{"id":99023,"date":"2019-05-22T09:57:44","date_gmt":"2019-05-22T07:57:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=99023"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:23:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:23:20","slug":"three-eur-degrees-are-not-enough-of-a-challenge-for-this-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2019\/05\/22\/three-eur-degrees-are-not-enough-of-a-challenge-for-this-student\/","title":{"rendered":"Three EUR degrees are not enough of a challenge for this student"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sabina Adim, 23, is doing three simultaneous Bachelor\u2019s degrees at Erasmus University and still feels that the university is not presenting her with enough of a challenge. \u201cI\u2019m sure I\u2019m not the only one who isn\u2019t satisfied with our education system.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"

\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>

Four years ago, Sabina Adim embarked on a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Business Administration, only to feel that the subject matter was very superficial. \u201cI wanted to go more in depth. I wanted to get to know human nature and gain a bit more of an insight into the ideas behind the theories,\u201d Sabina says. So after one year, she embarked on a Psychology degree, and found she quite enjoyed the combination of those two degrees. \u201cNot long afterwards, I established a company, and I wanted to learn to understand the legal aspects, so I took up a degree in Law, as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Doing three degrees at a time requires a lot of organising. \u201cSometimes it\u2019s hard, because each faculty has different rules,\u201d says Sabina. \u201cAnd lectures are often taught at the same time, but that\u2019s not too much of a problem in itself; I\u2019ll catch up at home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not satisfied<\/h2>

She loves having the freedom to schedule her days as she pleases, but does feel that the fact that she is able to take three degrees simultaneously shows that the system has its flaws. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to be extremely smart to be able to do this. As long as you manage your time efficiently and properly read the subject matter you\u2019re told to read, you\u2019ll be OK,\u201d she goes on to say. \u201cThe main thing I learned was that the university measures very well how students perform in memory tests. You see, we were only assessed on how well we were able to retain information by means of multiple-choice questions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\t\u2018The main thing I learned was that the university measures very well how students perform in memory tests.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Sabina feels that the university is not teaching its students critical thinking skills. She says there is hardly any scope for discussion. \u201cAt the Business Administration department, we tend to get the kind of lectures where the lecturer is talking and we listen. At the Psychology department, we are more likely to work in groups, but we also have subject matter imposed on us, and there is no room for opinions of our own. Rather, we read out regurgitated theories to each other,\u201d she says. \u201cAnd in our seminars, we have to repeat what some theoretician once said. It means we have some knowledge of the subject, but it doesn\u2019t mean we develop new thought structures.\u201d<\/p>\n

We're not sheep<\/h2>\n\t
\n\t\t
\n\t\t\t
\n\t
\n\t\t\u2018I was promised a fantasy in which a university is a place where you\u2019ll be intellectually challenged and triggered.\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

\u201cWhen I was at primary school, I wasn\u2019t fluent in Dutch, which made me feel very insecure,\u201d says Sabina. Her parents come from Afghanistan, and her mother fled to the Netherlands (on her own) when she was expecting Sabina. \u201cBecause I wasn\u2019t fluent, I wasn\u2019t able to join in the lessons properly or make friends.\u201d<\/p>\n

At one point she was told to repeat a year. \u201cI thought I simply wasn\u2019t smart enough.\u201d She worked harder than ever, and in the end, she was able to keep up with the rest. From that moment onwards, it was the other way around: Sabina missed having a challenge and couldn\u2019t get enough of extra assignments \u2013 the more arithmetic, the better. \u201cI remember my teacher saying, \u2018Once you\u2019re a grown-up, you\u2019ll be able to go to university, where you will be properly challenged\u2019. I was promised a fantasy in which a university is a place where you\u2019ll be intellectually challenged and triggered.\u201d<\/p>\n

That was not her experience, though, she tells us. \u201cThese days, we are nothing but numbers to universities. We must obtain high marks, graduate and then have a career elsewhere. But students aren\u2019t sheep who must be passed through a slaughterhouse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Broaching the subject<\/h2>

Sabina will complete her degrees in Business Administration and Psychology this year, but does not yet know whether she will complete her Law degree, because she \u2018only needs the knowledge, not the degree certificate.\u2019 Now that she is nearly done with her degrees, she will broach the subject of her dissatisfaction with the Psychology department. In association with two other students, she is developing a teaching method. \u201cIt\u2019s early days, but our method emphasises the development of children, thus allowing them to make the most of their years in education. My hope for the long term is that they will learn critical thinking skills and will also learn how to recognise and remove obstacles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lastly, Sabina thinks that EUR should involve its students in societal issues more. \u201cSociety needs new insights from students. Today\u2019s knowledge must be applied to today\u2019s problems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\t\t\t

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