In for example the Zilverling, employees are not allowed to receive students in their office as that would exceed the maximum amount of people in the room. Students who are graduating and sharing a room with 6 can now only sit there with 2 at a time. Next to that, we have noticed that people are not even following the rules that are set up. Overall this situation is not desirable at all.

The University Council discussed these issues together with the Executive board, but changes regarding ventilation are not easy to solve and will take a long time. The Executive Board stated that with some additional efforts. The employees and students are able to make the best of the situation and the rooms available on our campus. This means ventilating windows before students come in. And keeping the windows and doors open at all times.

Therefore we cannot expect immediate improvements in the upcoming months, and restrictions in use of the buildings remain even after COVID-19. We strive for an healthy environment for students and employees, but these rules are impossible to stick to and invite breaking them. Next to this, the current measures are not comfortable and sustainable at all.

All in all, the current faction keeps a close eye on the development of this issue and the opportunities to improve the buildings. We will try to make sure that the problems are solved as soon as possible!

At the start of this academic year incoming students encountered the urgent housing problems that have emerged in Enschede. Due to a shortage in (student) housing, both international as well as Dutch students were unable to find a new home. In response the UT has sent out a mailing to students, advising students to unenroll in case they do not have a home by the time the academic year starts.

To tackle these issues, the housing problems can be split up into two separate points:

• Short-term capacity to accommodate the incoming students
• Long-term capacity by building additional housing

To accommodate the former point, UReka has advised the UT to be more transparent towards students with regards to the housing situation in Enschede. Incoming students should not be surprised by the housing crisis after enrolling at the UT. Furthermore the University Council is positive about the flexible housing solutions that have been initiated.

To accommodate the latter point, the University Council is positive about collaborations between the university and housing corporations. UReka stresses the importance of the UT staying involved with the housing corporations, to accommodate the duty of care that the university has for its students.

Hamza Riaz (faction 19/20) and Alina Ritter (faction 20/21) haven taken on the challenge and formed a work at the UT.In September 2019, they exercised their right of initiative and proposed an idea to offer a minor course of 15 EC that focuses on Dutch language and corporate culture to the Executive Board as they noticed that many international students have the desire to learn Dutch and stay in the Netherlands however, it is very challenging for them to learn the language while following full-time studies.

In June 2020, the Executive Board committed to focus more on improving the employability of international students but were not sure if offering a minor course is the best way to do so. Since October 2021, a UT project team composed of employees, alumni and Alina and Hamza from  UReka have been working exclusively on the topic of ‘Employability of International Students’.

The minor:

As a project team, we are currently determining the feasibility of offering a minor/elective course that focuses on Dutch corporate culture and language to help boost the employability of international students and improve their stay-rate in the Netherlands. For BSc students, the proposal is to offer an elective minor course of 15 EC. For MSc students, the proposal is to allow students to take up elective courses on this topic up to a certain number of ECs. For PhD students, the proposal is to allow them to take up elective courses on this topic as part of their Personal Development Plan (PDP).

Now it is your turn to support them and the project. Through this survey, the aim is to determine the need and feasibility of offering international students (including PhD students) an opportunity to learn about Dutch corporate culture and language while they are not following full-time study courses and how it could potentially improve their employability in The Netherlands.

Share your opinion with them by filling in the survey and feel free to share it with your fellow students. You can make change happen!

‘Dutch only’ in student houses? Fuss about choosing roommates on the University of Twente campus

Video: Enschede – A discussion has arisen at the University of Twente (UT) about the right of students to choose their own roommates on campus. The Executive Board wants to get rid of the current system, because it can lead to exclusion and discrimination. But many students value that so-called co-optation right.

The possible abolition of the right of co-option, as the system is officially known, is a sensitive issue at UT. This is evident from the fact that the idea arose in student circles to demonstrate against its abolition. A protest has not yet been organized, but that does not mean that peace has returned.

Quickly a new plan
The executive board  initiated a discussion. The board does not want to abolish the co-optation right, but it does want to adjust it. According to the board, the university council asked to come up with a new plan quickly, which will apply from September. But precisely because it is short notice, students are concerned. Nevertheless, the executive board is sticking to the plan.

