‘The programme sounds like you’re going to save the world’

On Tuesday, soon-to-be high school graduates spent a day in the life of a student in Management of International Social Challenges (which is called ‘Meezok’ by students, after its abbreviation MISOC). To give an impression of what it’s like to be a MISOC student, ambassadors of the program started by taking the ‘Students for a Day’ to the Aula for a lecture in public policy. There they stood out like a sore thumb, not only because they sat in the front row of seats, but also because they seemed to be listening the whole time.

After the lecture, the herd of prospective students experienced a small-scale tutorial session, followed by a tour of the campus. It was, for the most part, a rather accurate simulation of a typical day in the life of a student, except for a few key things. They didn’t get to experience the thrill of listening to techno in SPAR while grabbing a Frikandelbroodje. They also didn’t get to wander aimlessly around the library in search for a study spot, or saunter up the spiraling staircase of the Polak (sigh). Now the question is: was the Student for a Day program enough to convince these young whippersnappers to enroll in MISOC?

Ward van Elk (17) from Breukelen, The Netherlands

“To be honest, I don’t think I’ll be doing this study. I’ve heard a lot today about how broad the range of topics is in this program, but I actually don’t think it’s broad enough for me. I don’t want to limit myself just yet to only studying social problems and how to solve them in the public sector. There’s a lot of different things I want to study, which is why I’m actually leaning more towards the liberal arts program at EUC. The biggest appeal to me though about going to Erasmus is living in this city. I’ve been visiting family in Rotterdam my whole life, and I’m pretty sure this is where I want to be.”

Lilly Wehr (18) from Hamburg, Germany

“Right now I’m in a gap year just taking my time to find the right place to study. I came here today in search of inspiration because I’m still not sure of what I want. After this tour, I’m definitely more tempted to go to Erasmus. I like the feel of this campus. At the same time, I’m also thinking about Amsterdam and Utrecht. I visited other places too like Leeuwarden, but I’ve come to realize I want to study in a city-setting. We’ll see, I still have no clue.”

Vincent Jonker (18) from Rotterdam, The Netherlands

“With a name like ‘Management of International Social Challenges,’ the program sounds like they’re going to teach you how to save the world, so I wanted to come today and see what the program is really all about. As far as I can tell, it seems you’ll actually learn some practical solutions for fixing up the public sector, which is needed. I’m definitely impressed with the study. It offers exactly what I want and the class sizes are small. Another plus is that I live close by in Nesselande, so that will save me a ton on housing costs.”