shopping street of Antwerp, where one can find all regular fashion shops. Or you can walk on to the Kammenstraat, where the somewhat alternative shops are situated.

And then, when you’ve become tired of shopping, it’s time to sit down for some food and a drink.

In the historical centre of Antwerp you’ll find plenty of restaurants. But if you walk a bit further, you’ll find the districts ‘Het Zuid’ and ‘Het Eilandje’. These two areas have really been developed in the last couple of years. Since a couple of years you will not only find nice restaurants over there, but you will also find the best bars and clubs. So that’s a good place to go out at night.

Next day, take your time getting up. When you’re done having a hangover, it’s time to visit some cultural places like Onze Lieve Vrouwe Cathedral, Sint Jakobschurch and the Rubenshouse. Done with that? Go to the Zoo of Antwerp!

DO: go find Mechelsplein and visit the following cafés: the Pallieter, Hippo, Baah Bar, Korsakov and Zeppos.

DON’T: Antwerp only has one possibility per month to shop on Sunday, so the shops and most of the bars and lunchrooms are closed on the other Sundays.Basically, that means that there will be hardly any people on the streets, and that Antwerp is a lot less fun to be around.

4. lONdON Some cities just have it all. London without a doubt is such a city. You can shop till you drop, visit world’s best (and free) museums or enjoy sightseeing (Big Ben, London Eye, St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Tower Bridge). Next to that, the nightlife of London also is absolutely amazing and after a hell of a night out, you can relax in one of the 143 parks London offers.

Only 45 minutes away from Amsterdam, use ryanair.com for the cheapest flights!

3. MAdRId Madrid, a city always a bit outshined by Barcelona. And although Barcelona is a phenomenal city as well, it’s a bit unfair to forget about Madrid. Madrid is a gorgeous city with huge squares, impressive fountains, interesting museums and of course enough great places to go out. Visit the plazas, for example Plaza de la Paja en Plaza San Andrés to start your night with tapas and end with one of the many cafes and bars. Keep in mind that dinner in Madrid starts at approximately 10 o’clock, so don’t get any earlier in case you don’t want to sit all by yourself.

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2. IStANBUl Istanbul, a powerful city! It is crowded, it is overwhelming and it’s the hometown of 16 million people! You’ll feel small in this huge city while walking through the endless shopping street Istiklal Caddesi. At night you’ll see the city through millions of lights. Istanbul is THE mix between eastern and western cultures, which is not that strange since it’s the only city in the world located on two continents: Europe and Asia. The party scene can be found in the side streets of the huge shopping street mentioned before. There you’ll find all the modern bars.

During daytime please don’t forget to experience the culture while visiting one of these sights: Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Basilica Cisterne or Aya Sophia. Oh, and don’t forget to make a cruise on the Bosporus!

1. BUdAPESt This place stole our hearts. It is cheap, full of great places to go out and it has beautiful buildings.

This city has so much more to offer than just sitting at a terrace during the day and going out at night. There are so many stunning buildings to see and so much cultural activities to participate in! If that attracts you, this really is the place to go!

As you some of you may know, Budapest arose from two cities: Buda and Pest. In Buda you’ll find the eyecatcher of this city: the Burchtheuvel. Here, you will probably find the best sight of the city. One can visit ‘The Burchtwijk’, an old district with over ten historical buildings and churches.

Additionally, you can find the famous Matthiaschurch over there. The view from Burchtheuvel is absolutely amazing!

In Pest you’ll find the Parliamentsbuilding with its huge dome. After finishing the Parliamentsbuilding in 1902 it was the biggest building in the world. After visiting it, you can surely imagine why. Behind the Parliamentsbuilding you’ll find the St. Stefanusbasilic, the largest church in

Budapest. Well, enough about the sightseeing now. If you’re done with that, you have to pay a visit to Széchenyi. This spa is the best place one can think of after an awesome night out. And an awesome night out you’ll have in Budapest.

Of course you can visit all the bars and clubs Budapest has to offer. But if you’re short on cash or if you want to experience something you’ve never seen before, you MUST go to a park called Erzsébet Tèri. Bring your own booze, sit down on the grass and meet the youth of Budapest. When you’re done chilling around, walk down the stairs to Gödör Club, a club that literally lies under the park. We guaranty you’ll have a great night!

Looking for a destination this summer?

Combine your visit to Budapest with SZIGET! This is a huge festival, right next to Budapest.

The website tells us the following about it: The most international festival in Europe: 7 days of party with 1000 acts on 60 stages on an island in the heart of Budapest. And that’s exactly what it is. Party with people all over the globe, enjoy the best artists, the sun and the drinks. You’ll have a blast!

At NIBC, entrepreneurial bankers start at the deep end As a trainee banker at NIBC, you also have a daily job. Your assignments and responsibilities start from day one. And you’ll have the chance to specialise, in for example mergers and acquisitions. You and your fellow analysts will follow our incompany training programme at the Amsterdam Institute of Finance, led by professors from international business schools.

A flying start at the bank that thinks and acts like entrepreneurs. For more information, visit www.careeratnibc.com.

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THE ARAB SPRING When breaking down the motives for the Jan25-revolution, there is one name that appears to build the groundwork of it all; making Egypt’s rebellious beat faster: HOSNI MUBARAK. Before the actual political uprise in January 2011, society’s grief had been seething beneath the surface for many years (owing to his totalitarian rule):

On 25 January 2011, thousands of Egyptians take to the streets nationwide protesting against the Hosni Mubarak regime, chanting “Bread and Freedom” and “The People Want to Bring Down the Regime”. After 18 days of massive public demonstrations against Mr. Mubarak’s rule, he resigned and turned power over to the military on Feb. 11, 2011 causing Egypt’s nation to gather in glorious festivities on Cairo’s Tahrir Square.

A dramatic level of corruption, an absent freedom of expression, a brutal police as well as repeating elections infringements led the public to be speechless of rage whilst questioning its dictator’s integrity of attempting to serve the Egyptian nation rather than increasing his personal wealth.

But which factors allowed the protestors to attain the eagerly awaited removal of Egypt’s most popular tyrant from whose reign of terror generations of Egyptians suffered during the past decades? And which changes did this revolt bring about for Egypt and its society?

Text by: Lea Pollert

SHOCKING NUMBERS: 840 deaths in the 25 January revolution 6457 injuries 1500 deaths according to reports by right groups 1 to 4 individuals arrested was a child 50000 street children in Cairo 2011 1200 people still missing since the 2011 revolution

Tourists

gone missing?!

Besides to the exclusively positive aspect of increasing political expression in Egypt, the 25Jan-revolution has had significant drawbacks for its economic situation: Since ever, Egypt has attracted millions of tourists playing out its rich history and architectural charm. Consequently, the tourism industry constitutes as one of the most important pillars of Egypt’s economy.

Due to dropping security levels resulting from the 25Jan-Revolution, the tourism sector had been marked by immediate heavy losses: a decline by 2/3 in revenues caused by European governmental restrictions for their tourists forbidding the entry in this political crisis-ridden country.

Alexandra H. (20, study: Public relations) I remember wanting to celebrate that the first batch of A-level exams were finally over, when I was advised not to leave my house that night. Roads were blocked, tanks were being rolled out in the streets and I was going to bed and waking up from gunfire.

This was a completely different experience compared to the safe and sound country I had lived in for over 4 years. My family and I were trying to follow what was happening via TV. However I did have the slightest feeling that the footage I was seeing was slightly biased or at least exaggerated.

Unfortunately because of school I had to evacuate back to the Netherlands. When I visited Egypt two months later, I noticed big changes in the attitude of the Egyptian people. They were proud of having stood up for their country.

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March 2013

09:30

EGYPT’S LONG ROaD TO DEMOCRaCY DEC 2008 APR 2009 AUG 2009

EGYPTIAN User Registration

DEC 2009 APR 2010 AUG 2010 DEC 2010 JAN 2011 10x increase in number of Twitter accounts in Egypt

HOw aN

CaN STaRT a REVOLUTION

In June 2008, Egypt’s Facebook community revealed first signs of its revolutionary wishes to the world-wide-web: With the creation of 2 Facebook fanpages, namely “the 6th April Movement“ and “we’re All Khaled Said”, a medium for expression of people’s dissent to political concerns was built online. Continuous posting and participation on these fanpages triggered the creation of the 25th of Jan fan Page, inviting people to join a peaceful march on 25th January to demonstrate their scorn for Egyptian police forces:

the beginning of Egypt’s Arab Spring!

