Partner Day: More in-depth partnerships are on the horizon
“What do you think, are teachers real humans?” This was one of the questions that came from the audience to our students during the Partner Day at Inholland Rotterdam. More than 40 international colleagues came to Rotterdam to strengthen and deepen existing partnerships. Irena Melua from Caucasus University in Georgia put it this way: “It feels like meeting our friends again.”
Some guests are here only for the first or second time, others know Inholland like the back of their hand. One of the latter is Marcus Kjellberg. Only a few years ago he himself was an exchange student at Inholland Diemen. Now he works as an International Coordinator at the Mälardalen University in Sweden, making other students just as enthusiastic about gaining international experience.
Nahied Rezwani and Bart Combee warmly welcome the attendees as they introduce them to Rotterdam and Inholland. “Let's strengthen our relationships, build new ones and learn from each other”, said Bart Combee. Coach, teacher, and international speaker Bas van den Beld is hosting the Partner Day.
Linda Snippe treats the attendees to a sneak peek of the European strategy for practice-based research at Inholland. “We work with ‘Trias Academia’, in which we collaborate with educational, research and the professional institutions. We believe this is how we can be most impactful.”
Dina, a conservatory student, writes and records her own music. She performs in cafés and bars every month, and now she’s singing at the Partner Day. “I’m learning about the importance of the business side of music. My conservatory teachers help me with my branding and to position myself as an artist.”
The audience has many questions for our students. They want to know what the students think should change at Inholland, whether they feel they can combine their personal work with school projects and if they think teachers are in fact real humans.
The answer is yes to all of these. Inholland gives students a lot of freedom to combine their personal work with their studies. One of the students’ recommendations is that all Inholland students should work portfolio-based, instead of writing exams. And yes, they do think our teachers are real humans. Moreover, Inholland’s teachers are also coaches. ‘I feel that we are equal.’
Photographer: Bart Stoutjesdijk, student Creative Business at Inholland
