M U N?? Model United Nations (also Model UN or MUN) is an academic simulation of the United Nations that aims to educate participants about civics, effective communication, globalization and multilateral diplomacy, according to Wikipedia.
For 3 years we've organised a mini MUN for 3rd year CMV students and each time it was great fun and an interesting learning opportunity to get immersed in talks at a global level.
Having appointed delegates for 17 different countries the issue on the table was "the war about water", a topical issue but still quite open for debate within the appointed timespan of 3 and a half hours.
Although hesitant at first during the opening speeches most students adapted pretty quickly to the session and the jargon used at those sessions.
It was especially the honourable delegate from Zimbabwe, who stole the show, although he was the first to respond to the chair that "Zimbabwe is not known for stealing".
Within the last half hour it became clear how much overall progress all delegates had been making when all countries present had to respond to the crisis in Pakistan in their one-minute speeches.
Helping to prepare students to become global citizens can be seen as evidence of a growing tendency in higher education institutes to try and demonstrate a sense of (worldwide) social responsibility. Organising a MUN is a brilliant way of doing this.
Preparations are already underway to organise a university-wide MUN at Hogeschool Rotterdam( MUNRO ?) covering a few days and trying to tempt even more students into taking on roles as delegates, debating and developing solutions to worldwide problems.
07 June, 2009
14 May, 2009
Erasmus student in Parijs: grève !
Als Erasmus student wil je graag naar het buitenland om je studie op een internationale manier vorm te geven. Maar ook vooral om je onder te dompelen in een andere cultuur en er persoonlijk veel te leren van de andere perspectieven die je er mee krijgt. Nou dat heeft een studente wel geweten, toen ze afgelopen januari naar Parijs afreisde om daar deel te nemen aan een paar vakken geschiedenis en alles te leren over de Franse revolutie. "Uiteindelijk kreeg ik 27 april mijn eerste officiële college over de Franse revolutie" schrijft de studente, die eind januari was vertrokken. Wat bleek Parijs was "en grève", men staakte en onduidelijk was wanneer de lessen weer zouden worden hervat. Positief als ze is concludeert ze: "Al heb ik dus feitelijk nauwelijks colleges gehad, toch heb ik wel een interessant verschijnsel ontmoet. Niet vertrouwd met het cultuurverschijnsel grève is het voor mij onvoorstelbaar dat er praktisch een heel semester ‘opgeofferd’ kan worden aan een staking. Waar men in Nederland gaat onderhandelen gaat men in Frankrijk blijkbaar staken."
Ook dat kan dus de opbrengst zijn van een semester in buitenland, naast de vele twijfels of er nog studiepunten worden toegekend of niet !
Hier de link naar het gehele artikel.
Kort hierna las ik nog de speech die Jan Figel, lid van de Europese Commissie en belast met de portefeuille opleidingen, training, cultuur en talen, gaf in 2006 over het Erasmus programma 2007 - 2013. Quote: "I see Erasmus as a great opportunity to prepare for working life both at home and abroad. Many students have formed their view of Europe as a place to work and develop their careers during an Erasmus exchange. Our need for an open, flexible, mobile and linguistically fluent workforce will, given what we know about the future world of work, be ever greater in the years ahead. The main challenge for Erasmus therefore is to help form this workforce." Spot on !!
20 April, 2009
bye bye international class !
This week we're saying goodbye to the students of the international class. It's been an intensive and busy programme for them these past 3 months. There were lots of excursions, new experiences, new views, many different topics and as many primary schools to visit for them. One student wrote in her evaluation: "A lot of work involved but it is an amazing experience. Best 3 months of your life." So endearing to read !
This year the international group was an interesting mix with 9 students altogether, coming from Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain and the Basque country. All in all they were so positive and enthusiastic about what they have come across here in Rotterdam and at our university. And they were delightful students to have in class, was the comment I often heard from my colleagues.
When asked to provide some advice to future students coming next year, they came up with the following top tips a.o.: buy a bike, be on time (just do it the Dutch way !), buy a discount card for travelling by train, don't leave home without your map of Rotterdam and don't lose it, be aware of Dutch timetables, don't complain about the weather, travel as much as you can, prepare yourself for eating spicy food, "krokets" and potatoes, or for cooking yourself and last but not least: if you are drunk, don't take your bike.;-))
Really pragmatic tips aren't they !
Here is a short impression of this wonderful group of international students on a visit to CVD/STAP:
This year the international group was an interesting mix with 9 students altogether, coming from Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain and the Basque country. All in all they were so positive and enthusiastic about what they have come across here in Rotterdam and at our university. And they were delightful students to have in class, was the comment I often heard from my colleagues.