With 632,120 new Facebook users in Jan-Feb, both Facebook and Twitter guaranteed an easy way of communicating news and updates about the on-going revolution. Tweets and posts ensured a steady connection among various protestor groups, e.g. by giving updates on the approximate numbers of people at a specific place, enabling a collective mobilization in their fight for democracy to evolve.

ROaD TO TaHRIR SqUaRE Tahrir Square, Cairo Downtown. Better known as “Martyr Square” built the heart of Egypt’s January revolution: Whilst on 25 Jan -the first day of the revolution- only 50000 people gathered there to protest collectively, the Egyptian population found itself exposed to this Square’s continuously growing power of attraction: A week later, already 300000 protestors were militating for Egypt’s future democracy.

After Mubarak’s announcement on Feburary 11 to pass his powers onto the military forces, the Tahrir Square no longer displayed a focal point for crowds of protestors, but turned into the center of Egypt’s night-long celebration. Voluntarily, Egyptian women and men cleaned up the Tahrir Square the day after, removing the residues of a successful 18-days revolution: Mainly Graffiti and trash.

CHILDREN OF THE REVOLUTION: This BBC production traces the revolution’s aftermath from the viewpoint of 2 young Egyptian participants of Egypt’s January revolution: With 2 protagonists as different as possible, this video blog illustrates perfectly the dilemma and discrepancy in prosperity opportunities that young Egyptians face: Both the graduate Gigi Ibrahim and the unemployed youngster Ahmed Hassan, allow us to experience their everyday life struggles in Egypt’s post-revolution era whilst inviting us to form a critical judgment on Egypt’s likeliness to arrive at building a democratic foundation.

For view, visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/ b01bpq8t

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March 2013

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Where’s the ‘bread, freedom and social justice’ 2 years after Egypt’s revolution?

EGYPT’S NEVER ENDING ECONOMIC STRUGGLE Two years after the 25-Jan revolution, Egypt’s economy is still struggling and the new Muslim Brotherhood–backed government is far from resolving the manifold problems of poverty and unemployment of which Egypt’s postrevolution period has been marked.

Due to slowing economic growth and a rapidly dropping currency, Egypt’s economy produces barely enough work for the large number of Egyptian youth entering the job market. The statistics published by Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilisation and Statistics state that nearly one in four Egyptians between the ages of 18 and 29 are unemployed (24.8%).

Additionally, these statistics revealed the shocking fact that just over half of all young Egyptians are classified as living in poverty: They complement the dramatically increasing class of poor Egyptians which counts up to half of Egypt’s total population of 82 Million that live below the poverty line meaning a person’s spending falls below LE3,076 ($500) per year, or LE265 ($43.9) per month.

Egypt’s poverty map: revealing the tremendous poverty levels in Egypt’s rural areas

How to bring the economy back on track?

In 2012, the new Muslim Brotherhood–backed government put the final touches on an economic reform program aiming at satisfying the IMF by underlining its serious concern to bring its high budget deficit under control, paving the way for a $4.8 billion financing package. However, the receipt of such payments is tied to the implementation of austerity measures which are likely to hit the middle class and poor the hardest:

If Morsy and his entourage actually possess a sufficient degree of expertise and understanding to find and implicate solutions for improving Egypt’s miserable economic conditions remains to be seen.

Morsy’s reform program involves cutting government costs by taking away energy subsidies to those who need them most. A reduction in these subsidies, which make up about a quarter of the total government spending, is likely to boost inflation by raising prices of cooking gas, gasoline and diesel fuel. Furthermore, the government has announced an increase in the sales tax (from 10% to 11%).

For the near future, many clouds remain to be observed on Egypt’s economic horizon: The first democratically elected government lacks support and trust among its country’s most influential managers, as seen from Nevine Al Tahri’s statement, to whom is often referred to as Egypt’s “first lady of banking”: They don’t have the right caliber of people to do the job.

Difficult decisions have to be made — on labor, and on reconciling with investors. We need someone with vision.”

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INTERFACE

March 2013

Hosni Mubarak: How to punish a despot?

On 2 June 2012, following a 10-month trial, Mubarak was convicted of conspiring in the killing of protesters as well as on the promotion of corruption, and was sentenced to life in prison.

But instead of delivering a triumph for the rule of law in Egypt, this verdict led thousands of Egyptian people to join street demonstrations once again emphasizing the reasonableness of a death sentence in the case of Egypt’s popular despot of the past 3 decades. On top of this verdict announced in June 2012, Mubarak’s defendants have been successful in requesting an appeal: This January, the court has ruled to accept the appeal filed by the defendants and orders a retrial. This retrial cannot result in a harsher penalty, but could only re-impose a maximum life sentence or even lead to an acquittal. Since no new evidence is added, the retrial grants his defendants a realistic chance of improving Mubarak’s fate, causing families of victims who were killed by security forces during the Jan25-revolution to fear the court’s sparing of their relatives’ murder.

Survey: Egypt’s opinion on Mubarak’s future prospects

A questionable constitution?

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy signed a decree putting into effect his country’s newly approved constitution after it has been voted on via a referendum of 2 rounds in December 2012. After a 2 to 1 ratio approval, Morsy signed the constitution that has been finished within 21 hours and that has been highly accused of vagueness and a missing protection of private liberty by liberal critics.

Islamic Law? Article 2 ensures that the legal code stems from “the principles of Islamic law”, wording that is broad enough to allow for individual rights and freedoms. But in an attempted compromise between the ultraconservatives and their liberal opponents, the proposed constitution added a new article defining those principles in accordance with established schools of Sunni Muslim thought.

A transparency problem?

Although one article guarantees the election of local councils in each province, all the power remains centralized in the role of federally appointed governors. Despite of the protestors’ demonstration of objection towards Mubarak’s public corruption practices, the new government declined to adopt any international models for promoting transparency

(No) Freedom from discrimination?

No specification has been found in the constitution’s document whether women’s rights are protected. Many critics argue that an article on women’s equality has been left out on purpose to avoid disputes with the ultraconservative camp. Moreover, some articles offer space for interpretation in such a way as to enforce the domesticity of women rather than promote their presence in the workforce.

INTERFACE

March 2013

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RECIPES - EAsy To mAkE FoR lAZy suNdAys ANd EARly moNdAys. ouT oF INspIRATIoN? Too TIREd To ThINk AbouT whAT To EAT? buT sTIll FANCyINg A gREAT mEAl? hERE ARE Two hEAlThy, EAsy-To-mAkE RECIpEs ThAT FIT ThE sTudENT budgET. Text by: Iris van Rijn

BASIl-GARlIc-fEtA-ROcKEt SAlAd-OlIvE OIl-SPAGHEttI for 1 person:

QUESAdIllAS for 2-4 persons:

YOU NEEd: 4 tortillas - 4 spoons of guacamole

4 spoons of sour cream - 4 spoons of spicy Mexican tomato salsa - 250 g of rasped cheese

YOU NEEd: 2 sliced tomatoes - 3 spoons of

olive oil - 150 g of spaghetti - 2 cloves of garlic 2 spoons of chopped basil - 100 g of feta, crumbled or chopped - A handful of rocket salad

• Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. • Put the slices of tomato in a baking dish and pour 1 spoon of olive oil on top of the tomato slices. Put the baking dish into the oven for 10 minutes.

• Boil slightly salted water, add pasta, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes; afterwards drain the water.

• Meanwhile, put the chopped basil and mashed garlic in a bowl, add a spoon of olive oil and mix all the ingredients thoroughly.

• After you drained the pasta, add the mix of chopped basil and garlic.

• Get the tomatoes out of the oven.

• Put the pasta in a bowl and mingle the tomatoes. If all went well a lot of juice will come from the tomatoes.

• Add the crumbled feta and add some extra flavour with salt and pepper.

• Finally put the rocket salad on top and your dish is ready to serve!

Suggestion: A lot of extra and different ingredients can be included in this recipe. Those ingredients include bacon, mozzarella, and peppers.

• • • •

Spread the guacamole, sour cream, and tomato salsa on the tortilla.

Afterwards sprinkle the rasped cheese over the tortilla.

Put another tortilla on top of the dressed tortilla.

