{"id":94461,"date":"2019-01-29T13:30:19","date_gmt":"2019-01-29T12:30:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=94461"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:12","slug":"a-new-eur-programme-gets-refugees-out-of-welfare-this-staff-member-won-an-award-for-his-work-on-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/01\/29\/a-new-eur-programme-gets-refugees-out-of-welfare-this-staff-member-won-an-award-for-his-work-on-it\/","title":{"rendered":"A new EUR programme gets refugees out of welfare. This staff member won an award for it"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kevin van der Poel only started working for Erasmus University three years ago. Still, the university has already honoured him as its \u2018Employee of the Year\u2019, presenting him with a so-called Top Support Award. Language & Training Centre (LTC) staff member Van der Poel was rewarded for his work in EUR\u2019s transfer programme for refugees. The job isn’t always easy: “Most of the Iranians and Kurd are Christians, while the Iraqis and Syrians are Muslim. This occasionally gives rise to heated theological discussions.”<\/p>\n

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Kevin van der Poel having a conversation with one of the participations in the Erasmus Preparatory Year..<\/span><\/p>

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After rounding off his History of Society master programme in 2015, Kevin van der Poel (35) originally had difficulty finding the right job. \u201cFortunately, I was able to start working for Erasmus University via its trainee programme. Originally, the idea was that I would work in as many different departments as possible over the course of two years. But it didn\u2019t take long before I set up as \u2018quartermaster\u2019 for what would later become the Erasmus Preparatory Year<\/em>,\u201d \u2013 a programme that prepares refugees for enrolment in a Dutch higher education programme.<\/p>\n

Van der Poel spent several years travelling as a secondary school pupil and student (\u201cI went to Asia to have fun, and then worked in Australia after running out of money\u201d). During his travels, he saw first-hand what kind of issues can develop in the wake of migration: \u201cI was in North Thailand for a while, and there you have a lot of problems with mountain peoples who are neither Thai nor Burmese. They are repeatedly driven across the border by the army. And still, they need to settle down somewhere too.\u201d This experience roused his interest in the theme of migration.<\/p>\n

Refugees in the sports hall<\/h2>
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During the Preparatory Year, students make various cultural trips, such as to the Mauritshuis.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure>

The idea of an Erasmus Preparatory Year was hatched in 2015, the peak of the refugee crisis in Europe, when refugees were even offered temporary shelter in the hall of Erasmus Sport. \u201cThe university had set up a refugee task force, which was chaired by Dick Douwes, the then dean of ESHCC. I knew him from when I was a student, so it made sense for me to join the team. And I already had a strong interest in migration at the time.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Van der Poel, the task force was \u2018very dedicated\u2019 when it came to determining what the university could do for refugees. But members like Douwes simply lacked the hours to put into this work. Van der Poel, on the other hand, had plenty of time, and before long he could be found knocking on the doors of faculties, the Foundation for Refugee Students UAF and various municipal services in Rotterdam. He also set up a partnership with Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. The first sixteen refugees started on the Erasmus Preparatory Year 18 months ago, during the 2017-2018 academic year.<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018On the one hand, you need to make it clear to these students that they will have to come round. But at the same time, you have to be aware of certain aspects of intercultural communication\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Heated discussions<\/h2>

This year a new batch of students has set to work: a group of 20 refugees from, among other countries, Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Turkey. The programme helps them increase their proficiency in Dutch, English and maths. While they are doing \u2018very well\u2019 according to Van der Poel, the classes are far from uneventful: \u201cThey come from very different backgrounds. Most of the Iranians and Kurd are Christians, while the Iraqis and Syrians are Muslim. This occasionally gives rise to heated theological discussions.\u201d<\/p>\n

And occasionally, a student finds it difficult to accept a lecturer\u2019s authority \u2013 particularly in the case of female staff. \u201cOn the one hand, you need to make it clear to these students that they will have to come round. But at the same time, you have to be aware of certain aspects of intercultural communication. In many cultures, people aren\u2019t used to being as direct as we are in the Netherlands. We need to raise awareness of this among our lecturers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Win-win situation<\/h2>
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Kevin van der Poel.<\/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\tMichelle Muus<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

According to Van der Poel, so far the results of the Preparatory Year are \u2018highly successful\u2019. \u201cA lot of universities have since set up a similar programme. Across the Netherlands, some 60 percent of our participants move on to a university of applied sciences or research university. Last year twelve of the sixteen students have graduated, incidentally with most of the participants enrolling in the Hogeschool Rotterdam. Three of the remaining four are still going for a resit. That\u2019s a huge result, actually: don\u2019t forget that as much as 96 percent of the refugees with a residence permit are on welfare.\u201d A win-win situation, in other words: the refugees gain better prospects, while municipalities like Rotterdam save money that would otherwise be spent on welfare.<\/p>\n

Unrealistic expectations<\/h2>

One thing that does frustrate Van der Poel is having to say \u2018no\u2019 quite often. Every year, some 200 refugees apply for the programme, but they only have a budget for 16 participants. He is directly involved in the relatively complicated selection process. \u201cI pay close attention to their job prospects, among other things, and whether they are realistic about their study choices.\u201d There are a lot of dropouts in refugee transfer programmes: only 36 percent ultimately obtain an academic or higher professional education level degree. \u201cTo a large extent, this has to do with unrealistic expectations. For example, I would advise against very language-oriented programmes like Law.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018Als je bij een intakegesprek je vader meeneemt en mij niet aan wil kijken, dan is dat een probleem\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

In addition, Van der Poel tries to preserve some balance in the gender ratio during the transfer programme (it currently stands at around 60% men-40% women), but this can be challenging. \u201cWe often have to reject female applicants due to their attitude. It\u2019s something of a problem if you bring your father along to the intake interview and don\u2019t want to look me in the eye. Not just for your job prospects, but also for your studies.\u201d Women aren\u2019t automatically turned away because they don\u2019t want to shake hands with a man or look them in the eye. \u201cBut I do want to get the feeling that they\u2019re willing to reflect on that kind of thing. There\u2019s not much left to discuss if they take a huge stance on the subject.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bright future<\/h2>

The Erasmus Preparatory Year has a bright future, according to Van der Poel. \u201cAs far as I\u2019m concerned, we should also accept students who don\u2019t have a refugee status. This isn\u2019t possible yet within the current funding.\u201d Right now, the main external funder for the scheme is the UAF, but this organisation only focuses on refugees. \u201cBut there are a lot of highly qualified immigrants who currently aren\u2019t eligible. For example, some Syrians haven\u2019t been given refugee status because they first lived in Turkey for a while. And we can see more and more Turkish citizens coming in who are on the run from Erdogan.\u201d He is already discussing a possible expansion of the programme with the municipality of Rotterdam. He\u2019s very optimistic: \u201cWhen 96 percent of the refugees are stuck on welfare, no one benefits.\u201d He suspects the expanded programme could be launched as early as 2020.<\/p>\n

Top Support Award<\/h2>

Van der Poel\u2019s contribution to the programme\u2019s successful development is the main reason why EUR presented him with this year\u2019s Top Service Award. \u201cI\u2019m aware that this programme offers an appealing opportunity for the university to distinguish itself,\u201d is how he puts it with some modesty. \u201cAlthough I would have preferred to win the team award, because I didn\u2019t do it on my own. Apart from my immediate colleagues Reem Saad and Marjon Menten of the Language & Training Centre, the programme also relies on the contributions of professors and researchers from Erasmus School of History, Culture and Communication (ESHCC), for example.\u201d The team award was presented to the web team of Erasmus School of Behavioural Sciences for their work in setting up Canvas, a digital learning environment for students.<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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