{"id":135300,"date":"2022-01-27T14:30:38","date_gmt":"2022-01-27T13:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=135300"},"modified":"2026-02-10T16:43:33","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T15:43:33","slug":"i-want-there-to-be-room-for-a-variety-of-types-at-the-university-not-just-high-achievers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/01\/27\/i-want-there-to-be-room-for-a-variety-of-types-at-the-university-not-just-high-achievers\/","title":{"rendered":"‘I want there to be room for a variety of types at the university, not just high achievers’"},"content":{"rendered":"

Annelien Bredenoord has been the rector magnificus of Erasmus University for almost four months. At the start of her rectorate, the university is faced with challenges surrounding digitalisation, growth and a new governmental coalition agreement. That agreement instils hope: ‘In all possible scenarios, we will have more room to manoeuvre.’<\/p>\n

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Annelien Bredenoord is no longer suffering from her corona infection. She has just recovered, even though it took some effort to cycle over the Erasmus Bridge this morning. It was her first trip from her new home in Katendrecht to the Woudestein campus. She and her family moved here from Utrecht a few weeks ago.<\/p>\n

Bredenoord is happy to be back on campus, she says, pointing to the Polak building from her office on the second floor of the Erasmus building. \u201cThankfully, there are also more and more students coming back again.\u201d She had planned to pay a visit to all the student associations in November, but that fell through due to the new lockdown. \u201cIn the six weeks before that, I mostly drank a lot of coffee and met people. I tried to drop by colleagues in the different buildings as much as I could. Then you get to move around a bit and see something other than just the administration building.\u201d<\/p>\n

What did you notice in those first weeks?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThat the strategy about making a positive social impact is not just on paper. Everyone is really working on how we can contribute knowledge here to major social issues, and what that means for how we set the course of the university.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd, obviously, the thing that affects everything is corona. It\u2019s a dire state of affairs if you look at the wellbeing of students and staff. I would prefer if everything were open, as it was very briefly when I came in July a couple of times to learn the ropes. The sun was shining, people were sitting at outdoor caf\u00e9s, and there were plenty of cultural activities. We are not just an online learning factory. We also form an academic community with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

What kind of consequences does the current lack of contact have for you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t run into people spontaneously anymore. If I\u2019m not actively doing something, then I spend the entire day behind the computer with appointments that have been set up for me. You are the first people I have seen here in person in weeks.<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you familiar with the feeling of having had a really good day, you\u2019ve met some nice people, you feel as if you\u2019ve done something significant, that you\u2019ve come out of a meeting feeling hyper from enthusiasm? Corona has kind of quashed all of that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018For me, that also fits in with the diversity amid the various career paths: not everyone looks the same and you can wear whatever you feel like\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

During the handover of the rectorate on 1 October 2021, Bredenoord cited as one of her spearheads, in addition to impact, other ways of acknowledging and showing appreciation. Being able to acknowledge and show appreciation also has to do with making room for different kinds of people. She launches into this after receiving a compliment on her leopard-print trainers. \u201cI am not sitting here as the governor of a royal palace, but of an educational institution. I like to wear sneakers in my spare time, so I wear them here from time to time as well. For me, that also fits in with the diversity amid the various career paths: not everyone looks the same and you can wear whatever you feel like, as long as it is somehow appropriate and smart enough, of course. I want there to be room for a variety of types at the university, not just high achievers. You can choose to build a profile in the areas of education, impact, research, or leadership.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Rector magnificus Annelien Bredenoord in her office in the Erasmus building.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGeisje van der Linden<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

What other challenges do you foresee for the university?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cMore emphasis on the success of students and not only academic success. It\u2019s not just good grades and a speedy graduation that are important, but you also want to educate leaders who show exemplary behaviour. Who are able to reflect on who they are and on the position they want to take in life. In the field of education, as far as I\u2019m concerned, the future is hybrid. There will be more online options, more games. I think these things can unleash a lot of creativity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see the digital acceleration as a good by-product of the corona crisis. It is extremely helpful in terms of knowledge transfer in education. But there are more learning objectives apart from knowledge transfer, so a purely digital approach is not an option. Verstehen<\/em> \u2013 the ability to understand, interact, learn to take a certain position, teach skills \u2013 these things are much more complicated in a digital environment. I also see more online options as part of the solution to the growing lack of space on campus.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lack of space on campus is not the only problem. Work pressure is high, there is a housing shortage, and student and sports associations are bursting at the seams. While at the same time, the number of students is increasing even more. Is there a limit to this growth?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe are definitely undergoing rapid growth. There are a lot of international students. We notice from everything that we are really stretched. But I don\u2019t know if you can cap it a maximum number. I\u2019m not going to draw that line, but funding should increase accordingly. Funding per student has been halved in the past 20 years. I\u2019m hopeful that the new coalition agreement will level things out a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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