Heat a frying pan to a low temperature. Bake the quesadillas for 3 minutes on both sides

Suggestion: eat them while they are still warm.

This is your wake-up call The 24 Hours of PostNL, 4 en 5 april 2013 Ben jij een wakker en alert type? En ben je in staat dat 24 uur, zonder slaap, vol te houden?

Dan is ‘The 24 Hours of PostNL’ iets voor jou. Tijdens deze business course krijg je een goed beeld van onze dynamische logistieke organisatie. Kom sparren over de ongekende carrièrekansen die PostNL je biedt, ontdek en ervaar hoe wij werken en laat ons je eigen kwaliteiten zien tijdens de interactieve presentaties en uitdagende cases. Je kunt deelnemen aan deze business course als je in de laatste fase van je studie zit én de pittige selectieprocedure doorstaat. Klinkt dit als een uitdaging die jij graag met beide handen aanpakt? Meld je dan uiterlijk 10 maart 2013 aan. Alleen voor de 24 besten is plek!

Maak werk van verandering en meld je aan op 24hoursofpostnl.nl

het bezorgen van morgen

INTERFACE

March 2013

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INTERFACE

March 2013

Text by: Marnix Boon

BOdY lANGUAGE! It is something we

use on an every day basis. Most of the time it is an unconsious process though.

When people talk about body language, one usually thinks about making (explanatory) gestures while talking. But more important are other forms of body langauge, like the way people walk or stand. Basically, body language consists of all the nonverbal communication a person uses. Everyone knows the importance of standing up straight, with your shoulders pulled back while keeping your chin up.

If a person stands and walks in that way, the posture alone gives a more confident impression. Weak forms of body language are for example making yourself small or crossing your arms. Presenting yourself in an open and confident manner is very important to make a good impression.

How you present yourself and the body signals you send out are hugely important and moreover forgotten by a big amount of people nowadays. Nonverbal communication has become a field of science with a lot of thorough research done on it. An increasing number of studies show us that body language has a significant influence in the way we are judged, for example at job interviews.

To begin an interview, it is key to look the person you are talking to straight in the eyes, give a firm handshake and most importantly to stand up straight. Hence, stop improving your CV and begin working on your body language!

tHE BESt fORMS Of NONvERBAl ExPRESSION SHOw StRONG cHARActERIcS lIKE PRIdE ANd dOMINANcE.

Ways of expression, for example power and dominance, can be found in the animal kingdom as well. Think about apes and how they give others the impression that they are strong? They stretch out, making themselves as big as possible.

Same thing goes for cats. In case a cat feels threatend by another cat or animal it stretches itself out. Even his hair stands up, just to appear bigger. We can relate this to the way humans try to also appear strong and dominant. The expression of pride and dominance shown previously is used across the entire world and has been observed since the beginning of mankind.

A research conducted about the expressed gesture on the photo, better known as classic victor expression, shows us just how incorporated in peoples lifes it has

become. Researchers identified that the classic victor expression is used by people born with sight, but also by blind people.

The blind people, as a control group, used in the experiment were blind from birth on, so they have never seen anyone do the arms in a V-position. This shows that the classic victor sign is not something we copy from others, but something that is ingrained in ourselves.

Next, the way a person appears and looks is also extremely important. For example, Alex Todorov conducted an research at Prinston University about our judgements on US political candidates’ faces. The goal was to predict the outcome of elections by means of our judgements of a candidates face after viewing it for only 1 second. The result was shocking. Over 70 percent of all Senate’s and Governors election outcomes could be predicted. However, we face the problem that one can’t easily chance his facial appearence. What we learn from this is that nonverbal characteristics are very important.

Allright, maybe you didn’t know exactly how important nonverbal expressions are, but it for sure didn’t come as a surprise that it has a tremendous influence on how people regard you as a person. The only problem is, that a lot of people find it hard to ‘fake’ their body language. Presenting body gestures opposite to the way you feel is difficult.

Moreover, people feel fake if they use body language that is not in line with their caracter or their emotions. The solution? Fake it till you become strong and dominant by ‘power posing’. Below we will explain what power posing is and how to use it.

Well, at this point it has become clear that others judge us on our body language. Job interviews, promotions and many more aspects of daily life are heavily dependent on the way we present ourselves. However, we tend to forget that our nonverbals subsequently influence ourselves. Amy Cuddy, prominent social

physcologist, conducted a research about this phenomenon. To understand her research, first we need to explain what causes feelings of stress and dominance.

These two feelings are vital, because they can be directly related to our weak or strong body language. Testosteron can obviously be related to dominance, hence a strong body language. Weak nonverbal signals, like stress, can be related to another hormone called cortisol.

SO tHE QUEStION REMAINS HOw wE cAN INcREASE OUR tEStOStERON ANd dEcREASE OUR cORtISOl lEvEl.

The answer is simple: spend two minutes with your arms wide open and your chin high up. Try to find a moment for yourself, in the restroom for example, to do this so called power pose.

The research results are extrodanary.

After power posing, your testosterone goes up by 20 percent on average, while decreasing your cortisol hormones by about 25 percent. This shows us that your body language not only influences how other people see you, but also how you see yourself!

Consequently you will feel and act more confident each time you power pose and will therefore leave a more memorable impression on others as well. Basically, your life can be completely different if you improve your nonverbals. So next time you have an important interview or presentation remember to power pose.

We, the Interface committee, already tried it out and we are sold.

SO GO ANd tRY It YOURSElf!

INtEREStEd IN POwER POSING? Watch Amy Cuddy’s presention on: http://www.ted.com/talks/amy_cuddy_your_body_language_shapes_who_you_are.html

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INTERFACE

March 2013

CaLENDaR

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IBA Studytrip

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Laurentius presents ‘Goudkoorts’

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IBA Studytrip Buy your books now BA Studytrip BA Studytrip

Office Closed for Easter Holidays

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Buy your books now BA Studytrip Office Closed Easter Holidays “Race of the Classics”

IBA Social drink

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Macro Case Study 1

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Bachelor Open Day

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Rotterdam Funfair in Shievhaven International Week Rotterdam

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Rotterdam Funfair in Shievhaven International Week Rotterdam

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Rotterdam Funfair in Shievhaven “Nacht Van Oranje” Office Closed in Ahoy Rotterdam International Week Rotterdam

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March 2013

MAY MONDAY

TUESDAY

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Macro Case Study 2

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Swan Market - XXL

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JUNE MONDAY

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Blue - STAR | Orange - Cultural Rotterdam | Pink - University | Green - Fraternities

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March 2013

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It’s time to hit the No sweaty and smelly people on the soccer field, but people wearing nicely fitted outfits worn with a fragrance of Boss or Chanel perfume.

No aggressive, fanatic movements or sounds, but quietly amused laughs and words of motivation. No muddy wholes and slacky maintained pieces of grass, but instead perfectly mowed fields with occasional lakes in a harmonious surrounding. This is the game of Golf. Sounds quite appealing right? Well, you better get used to the idea of wearing Burberry hats, Lacoste polos, and high Hilfiger socks, because Golf is part of Business.

Text by: Marjolein Broekhuisen

The time during which bosses spent full days at the office and classified an occasional cup of coffee at the vending machine, as a “social activity”, has ended. Today business people are not only socially active “online”, but also on the golf course. Google has an overload of articles containing information on business golf tournaments and “the art of doing business on the golf course”, business golf news,

golf communities, and even an article on the “ten commandments of business golf”.

Golf is truly becoming a trend in business, but why?

If you take a moment to reflect on the numerous advantages golf in business has to offer, it becomes clear why it is so immensely popular.

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INTERFACE

March 2013

the driving range!

Golf’s first virtue: “No matter what age, everybody can play it.”

Think about this way: A 60 year old CEO will probably not be very hasty to show off his clumsy soccer skills to the company’s potential client. Instead he will be more keen on having a relaxed walk and chat, while occasionally hitting a ball and possibly even making it to the fairway. Therefore, Golf’s first virtue is that people of any age can play it!

Golf’s second virtue: “You can compete against anybody.”

Golf has a so-called handicap system, which allows people of widely differing abilities to compete against each other. So if you ever end up in a situation in which you’re scheduled for a “business golf appointment”, always make sure to check your client’s handicap beforehand and adjust your golf style accordingly. If you are no pro yourself, just play your best game and keep your calm.