When asked to provide some advice to future students coming next year, they came up with the following top tips a.o.: buy a bike, be on time (just do it the Dutch way !), buy a discount card for travelling by train, don't leave home without your map of Rotterdam and don't lose it, be aware of Dutch timetables, don't complain about the weather, travel as much as you can, prepare yourself for eating spicy food, "krokets" and potatoes, or for cooking yourself and last but not least: if you are drunk, don't take your bike.;-))
Really pragmatic tips aren't they !
Here is a short impression of this wonderful group of international students on a visit to CVD/STAP:
01 April, 2009
Hello and goodbye !
On Monday March 23rd a number of SPH and Pedagogiek students gathered on our top floor, with views extending over Rotterdam, a suitable location for a so-called hello and goodbye party. The idea of the party is knowledge exchange and transfer around international placements. Students coming back from their placements abroad gave presentations and students getting ready for an international experience coming September had the opportunity to ask lots of questions.
hello and goodbye session from Jane Traveller on Vimeo.
Many tips and suggestions were given and many experiences were related. It was fascinating to see how these “placement abroad” students had overcome a number of the difficulties they faced, how they had gone through a period of personal growth and how they had benefited from this.
And just as eagerly as always the new bunch of students took it all in and left the meeting with their heads full … of anticipation.
hello and goodbye session from Jane Traveller on Vimeo.
Many tips and suggestions were given and many experiences were related. It was fascinating to see how these “placement abroad” students had overcome a number of the difficulties they faced, how they had gone through a period of personal growth and how they had benefited from this.
And just as eagerly as always the new bunch of students took it all in and left the meeting with their heads full … of anticipation.
annual NUFFIC conference
Yesterday I attended the annual Nuffic conference for the first time. The decision to go was easily made because it was to be held in Rotterdam and the theme appealed to me. The focus was on the relation between internationalisation and development cooperation, an issue that has been on my mind for a few months but which I haven't been able to explore up to now.
The main issues and messages that I took away from this day were: it is operating in (global) sustainable partnerships and educational networks, cooperating with local NGO's and utilizing their local expertise, finding global solutions to the global problems we are now facing, empowering people to prepare them for dealing with the issues at hand, but it is also instilling a sense of social responsibility into students (and educational institutions) in various ways, for example by introducing the concept of global citizenship to students and discussing what place they envisage for themselves in the global community, that was generally seen as the road ahead of us, to put it in a nutshell.
The two keynote speeches and the workshop on Capacity Strengthening in Developing Countries were definitely eye-openers for a novice like me in this field. These sessions provided me with a number of new insights, such as the 3 levels of engagement at which one can operate.
It was especially Doekle Terpstra, chairman of the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences, who made the most lasting impression on me, emphasizing the new and different tasks which should be tackled in the near future. He told the audience that especially the universities of applied sciences have a substantial contribution to make in development cooperation due to their vocational nature and their potential to play a leading role in practical, hands-on knowledge exchange, based on applied research. In this way they can also maintain their role as a transformative agent in pursuit of humanity’s highest ideals.
With all due respect he also gave the Nuffic organisers an indication of how particular (funding) programmes could be changed to everyone's advantage.
After watching the amusing new Study in Holland video it was time for informal networking chats. It was amazing to see how many Dutch speaking people from all over the world had gathered here in Rotterdam to attend the conference.
The main issues and messages that I took away from this day were: it is operating in (global) sustainable partnerships and educational networks, cooperating with local NGO's and utilizing their local expertise, finding global solutions to the global problems we are now facing, empowering people to prepare them for dealing with the issues at hand, but it is also instilling a sense of social responsibility into students (and educational institutions) in various ways, for example by introducing the concept of global citizenship to students and discussing what place they envisage for themselves in the global community, that was generally seen as the road ahead of us, to put it in a nutshell.
The two keynote speeches and the workshop on Capacity Strengthening in Developing Countries were definitely eye-openers for a novice like me in this field. These sessions provided me with a number of new insights, such as the 3 levels of engagement at which one can operate.
It was especially Doekle Terpstra, chairman of the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences, who made the most lasting impression on me, emphasizing the new and different tasks which should be tackled in the near future. He told the audience that especially the universities of applied sciences have a substantial contribution to make in development cooperation due to their vocational nature and their potential to play a leading role in practical, hands-on knowledge exchange, based on applied research. In this way they can also maintain their role as a transformative agent in pursuit of humanity’s highest ideals.
With all due respect he also gave the Nuffic organisers an indication of how particular (funding) programmes could be changed to everyone's advantage.
After watching the amusing new Study in Holland video it was time for informal networking chats. It was amazing to see how many Dutch speaking people from all over the world had gathered here in Rotterdam to attend the conference.
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