{"id":94234,"date":"2019-01-24T09:46:57","date_gmt":"2019-01-24T08:46:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=94234"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:11","slug":"sometimes-things-do-get-a-little-crazy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/01\/24\/sometimes-things-do-get-a-little-crazy\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Sometimes things do get a little crazy\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

What exactly does Erasmus University\u2019s support staff do? Students, lecturers and researchers aren\u2019t always aware of what is going on behind the scenes. In this section, members of EUR\u2019s support staff tell us what they do. In today\u2019s Part 3, we meet Wilco te Winkel, an innovative jack-of-all-trades at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\t

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Name: Wilco te Winkel<\/p>\n

Age: 47<\/p>\n

Job description: Information Manager, IT Demand Manager and interim Marketing, Recruitment & Admissions Manager at the Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB)<\/p>\n

Has been in his current position since: 2001<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

We have agreed to meet at the coffee vending machine immediately to the right of the lift. It\u2019s a good place to meet, because Wilco te Winkel is generally either in a meeting or on his way to a meeting. It should be noted that this place \u2013 which is on the 15th floor of the Mandeville Building \u2013 provides fabulous views of the Maas river and downtown Rotterdam.<\/p>\n

So what does your job entail?<\/strong><\/p>

\u201cIn addition to my various management positions, I am the Product Owner for Sin-Online and the Product Owner for Canvas, meaning that I get to supervise the continued development of these two products on behalf of the faculties. But starting from the 1st of February I will have a more centralised job. I\u2019ll be the Teaching Information Manager at CIO Office (the support service that is in charge of the university\u2019s ICT policy \u2013 ed.). In other words, I\u2019ll be moving from the fifteenth floor to a basement in the Erasmus Building. So I will just miss out on celebrating my 20th anniversary at this faculty. The main difference with my current job is that I will focus on one single subject full time in my new job.<\/p>

\u201cIn the meantime, I\u2019m also working on my doctoral research, which I\u2019ve been working on ever since 2001. It\u2019s about digital support in problem-based learning. I\u2019m halfway through my dissertation; I\u2019ve completed two empirical articles, but I need to complete two more.\u201d<\/p>

What will you be doing in your new job?<\/strong><\/p>

\u201cI have drawn up my perfect daily schedule for my new job. In the morning I\u2019ll spend an hour talking to the IT Development Team. Then I\u2019ll spend the rest of the morning at the Community for Learning and Innovation. In the afternoon I\u2019d like to talk to an information manager at one of the faculties (a different manager every day of the week). This is important because it will allow me to hear and feel what\u2019s going on on the shop floor and to provide feedback, solve minor issues and connect people. My new job didn\u2019t exist prior to my appointment; until now, this has all been done at weekly two-hour meetings.\u201d<\/p>

\u201cMy field of work is undergoing exciting changes \u2013 for instance the digital economy, robotisation and artificial intelligence that may help students become more efficient. And since these changes are so significant, this organisation must be agile. For instance, it must reassess its strategic plans, preferably once every six months, because no one is able to look more than six months ahead.\u201d<\/p>

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Do you enjoy working here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI think EUR is a fabulous university. It\u2019s so entrepreneurial and has such drive. Just great. We are currently working on our third strategic plan since 2009; isn\u2019t that wonderfully ambitious? And the plans just keep on coming. Alright, sometimes things do get a little crazy \u2013 take the University Support Center, for instance, which was first centralised, then decentralised again \u2013 but that\u2019s all part of the process. And the things we\u2019re doing in the fields of digitisation and information of teaching are incredible. That\u2019s what means the most to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe great thing about the university is that it has so much to offer its employees. Switching jobs and positions is almost the order of the day, even for employees who perform well. I guess I\u2019m sounding very American now? Ha ha, but I really do believe in carving out your own niche. And I just love the faith people here have in me, and the leeway I am being given.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a way, everything you do is about facilitating your customers, i.e. the students.<\/p>\n

Do you ever talk to any students?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNot anymore, no. I used to until quite recently, when I was the Product Owner for the student version of MyEUR. Since students are closely involved in the choice of MyEUR\u2019s features, I used to talk to a panel of ten students every week.\u201d<\/p>\n

You are embarking on a new job at EUR on the 1st of February, but where will you be five years from now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cAt some point I\u2019d like to work in the business community, or at an organisation that has a lot of data and a high degree of digital complexity. Or alternatively, at the Tax and Customs Administration, Rijkswaterstaat (the Directorate-General for Public Works and Water Management \u2013 ed.) or some travel-related company.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will you have completed your PhD dissertation by then?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWell, to be honest, I\u2019m not quite sure about that. If I want Henk Schmidt (Emeritus Professor of Psychology and former EUR Rector Magnificus \u2013 ed.) to remain my supervisor, I\u2019ll have to get a move on, because he won\u2019t be allowed to act as anyone\u2019s supervisor once he\u2019s been retired for five years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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Lees meer<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t