Golf’s third virtue: “Plenty of time for business.”

Golf is probably one of the lengthiest sports out there. One game can last for 4-6 hours. During that time you only spend a very small portion on actually striking the ball. So this gives you approximately 3.5 hrs for a serious business chat.

Keep in mind: Golfers do not appreciate chitchats while simultaneously concentrating on hitting the ball themselves.

Golf’s fourth virtue: “It’s a strategic game.”

The game of golf can be very frustrating if you are unable to hit the ball accurately and get it closest to the place you were aiming at. When you do business you want to find out more about the character of your potential client/ partner and Golf is a great way to do so.

“Golf rewards players who remain calm under pressure, never lose their temperature and think strategically.”

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March 2013

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The academic spring Open or closed access?

Do you know that feeling, after a long search you think you’ve finally found that key article for your essay or thesis, and it turns out you don’t have the rights to open it? Even though you’re on the university’s network or VPN, there are still articles and other publications that the EUR is not registered for. Well, if it’s up to the followers of the academic spring movement this will be history very soon. text by: Floris Vernooij

It all started when a blog post of mathematician Timothy Gowers went viral. He, like many other academics, was upset that the work produced by his peers, and funded largely by taxpayers, sat behind the paywalls of private publishing houses that charged UK universities hundreds of millions of pounds a year for the privilege of access. So, in January 2012, Gowers wrote a blog declaring that from that moment on, he would decline to submit or review papers for any academic journal published by Elsevier, the largest publisher of scientific journals in the world. Within a day, thousands of people read and commented on the post and even a website was launched (The Cost of Knowledge), which allowed academics to register their protest against companies like Elsevier. By April 2012 already as much as 8,000 academics had registered, reaching more than 13,000 at the beginning of February 2013. What soon became known as the academic spring, had started and at the same time caused the rebirth of a similar movement: the open access movement.

Open Access

The open access movement, which has been around for more than 50 years by the way but which seems to

have endured a second birth with the academic spring movement, stands for open access of all scientific output supported by public money. So not only articles, but also data, software and educational material. They feel that all information should be available for everybody at any time and want to overpower the commercial lobby by making as much articles accessible to the public as possible.

Risk

Although it all sounds pretty good, singing and acting on the petition isn’t without risk. A lot of scientists are dependent on publishing in articles like the ones from Elsevier for their promotion or job at university of research centre. This can also be seen by looking at the numbers.

Elsevier’s main magazines are focused on medical topics, and it doesn’t come as a surprise that only 500 out of the 13.000 petitioners are academics acting within the medical world. The rest of the supporters are mainly mathematicians, social scientists and informaticians (fields in which Elsevier doesn’t have magazines that important, as it has in the medical field).

But what’s in it for them?

Elsevier themselves claim that the open access to information is bigger than ever and the price of an article is, according to them, at the lowest point ever. They feel they are being punished for their reputation in the eighties and nineties, where they asked high prices and raised them on an annual basis.

However, they claim times have changed and so have they. They feel their prices are at a reasonable level now and refute the academic’s opinion that Elsevier is profiteering of off articles funded by public money. There claim is that in order to access the best articles by the best academics, money needs to be invested in distribution channels, like through the internet. They further claim that it isn’t their prices that cause frustration by the university libraries, but the fact that these libraries have a too small budget to handle the vast amount of publications that come their way every year.

The other side of the story is the fact that the scientific division of the publicist is responsible for about a third of the approximately 6 billion euro turnover it had in 2011. When looking at the profit it becomes even more clearer why Elsevier is trying to fend off al the critique so ferociously.

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The profit made by the scientific division was responsible for half (!) of the overall profit of Reed Elsevier in 2011.

Help by British government

A few months after the start of the academic spring, the movement made a big step forward in their goals when the British government decided to invest in a project that is going to make scientific articles public to the world. This project is supposed to be led by Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, and is planned to result in a website launch for the articles in the autumn or winter of 2014. The project should result in more open access scientific articles for the researchers and a major cost cut for universities.

Will it succeed?

The question if the academic spring movement will achieve any success in the near or foreseeable future is uncertain. Academics have complained about the rates of Elsevier before and every time the complaints faded away over time when they realized they needed Elsevier more than Elsevier needed them. The only way the position of main publicists (Elsevier, Springer and Wiley) can be weakened

is by the rise of websites like the British government funded one that work solemnly on open access and give free access to all who have an internet connection. Unfortunately, presently only 3 to 4 percent of articles are open access, even though open access has been predicted to thrive for years.

At the same time a lot of well known academics and institutions don’t want to burn their hands on the subject. The risk of not getting published anymore is either too high or not worth it. So time will tell if in the future we can freely read all the (academic) articles we want to read, but what clear is that with or without the academic spring movement times are changing. Present day students are more accustomed too and demanding open access. So that being said, the question doesn’t seem to be if major steps in open access of academic articles will be made but rather when.

According to Rowers, subscriptions to the vast amount of Elsevier’s scientific magazines can be immensely expensive. Making their own scientific work, often founded with public money, unavailable for much of their collogues or even themselves whilst Elsevier itself is making quite a lot of profit. A company which, by the way,

also supports anti-pirating legislation.

Furthermore, laws founded to protect royalties at the same time mainly limit the freedom on the internet by restricting for instance the publication of copyrighted material. What aggravates the researchers even more is that they are the ones doing all the work. They write, review and edit the articles, mostly on an unpaid basis, whilst Elsevier only publishes the articles, hence owning the copyrights.

Why should one pay 18.000 euro’s a year just to see its own work?

As said before, the followers of the movement now claim that they will stop working along with Elsevier.

They will no longer write, review or edit articles for the well-known Dutch publisher. “I am not the first scientist who refuses to do so, but I certainly won’t be the last. The more people who do so, the more pressure will be put on Elsevier and other paid publishers.” stated Gowers on his blog.

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Take your amb to the next le Hendrik Halbe is the Managing Director of the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship (ECE) and is on a mission to help academics create or put to use their entrepreneurial mindset. According to Hendrik Halbe, it’s not knowledge but the right mentality that is missing: “We have access to technology and knowledge we have built up in the last century through our academic centres that perform to world-class standards.

However, we did not succeed so far in turning this top research output into commercial success stories if you compare our output to USA or Asia for example. This is what we call the European paradox. One of the ingredients that is missing is a more ‘nothing to lose’ and ‘aim for the moon’ mentality.”

Together with his team, Hendrik Halbe wants to inspire and support students like you in becoming tomorrow’s leading entrepreneurs.

Text by: Marjolein Broekhuisen

For anybody who is not yet familiar with ECE, can you briefly explain what the goal of ECE is?

Our mission is to inspire, educate and support tomorrow’s leading entrepreneurs. To achieve this, we develop and maintain a high quality infrastructure that makes it possible to stimulate entrepreneurial behavior and foster ambitious and innovative entrepreneurship at the Erasmus University. By organizing inspiring events we want to motivate students and staff members to think in terms of the economic exploitation of their individual and collective knowledge. Through education we train the entrepreneurial skills of students, researchers and alumni and provide insights in the latest developments and relevant knowledge on entrepreneurship. Those who want to set up a company are supported with personal coaching, network,

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March 2013

Can you tell us how ECE got started?

The Holland Program on Entrepreneurship (HOPE) was launched in 2008 to stimulate entrepreneurship at the three universities of South-Holland. One of the goals was to create local centers for entrepreneurship at each university. In 2012, partly as a result of the efforts by HOPE, the Erasmus Centre for Entrepreneurship was setup by Prof. Dr. Justin Jansen, Prof.

Dr. Roy Thurik, and myself. Together we shared the view that there are so many bright students who often miss a trigger to take the first steps towards putting their ideas into profitable businesses. We found there was a need to further support these students in their entrepreneurial ambitions by creating a local platform to exchange knowledge and ideas. Now, one year down the line, we have recently launched an office/incubator facility called ‘Startup Campus’,at the Rotterdam Sciences Tower, where students and (experienced) entrepreneurs come together to learn, network and do business.

What does ECE do?

bitions evel extensive training programs and a workspace at the Startup Campus, a great facility situated in the Rotterdam Sciences Tower.

Do you think everyone can take on a career as an entrepreneur?

