{"id":80074,"date":"2017-08-21T15:47:53","date_gmt":"2017-08-21T13:47:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=80074"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:22:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:22:50","slug":"pre-academic-programme-durf-te-dromen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2017\/08\/21\/pre-academic-programme-durf-te-dromen\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-Academic Programme: \u2018Dare to dream\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Think about your future, set your goals, and go for it. That was the message in a nutshell conveyed to roughly two hundred prospective ESL, Medicine, Health Sciences and Liberal Arts & Sciences students during various lectures, workshops and training sessions. The emphasis was on personal leadership and shaping your own future during the pre-academic programme\u00a0(PAP) for these up-and-coming Erasmus University students.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s theme, \u2018MyFuture\u2019, says it all: you shape your own future. \u201cAnything is possible as long as you\u2019re willing to work for it. It\u2019s OK to think you can do anything and that anything is possible. There\u2019s nothing arrogant about it. Thinking this way is the most important thing I learned this week,\u201d says Esmeralda Hasselbach (21, Law).<\/p>\n

An inspiring environment<\/h3>

Carmen Hoepel (21) agrees with her fellow prospective student: \u201cDare to dream and make those dreams come true.\u201d At first she found it difficult to open up to the other participants. Hoepel explains: \u201cYou\u2019re in an intense process of dealing with your personal feelings and you become aware of your own fears.\u201d Looking back, the former university of applied sciences student found it a positive experience in the end. \u201cI met a lot of ambitious people and it was a very inspiring environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

In building C, the participants were divided into a number of groups and everyone got to work thinking up statements: pledges based on the knowledge acquired during the PAP. That was how students of the Economics and Law double degree programme came up with \u2018Give your all\u2019 (\u2018Alles geven\u2019<\/em>), an acronym that in Dutch stands for ambition, loyalty, love, honesty, success, sociability, economics, versatility, empathy and curiosity \u2013 all qualities the students feel are necessary for a successful time at university. This tutor group was rewarded for its creativity with the first prize for the best final presentation.<\/p>\n

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Friends<\/h3>

Cor Kanters (Economics and Law) knew right away that he wanted to participate in the PAP. \u201cI thought it was a good idea to get into study mode in advance and get used to university life.\u201d Kanters, who is a highly ranked chess player, learned the most from the goal-setting workshop: \u201cThe programme manager got my attention right away with his \u2018studying is top-class sport\u2019 slogan. The assignment where we had to write a graduation speech also got me thinking.\u201d<\/p>\n

But the most important reason for Kanters to participate in the PAP was to make friends before starting his studies. \u201cI\u2019m very happy I took part, because now it won\u2019t be as hard to get to know people in the first days of my studies.\u201d Cor enjoyed the programme so much that next year he wants to be a student assistant so he can help new first-year students.<\/p>\n

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Time trial<\/h3>

Programme manager Gerard Hogendoorn compares the PAP to a time trial. \u201cYou have to step on the gas right from the first week of your study, the same way your body\u2019s muscles need to be warmed up for a time trial.\u201d The programme is therefore a kind of warm-up exercise so students are optimally prepared to commence their studies.<\/p>\n

Participants also receive guidance in becoming more aware of their personal development and in acquiring skills for gaining scientific insights. Every student has equal opportunities to do this, \u201cregardless of their background,\u201d explains Hogendoorn. When dealing with a large group of students, some of those students may not have been brought up with the idea that studying at a university is something for them. The university is unexplored territory for them.<\/p>\n

Welcome<\/h3>

Hogendoorn feels that what it comes down to is that students feel at home at EUR. \u201cWe want our new students to feel they are welcome. The idea that they\u2019re part of something, that they matter, gives them more self-confidence and better academic results. We definitely see the positive effects of this compared to other students when classes start in the academic year.\u201d<\/p>\n

More to read from first year students<\/h2>