International EUR? English lectures it is

All third-year bachelor courses to be taught in English: An idea that would make Erasmus University international with a capital i. It is one of the recommendations of the task force Internationalization.

The institution responsible for evaluating Dutch education, the NVAO, stated last year that the EUR profiles itself as international, but in practice has little to show for. Particularly regarding education itself. Research on the other hand has an international orientation. Adri Meijdam, Executive Director of the programme International Business Administration, led a task force that looked into the matter and now offers solutions. Many foreign students come to Rotterdam to follow English master programmes, however only few bachelor programmes offer lectures in English.

Easier to go abroad

“Bachelors that do offer English lectures benefit from a large influx of internationals,” says Meijdam. Another problem is that too few students from Rotterdam go on exchange. The task force therefor recommends redesigning the minors of the third year, making it easier for students to go abroad for a semester. Other reasons for preferring comfort and convenience to exchange and adventure are currently being examined by the task force. “It could be a matter of income. If that is the case, at the minimum it would be appropriate to offer these students financial assistance.”

Policy plan

The task force consulted all faculties about their plans. “Our policy recommendations are currently being discussed, among others, by the Executive Board, Erasmus directors, and the University Council. If they can agree on a general direction soon, we will be able to produce the Policy Plan Internationalization before summer gets here.” But when can EUR students realistically expect to be offered more lectures in English? Meijdam estimates in a couple of years. PM