Anybody can start a company but that doesn’t mean everyone should. We want to create awareness among students and researchers that entrepreneurship for academics is a career choice but not for everyone. Taking at least some steps towards an entrepreneurial career can be very beneficial even if not successful. Setting up a company can be a great adventure and I am convinced that the entrepreneurial skills and mindset that you develop during this phase will be of great value to the rest of your life when pursuing your dreams.

In collaboration with its partners, ECE organizes more than 35 events, related to entrepreneurship, each year. Our main event is the worldwide investment battle “Get in the Ring” and we are involved in for example the “Philips innovation award”, and the “24hourbusinessgame”! All of the events are very inspiring to attend or, if you are really enthusiastic about entrepreneurship, to join as part of the organizing team at ECE. ECE’s main focus is to stimulate awareness among students for whom entrepreneurship is a possible career choice. You don’t necessarily need to start your own business, you can also become an entrepreneur within an existing business, the so-called intrapreneur. Large corporations are desperate for employees with an entrepreneurial mindset. In trying to stimulate students to create an entrepreneurial mindset, amongst others, we organize masterclasses on important entrepreneurship themes and programs for students and alumni who are already entrepreneurs.

When students reach the point of putting their ideas to practice, we offer the so-called “Get Started Program”. The Get Started - from idea to reality- is a 10 week extensive program that helps starting entrepreneurs to transform a business idea into a validated business model, and eventually a startup company.

Can you shortly describe what you want to achieve with ECE?

It will be a dream come true if a new Facebook, Apple or Google is launched by one of our entrepreneurs that we kickstarted through one of our programs. Next to that, I want every student at the Erasmus University to have thought about entrepreneurship as a career option or to have been in touch with entrepreneurship at least once during their academic career. It would also be great if we could really create an entrepreneurial community at the university in which students can exchange ideas with their peers, alumni and with people in their field.

INTERFACE

March 2013

34

Employees about ECE Aron de Boks (23)

Master student Entrepreneurship and New Business Venturing How are you involved with ECE? Since October I am busy organizing the “ Get Started Program” of ECE. One-liner for ECE: “ECE gives people the support and the drive they need to become an entrepreneur”

Jurgen Nieuwenhuijsen (23) Master student Civil Engineering

How are you involved with ECE? My task is to create awareness and an infrastructure for entrepreneurial activities at the university. I am responsible for the “research” and “ education” of ECE. One liner for ECE: “ECE has the drive, the enthusiasm, and the vision to help students achieve their entrepreneurial dreams”

Jochem Cuppen (23)

Master student Entrepreneurship and New Business Venturing How are you involved with ECE? Just like Jurgen I am responsible for creating awareness and enthusiasm about ECE. My responsibilities at ECE are the “events” and “business support”.

One-liner for ECE? “With its Startup Campus ECE has the facilities you need to successfully setup and grow your business.”

Upcoming events and deadlines for participation:

• Every Tuesday at 13:00 a free lunch at the Startup Campus, to signup see www.joining.com • Every month the Startup Drink at the Startup Campus, to signup see www.joining.com • 3rd of march deadline subscription Get Started Program, www.startupcampus.nl • 22 march deadline for participating in the Philips Innovation Award, www.phia.nl • In October the official launching event of the Erasmus Centre For Entrepreneurship, www.eur.nl/entrepreneurship • In November the Get in the Ring, the investment battle, www.getinthering.nl For more information on entrepreneurship activities or if you are interested to join the ECE team please visit www.eur.nl/entrepreneurship or email info@erasmus-entrepreneurship.nl.

Make a Make a difference! difference! ke a Make a erence! a difference! ence!

Learn.

Grow.

Excel.

Apply for a fulltime committee at STAR

Are you looking for the ultimate challenge?

Apply for a fulltime committee at STAR! Do you think you have what it takes to run an organization with 7000 members, 56 committees and a budget of 1,8 million?

WWW.DSM.com/careers DSM is a global Life Sciences and Materials We offer careers in a wide range of disciplines: To organize the biggest recruitment event of the Sciences company with unique abilities across the • Marketing & Sales Benelux or to conduct customized research in an elds of health, nutrition, and materials.

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DSM is a global Life Sciences and•Materials offer careers in a wide range of disciplines: We supply innovative ingredients and applications • Production & Maintenance Sciences company with unique abilities across the • Marketing & Sales Apply now for a fulltime position at the STAR that are helping to address some of the nutrition, world’s and materials.

• Engineering & Manufacturing elds of health, • Purchasing Board, at the Erasmus Recruitment Days most pressing issues. Think climate change, energy • Sustainability & Quality • Demand & Supply Chain Management consumption and the need for a balanced food & Development We supply innovative ingredients•andResearch applications • Production & Committee Maintenance or the Erasmus Consultancy Project supply across the globe.that are helping to address some •of the Finance & Control • Engineering & Manufacturing world’s Committee! most pressing issues. Think climate • change, Human energy Resources• Sustainability & Quality

WWW.DSM.com/careers

consumption and the need for a balanced • ICT food

supply across the globe.

M.com/careers

ences and Materials unique abilities across the n, and materials.

• • • •

Research & Development Finance & Control For more information go to Human Resources ICT rsmstar.nl/recruitment, send an email

We offer careers in a wide range of disciplines: WWW.DSM.com/careers • Marketing & Sales

• Purchasing • Demand & Supply Chain Management gredients and applications DSM•is aProduction Maintenance global Life&Sciences and Materials ess some of the world’s • Engineering & Manufacturing Sciences company with unique abilities across the hink climate change, energyelds • ofSustainability & Quality health, nutrition, and materials.

MRecruitmentadA-5.indd 1 eed for a balanced food • Research & Development .

• Finance & Control We supply innovative ingredients and applications DSMRecruitmentadA-5.indd that •are Human helpingResources to1address some of the world’s We offer careers in a wide range of disciplines: ICT most•pressing issues. Think climate change, energy ss the • Marketing & Sales consumption and the need for a balanced food • Purchasing supply across the globe.

• Demand & Supply Chain Management tions • Production & Maintenance ’s • Engineering & Manufacturing energy • Sustainability & Quality d • Research & Development • Finance & Control • Human Resources • ICT

areers

to recruitment@rsmstar.nl, come by our office at T4-53 or join our information drink on Tuesday April 23rd or Thursday April 25th at café ‘In de Smitse’ starting at 4pm.

We offer careers in a wide range of disciplines: • Marketing & Sales Flip the page over to get to know more • Purchasing 25-02-11 07:33 • Demand & Supply Chain Management these fulltime projects!

• Production & Maintenance 25-02-11 07:33 • Engineering & Manufacturing • Sustainability & Quality • Research & Development • Finance & Control • Human Resources • ICT

25-02-11 07:33

DSMRecruitmentadA-5.indd 1

25-02-11 07:33

about

INTERFACE

March 2013

36

STAR Board As a board member you will have the unique opportunity of being at the top of an organization with 7000 members, 270 active members and € 1.8 million revenue each year. You will expand your network by working together with the university, hundreds of companies, politicians and students. You will supervise different committees, acquire leadership skills, develop a strategy and learn how to achieve your goals. In addition, prepare for the dinners, invitations to exclusive events and drinks that make this year so diverse and awesome!

Why did you choose to apply for the STAR Board?

I finished my Bachelor IBA after three years and did not know yet which Master program to choose. During my Bachelor I always missed the practical part of business, and I realized I wanted to gain some experience before starting my Master. Although I had never been active at STAR before, I became very interested in a board year. After talking to several board members I realized a board year at STAR is the ultimate challenge and best preparation for my future career I could have as a student.

How is it to work so intensively within a team?

It is amazing how well you get to know each other when you see them almost every day. My eight board members really have become my best friends. We tell each other everything and we care for the group as a whole. Of course you don´t know beforehand who these eight board members will be, but after a year you will now they are going to be your friends for the rest of your life.

What will you remember after 35 years?

There are so many things I will remember, all the parties we have been invited for, the trips, the things I achieved during my board year, the companies, the active members, Wednesday nights at the Villa, the constitution drink, dinners at the office, the inside jokes and much more!

But if I had to pick one thing it would be the night after I heard I would become a STAR board member. It was a very memorable first night together.

What is the most important lesson learned?

To value each and every moment and seize every opportunity. It’s crazy how fast times passes by. In a year like this there are so many new impressions, great moments and unique experiences. In the rush of the moment it’s easy to keep on working, think about what you have to do the day after and so on. I want to enjoy each moment because I think I will never have a year again in which I have so many diverse and amazing experiences.

What are you going to do next year?

I am going to start my master next year.

This year I have met so many different companies and I have seen lots of different aspects within business which gave me a better idea about my future. I also know for sure I will still have a lot of contact with my board members and that we will keep seeing each other as much as we can!

What would you like to say to your successor?

Don’t underestimate the power of your board. With the nine of you, you can actually take on the world. Appreciate each other’s qualities, and the differences between people. The diversity is what makes you strong. I didn’t think about this that much before I applied, but it truly feels like that. Besides that, get your hands on projects you feel passionate about.

Last, but certainly not least: make sure you keep spending enough quality time with your friends and family during your board year!

Iris Blokpoel, Commissioner Human Resources, STAR Board 2012-2013

Some facts about the STAR Board Time Period: You will start in July, mostly to get to know each other and to get started.

From August 2013 till August 2014 the STAR Board will be fulltime.

Team: Your board will consist out of nine members, who will each have their own different function.

Responsibilities: 7000 members, 270 active members, a revenue of 1.8 million.

Biggest challenge: Keep the organization running while spending time on the strategy and policy of STAR. Benefits: Access to exclusive events, diversity of work, board responsibilities.

37

INTERFACE

March 2013

Erasmus Consultancy Project ECP is a project which offers companies tailor-made research and consultancy services in an emerging market. This project is carried out by 25 students in the final phase of their study. Your experience with ECP is a valuable investment for your own professional and social development.

In previous years, ECP has completed projects in countries such as South Korea, Mexico, India, Vietnam, Chile and Brazil. Currently ECP performs research in Thailand.

Why did you choose to apply for the ECP?

The ECP is a great possibility to do something besides your study.

Furthermore it interested me because I wanted to know whether consultancy would be something for me. It is an opportunity to employ the theory you’ve learned at RSM into practice. Besides all this the fact that you travel to the country of your choice for almost a month seems to me a perfect ending of a year of hard but great work.

How did you experience the recruitment period for ECP?

After talking to several STAR members who organized the ECP themselves I got really enthusiastic and decided to apply.

Of course it is always exciting who will apply and how your team will look like.

But now, after several months of working together, we already know each other so well. I don’t regret my choice for a minute!

What are you going to do in Thailand?

We will perform custom made research for Dutch SME’s. The main goal of our trip to Thailand is to visit as many companies as possible to obtain valuable information for our contractors. Of course we will also have plenty of time to see Bangkok during the weekends and nights. Besides that, we’ve got the possibility to travel through Thailand or the rest of South-East Asia after our three week stay in Bangkok. As you can see a perfect mix of business and culture!

What is the biggest challenge of this project?

The biggest challenge of the ECP is the acquisition phase, where we need to

acquire enough contracts to make sure that our trip/project will proceed. You will call a lot of companies and you will hear a lot of no’s, but in the history of ECP it has never happened before that the minimum budget to succeed has not been reached.

What have you learned from the ECP?

The ECP feels like starting up your own consultancy company from scratch.

You learn how to conduct research in a business instead of academic way.

The many visits to companies in the Netherlands and in Thailand make you gain a lot of experience in interviewing and influencing people. Last but not least, you will learn what real teamwork is; during the project you will work with approximately 25 other students during easy and hard times.

What would you like to say to your successor?

The ECP is a project in which you can really put your own twist. You get the chance to manage your own international consultancy company. It is a serious, but definitely also a social and diverse project.

I guess the last thing I can say is: APPLY, ENJOY & HAVE FUN!

Waling Koning, ECP 2013 Treasurer

Some facts about the ECP Time Period: The committee is from august 2013 till October 2014, of which 4 fulltime months and 10 months parttime.

Team: Your committee will consists out of six members, and about 20 consultants Responsibilities: 20 consultants, research assignments, acquisition phase, organizing the trip abroad.

Biggest challenge: Motivate the team and acquire contracts enabling you to go abroad and conduct research.

Benefits: Improve commercial skills, manage a team, conduct research and go abroad.

INTERFACE

March 2013

38

Erasmus Recruitment Days The ERD is the largest on campus recruitment event in the Benelux.

Nearly 2500 students and 100 companies participate each year. Students have the opportunity to get in touch with companies through company presentations, workshops, interviews, off-campus days, branch and company dinners, drinks and informal recruitment activities. The Erasmus Recruitment Days Committee is responsible for the complete organization of this event.

Why did you choose to apply for the ERD?

What is the biggest challenge of this project?

What do you like most about this project?

What are your further plans for this year?

The ERD is an amazing project that truly contributes to student life at our university: for many students it’s the first encounter with their future employer. Organizing the ERD brings you in contact with many different people and companies, which is a great enrichment to your own student life! Personally I wanted to discover what it’s like to work in a close team and learn to develop myself in a team, so the ERD was the perfect opportunity for this!

Working on an event of this magni­tude in a team of 7 students is a unique, oncein-a-lifetime experience! Organizing the ERD, you experience three very different phases –preparation, promotion, event – during which you get to know your committee really well. In every phase you see a different side of your committee members, which can be really surprising!

Seeing the happy faces of students and recruiters during the event was also really rewarding.

How did you experience being part of two different study associations?

Being part of two study associations is one of the great things about the ERD, because you get to meet twice as many people. It’s really fun to work with two diverse groups of active members and the two boards. Of course being linked to two associations also means double the amount of parties! We’ve been on a total of 7 weekends that were nothing less than legendary!

As Commissioner of Commercial Relations you try to find a balance between what companies are looking for and what kind of students we can offer them. Of course you want to have a lot of participating companies, but you need to be able to offer quality to both students and companies. Another challenge is to give your own twist to the event. The concept is quite clear, so you as a committee will want to leave your mark to your edition.

First I’m going to enjoy life as a “normal” student, it’s really strange –but great – to have so much free time again. I actually just started my MSc in Finance & Investments, so I’ll be making lots of visits to the library! I’m going on exchange to St. Gallen next January, so I’m extra motivated to work hard and complete all my courses this year. We’re also going on a trip with the ERD, but we haven’t decided on the location yet.

What would you like to say to your successor?

Being part of the ERD is something you can only do during your time as a student, so make the most out of it while it lasts; it’s over before you know it. As the ERD can be quite stressful at times I would also like to give the following advice: stay cool and don’t forget to enjoy!

Feike Du, ERD 2013 Commissioner of Commercial Relations

Some facts about the ERD Time Period: The committee is fulltime from August 2013 till March 2014 Team: Your committee will consists out of seven members Responsibilities: A two week event, 100 companies, 2300 students. Bringing students and companies together Biggest challenge: Bring students and companies together in a successful and professional way Benefits: Cover the campus in style of your project, extensive knowledge of participating companies.

AkzoNobel Masterclass 2013

ENGAGE with

our ideas show your TALENT Meet Willeke and Joost.

After finishing their Master’s they started their careers at AkzoNobel. They’ve discovered that we encourage you to have great ideas, then support you in bringing those ideas to life.

AkzoNobel’s annual Masterclass is your chance to find out if you’d like to be part of this unique culture. Join us, get to know us and experience how we’ve become such a successful global player. You’ll look at our business of tomorrow from different angles, and have plenty of opportunities to meet senior management and young employees.

When: May 13 & 14, 2013 For: Master students Please visit www.akzonobel.nl/masterclass for more information and to apply online. There you will also find out more about the roles that Willeke and Joost play within AkzoNobel.

06614_230113

Where your ideas go far www.akzonobel.nl/masterclass

40

INTERFACE

March 2013

Holiday Hotspots cURIOUS wHERE OtHERS ARE GOING fOR tHEIR HOlIdAYS?

San francisco

tex t by : Lea Po

destination:

Francisco Exploring San

Highlights:

t away tel booking, ge Spontaneous ho nging rainy Dutch ha from the ever-c ancisco to sunny San Fr f of d weather an for a week

Motto:

, San Francisco”

“Sun, Shopping

cheapest flIGHt websites:

Roderick S. (19)

(Holland)

booking

• kayak.com • cheapflights.nl • easybookers.com • skyscanner.com

ds • Corfu, Greek Islan ia • Croat • Sardinia • Canary Islands

inations tOP cOUNtRY dest 2012:

Paris

destination:

~ La ville de l’amour ~

Highlights:

Enjoying the fancy flavours and vibrant culture of France’s capital - Paris

Motto:

Bente H. 24, (exchange stu dent from Denmark)

left: Maarten d. H. (18) (Holland) destination: Road trip from Holland via France to Spain Motto: “Beer, Surf & Sun”

Right: Robin G. (18) (Holland) destination: Mountain biking through Switzerland Motto: “Seeking the Challenge”

tes

cheapest sunny HOtSPOtS:

• Uganda ) • Myanmar (Burma • Ukraine • Jordan • Cuba

“Candles, Music & Cheese with my fiancé”

llert, Keely Ba

ions

tOP cItY destinat 2012:

cco • Marrakesh, Moro y rke Tu l, bu an • Ist odia • Siem Riep, Camb an Om , at • Musc public • Prague, Czech Re

41

INTERFACE

March 2013

london

destination:

City tour of London

(china) di wu (22) ndon : 1st visit to Lo visit) st destination la e th t

Rishabh K. (18) (India)

Highlights:

destination: Home to

Proper sightseeing, while plunging into London’s pulsating nightlife

ly no ever (but sure Europe’s 2nd t si Vi : P tI er: OUR -standing tow TALLEST free t yourself be Le “The Shard”. by a breathtaking overwhelmed ’s skyline. on view of Lond

Visakhapatnam, India

Motto:

“Experience the true BRITISH lifestyle”

Hristina S. (23) (Bulgaria)

Race of the classics destination:

“Race of the Classics” – from Rotterdam via England to Amste

rdam

Highlights:

Compete against 500 oth er students, sail on an “old style sailor boa and party it up with 30 fell t” ow RSM students

Motto:

“Survival of the fittest”

Frank-William Hugi (24) (Switzerland)

left: Yinou J. (19) (Holland) destination: Ruian, China Right: Koen W. (19) (Holland) destination: Milano, Italy + short city trip to London

culture vs. Party

cUltURE:

• Washington DC, USA • Christchurch, New Zee land • Montenegro • Beijing, China • Montreal, Canada

PARtY:

• Cancun, Mexico (for spr ing breakers) • Phuket, Thailand • Ibiza, Spain • Sunny Beach, Bulgaria • Budapest, Hungary

e student 1) (Exchang

C. (2 left: Johnny

Medina Z. (20) (Azerbaijan) � destination: Spend some

quality family time in Georgia and possibly Turkey

from China)

(Berlin, , y) al ce and It London, Fran mmer to Hong Kong su e th in home ” LO O “Y : o ) tt o M (19) (Holland Hong Kong V. e ow B in Right: ny a : visit John destination travel Japan, South Kore ds ar rw and afte e and Singapor

: Travel Europehead back

destination

INTERFACE

March 2013

42

wEEK 13: 27TH OF MaRCH STaR STaN D T-4 DUCKIES: ONLY 2 EURO

wIN aMaZING PRICES!!

43

INTERFACE

March 2013

DUCKRaCE

AS tHE REAcH OUt cOMMIttEE Of StAR OUR MAIN GOAl IS tO PROvIdE BOtH StUdENtS ANd tHE ROttERdAM cOMMUNItY wItH vAlUABlE INItIAtIvES. At tHE StARt Of tHIS AcAdEMIc YEAR wE wERE lOOKING fOR SUcH AN INItIAtIvE. AftER A SHORt PERIOd wE cAME tO tHE cONclUSION tHAt wE wANtEd tO HElP PENSION MAASZIcHt BY ORGANIZING A dUcK RAcE fOR tHEM. lEt ME fIRSt ExPlAIN wHAt PENSION MAASZIcHt IS ANd tHEN I wIll tEll YOU SOMEtHING ABOUt tHE dUcK RAcE.

wHaT IS PENSION MaaSZICHT?

Pension Maaszicht offers shelter for young adults between the age of 17 and 23. The reason why the minimum age is 17 is because that is when child protective services is no longer responsible for these young adults at that age.

That means that is the time when these young adults need to be independent, but most of them are not ready to be all by themselves. A lot of these young adults, who went from being under child protective services to another form of shelter, do not really have a positive future perspective, without the proper education and a good place to stay most of them start joining the illegal circuit.

That is where Pension Maaszicht steps in. Not only does Pension Maaszicht offer a place to stay for the young adults, but they also provide them with a bed, shower, food, mentoring and aftercare. Mentoring is an important part for the young adults, because Pension Maaszicht is not just a place to live; Pension Maaszicht wants that the young adults get their lives well organized for the future. They are encouraged to finish their education and to set certain goals for the future (when they leave Maaszicht).

One of the projects of Pension Maaszicht is restaurant Millers.

This restaurant is part of Pension Maaszicht and this is also a place where these young adults can start with an education in cooking. They have to follow their classes at a MBO-school but the internship is already arranged for them at restaurant Millers. You must not forget that some of these young adults have never experienced working in a restaurant or have never finished high school, so this is a big step in their lives.

Pension Maaszicht offers a shelter for five years of which the first three years are at Pension Maaszicht. After these three years the young adults are expected to be more independent and it is time for them to move out of the pension. Most of them move on to the BOLwoning, this is an outside residence of Pension Maaszicht. The young adults who live in the BOLwoning still have the guidance Maaszicht provides, but now they can start to learn to live on their own. In a way, Pension Maaszicht gives these young people their future back.

wHaT aRE wE GOING TO DO FOR THEM?

We are going to organize a Duckrace for Pension Maaszicht!

The idea of this duckrace is to drop a whole bunch of rubber ducks into the Delftsevaart canal in Rotterdam. Each duckie is given a number. By selling these numbers, each duckie will belong to a specific owner. After dropping the duckies into the canal, the Rotterdam Youth Firemen Department will

start hosing water on the duckies, to get them to move from the dropping point, to the finish line. The owner of the first duckie that crosses the finish line will win a price.

THE PROFIT wE MaKE ON THE DUCKIES wILL DIRECTLY GO TO MaaSZICHT. THEREFORE wE NEED YOUR HELP!!

The more duckies sold, the greater the success will be! Not only because we will raise more money by selling more duckies, but also because a canal filled with 2000 duckies is way more spectacular than just a few duckies.

wHaT YOU CaN DO FOR US!

If you want to contribute to our project and help Pension Maaszicht out, I have good news for you! YOU can be part in this event as well by buying duckies from us, as much as you want. The duckies will only cost you 2 euros! That is less than one beer these days. On the 27th of March we will sell these duckies in the T-building at the STAR stand. When you buy a duckie you have a chance to win one of our amazing prices. I cannot tell you all the prices yet but I will give you a sneak preview of one of the prices‌ How about a weekend stay in a Best Western Hotel for nothing! So do not hesitate and come to the T-building on the 27th of March and buy our duckies!

wHaT TO DO IF I CaN NOT MaKE IT TO THE EVENT?

No problem. The lucky duckie number that crosses the finish line first will be placed on the STAR site. You can come and claim your price any day after the event (not on the weekends). Make sure you don’t forget your prove that you bought an duckie from us. If you can not make it to the event you can still get a price so there is no reason, at all, for you to not buy a duckie!

FEEL LIKE HELPING US?

There are several options for you if you want to help us!

First of all you can help us by buying a duckie. Secondly maybe you can sell our duckies at the STAR stand in week 13 and thirdly at the day of the event we need some help in organizing everything and selling the duckies on that day.

Every kind of help is appreciated by us.

If you want to offer your help you can go to our website www.rsmstar.nl/reachout and there is a submit form.

The day of the event is on the 11th of May.

44

INTERFACE

March 2013 Management Knowledge

Environmental capabilities and corporate strategy

by Luca Berchicci

Green thinking that would have met with nothing but contempt three decades ago is now firmly on the agenda of corporate boardrooms. Green thinking is increasingly having a clear impact upon how companies in a wide range of sectors across diverse geographies formulate and implement their long-term strategy and short- to medium-term tactics.

delivering enhanced performance?

Does the need for environmental capabilities trigger a search for them if a company doesn’t possess them?

Does it make sense to go looking for them elsewhere rather than try to build in-house capabilities?

There is, of course, an obvious short cut to plugging any gap in a company’s environmental capabili-

A growing number have embraced

life demands that companies build or

ties: go down the time-honoured

the challenges presented by the new

acquire a new set of what are often

route of buying a rival company, plant

reality and devised ways and means

referred to as “environmental capabili-

or other facility which already has them

of making their business not only

ties”. Environmental capabilities can

in place. A recent paper that I co-

greener but also more cost-effective

be briefly summarised as a new set

authored - Environmental capabilities

and ultimately more profitable, in what

of routines and norms that will help

and corporate strategy: exploring

I would suggest is a classic case of a

companies behave, and evolve, to

acquisitions among US manufacturing

win-win scenario.

cope with the additional responsibilities

firms - examines how acquisitions act

“To what extent does it pay for a company to be green?”

as a transmission mechanism for environmental capabilities.

W hy

would

environment al

capabilities matter in acquisitions?

At minimum, firms assess a potential

12 | 4th Quarter 2012

Governments and regulators are

thrust upon them, and to sustain

target’s environmental records as part

happier because their edicts have

themselves environmentally and

of the due diligence process in order to

changed behaviour in the positive

commercially in the long term. Some

minimise the possibility of acquiring a

way that they envisaged. The public

companies, as one might expect, are

target that has significant potential for

are happier because their environment

adapting well. Others are struggling

environmental liabilities. Discussions

is more conducive to good health and

to do so.

with managers who have been

the collective conscience is salved.

In this context, several questions

involved with numerous acquisitions

Companies and shareholders are

suggest themselves. To what extent

indicate that environmental issues

happier because they have met their

does it pay for a company to be

are commonly considered in the pre-

obligations while enhancing income.

green? Does it have any impact on

acquisition phase.

the bottom line? Will additional layers

Environmental issues are not the

Environmental capabilities

of regulation necessarily improve

primary driver of acquisition choices,

Adapting to the new way of corporate

a company’s competitiveness by

as firms generally choose targets that fit

45

their strategic needs (eg, allowing them

or operational costs, a transfer of

to gain access to a product or service

environmental capabilities could

market). However, environmental due

explain certain acquisitions.

INTERFACE

March 2013

diligence can either alter the terms of

Such transfers are strengthened

a deal or cause the firm to cancel a

by the proximity between the acquirer

can deliver production that is more

planned acquisition all together.

and the target; a purchase, if properly

efficient, reduce waste, drive down

executed, efficiently integrated and

costs, and push up profitability. My

Increasingly, firms are assessing to

subsequently well managed, should

research, observations and experience

determine if a facility is undervalued

enable the transfer of the environmental

all combine to prompt me to make a

and whether its performance can be

capabilities that are embedded in

suggestion that might merit further

improved through post-acquisition

the target into the purchaser. I call

study because, quite literally, it can

capability transfer. In 2000, for

this a green target to brown acquirer

pay to be green.

example, energy company Kerr-McGee

transfer. Likewise, they can move

acquired a facility in Savannah, GA,

in the opposite direction in a green

Luca Berchicci is Associate Professor

that had been cited for environmental

acquirer to brown target transfer. We

of Entrepreneurship and New Business

and safety concerns. In making the

see green to brown transfers in cases

Venturing, Department of Strategic

acquisition, Kerr-McGee explicitly cited

where companies that possess well-

Management and Entrepreneurship,

its ability to fix the facility and bring it

developed environmental capabilities

Rotterdam School of Management,

into line with the performance of its

buy companies that lack them.

Erasmus University. His research

environmental

per formance

Interestingly, our findings imply

interests focus on understanding how

In order to understand more fully

that the (hypothesized) transfer of

managers develop and make use of

how environmental performance plays

environmental capabilities increases

firm’s capabilities to achieve greater

a role in acquisitions, my co-authors

its diffusion within the industry making

performance. He also studies how firms

and I held informal interviews with

it “greener”.

acquire capabilities that allow them to

other facilities.

managers and performed an archival

I

believe,

then,

that

green

improve their performance relative to

search for discussion of these issues.

considerations have a much more

A more thorough discussion of our

significant impact today, at a higher

findings is available in Appendix A of

level within the corporate management

Environmental

hierarchy, than at any time in human

Corporate

histor y.

our paper.

EMAIL

lberchicci@rsm.nl Capabilities

Strategy:

and

Exploring

considerations

Acquisitions Among US Manufacturing

environmental performance between

have moved rapidly from being a

Firms (August 24, 2011) is written by

acquirers and targets matters for

superficial add-on to being an essential

Luca Berchicci, Glen Dowell and

acquisition. Firms with stronger

component in corporate life, helping to

Andrew A. King – Johnson School

environmental capabilities tend to

drive corporate strategy.

Research Paper Series No. 33-2011.

What we have found is that relative

Green

new criteria.

buy targets with weaker ones and vice

Implemented intelligently, and

versa. We claim that, beside cleaning

successfully, green management

It is available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/ abstract=1916306

4th Quarter 2012

| 13

46

INTERFACE

March 2013 Management Knowledge

35 STAR Board: Environmental capabilities and corporateOur strategyPolicy th

by Luca Berchicci

Green thinking that would have met with nothing but contempt three decades ago is now firmly on the agenda of corporate boardrooms. Green thinking is increasingly having a clear impact upon how companies in a wide range of sectors across diverse geographies formulate and implement their long-term strategy and short- to medium-term tactics.

delivering enhanced performance?

Does the need for environmental capabilities trigger a search for them if a company doesn’t possess them?

Does it make sense to go looking for them elsewhere rather than try to build in-house capabilities?

There is, of course, an obvious short cut to plugging any gap in a company’s environmental capabili-

A growing number have embraced

life demands that companies build or

ties: go down the time-honoured

the challenges presented by the new

acquire a new set of what are often

route of buying a rival company, plant

reality and devised ways and means

referred to as “environmental capabili-

or other facility which already has them

of making their business not only

ties”. Environmental capabilities can

in place. A recent paper that I co-

greener but also more cost-effective

be briefly summarised as a new set

authored - Environmental capabilities

and ultimately more profitable, in what

of routines and norms that will help

and corporate strategy: exploring

I would suggest is a classic case of a

companies behave, and evolve, to

acquisitions among US manufacturing

win-win scenario.

cope with the additional responsibilities

firms - examines how acquisitions act

“To what extent does it pay for a company to be green?”

as a transmission mechanism for environmental capabilities.

W hy

would

environment al

capabilities matter in acquisitions?

At minimum, firms assess a potential

Governments and regulators are

thrust upon them, and to sustain

target’s environmental records as part

happier because their edicts have

themselves environmentally and

of the due diligence process in order to

changed behaviour in the positive

commercially in the long term. Some

minimise the possibility of acquiring a

happier because they have met their

does it pay for a company to be

are commonly considered in the pre-

obligations while enhancing income.

green? Does it have any impact on acquisition phase. layers: Financial, Active Members, Activities, and Members. Each layer has a significant amount of blocks within calledare Value the bottom line? Will additional layers Environmental it issues not the

Environmental capabilities

of regulation necessarily improve

This policy document is the outcome of a week, which On top you can find the statement “to enrich the life of RSM way that The public atcompanies, as one might aremission target that has significant potential which expect, is STAR its and reason for existence.

This for started together withthey twoenvisaged.

PwC consultants their students” mission is supported by four different pillars: “Supporting our Rotterdam headquarters and continued in a hotel in well. Others are struggling environmental liabilities. Discussions adapting are happier because their environment Members in Their Choice of Career, Fun, Supporting our Members Vlissingen. Along the waterside, the XXXVth STAR Board with managers who have been is more conducive to good health and to do so. (hereinafter named ‘we’) became inspired and created in Their Studies, and Contribute to Society”. Moreover, these four In this different context, several questions numerous acquisitions the to collective conscience salved. pillars are supportedinvolved by one with common pillar namely: a common goal: build on what the ispast STAR Boards “Developing To ourwhat Activeextent Members”. build on. Together with PwC we shareholders build our own are STAR house: suggest themselves. indicate that environmental issues Companies and text by: Rik Hendriks

Adapting to the new way of corporate

12 | 4th Quarter 2012

To fulfill the needs of these pillars we divided our processes in four

Drivers. Are you curious? An in depth description of each value primary driver of acquisition choices, driver can be found on our website. Also on March 13, during our a company’s competitiveness firms generally choose targets GAM (which is open to allbySTARasmembers) we will provide morethat fit information about our Balanced Score Card.

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