Vice-President Mirjam Bult says that some students are hindered by the co-optation right in finding housing. She is concerned. Bult: “I find it unacceptable that candidates are rejected because of characteristics they can’t do anything about. Excluding people on the basis of superficial characteristics such as gender, age, background or assumed living habits is not a choice. I also deliberately mention the word job application in this case. It shouldn’t be. But it does sometimes feel that way now. We want a change in the way the law is applied.”

No separate clubs
It is confirmed in student circles that international students in particular find it more difficult to find housing due to the current system. Campus houses often receive two hundred to three hundred emails from house hunters between May and September. The supply of housing is low and the demand is high.

Maarten Bonnema is a student and member of the university council  on behalf of the faction UReka. He says: “There are student houses in Enschede where it is not easy to enter if Dutch is not your native language. Other houses strive for a mix. With, for example, the comment that it’s not three countrymen who form a separate club.” Proponents of co-optation fear that they will have a roommate forced upon them if they are not allowed to choose for themselves.

What is notable about the issue is that the executive board does not formally have the authority to change the co-option, because the De Veste housing corporation is the owner of the campus houses. It is now considering the situation.

The credo on campus is often: Dutch only
The University of Twente (UT) in Enschede likes to boast that it is the most welcoming university in the Netherlands. But on campus, the credo is often Dutch only. It is more difficult for foreign freshmen to find a room than for students from their own country.

It is not the first time that this has led to discussion and Enschede is not unique in this. Since universities in the Netherlands have started to focus more on internationalization, housing foreign students has become an issue in several cities.

Previous discussions
At the UT, there was already discussion about the so-called co-optation right in 2010 and it happened again in 2017. Sander Lotze, head of internationalization at UT, described the system four years ago in this newspaper as “not the most ideal system” when it came to international student housing. But he didn’t want to get rid of it either.

But the subject is back on the agenda because of a sentence in UT’s Long-Term Strategic Housing Plan. That came up in a meeting of the University Council in December. Members of the council inferred from the sentence that co-optation might be on the cards. Vice-President Mirjam Bult of the UT Executive Board said in an explanation that she indeed wants to get rid of the current system. It would lead to discrimination. That sparked a heated discussion that continues to this day. Bult says the council asked to come up with a new plan soon.

Bult says the university council also thinks an adjustment to the co-option right is necessary. Still, the timing of the discussion may not be a bad thing for the executive board, as it is on the eve of Bult’s departure from UT. As of September 1st, she will step down and become a member of the Council of State in The Hague. If a blow is struck on a new form of co-optation before the summer, the issue will not end up on her successor’s plate.

Hospitaling – House Interviews
So the question is: what to do about co-optation? Bult wants a different system, one that is less exclusionary. One that is more inclusive. A system that reflects more the open image that UT likes to pride itself on. Head of internationalization Lotze saw the value of the current system in 2017, but felt that information to international students needed to improve. Prospective residents would not realize how hospiteren works.

This was true four years back and according to many UT students it still is. Student Maarten Bonnema sits on the university council on behalf of the fraction UReka. He says that in the summer, campus houses often receive two hundred to three hundred mails from prospective housemates for one room. In January there is another peak, but lower. This is the time of tthe outflow of bachelors. Bonnema: “Many EU students who do not know or understand the system of co-option send an email in the summer with one sentence, something like: I want to live in your house. Without a photo or explanation. Yes, then it is not surprising that you are not among the chosen ones.”

The Holy Grail
His story is confirmed by Dirk Koelewijn. He sits on the university council on behalf of the DAS party. He is an outspoken advocate of co-optation and says he does not know of a single student house that does not apply it. Koelewijn: “I do not deny that it is difficult for some to find a house. But modifying co-optation is not a solution. It is very popular and important among most students. For us, it is the holy grail. Especially in the corona crisis, the system proves its value, because then you depend more on each other.”

The mental pressure among students is high, says Koelewijn. “This is also evident from research at UT that was conducted before the corona crisis,” he says. “There is a need to study. We are under financial pressure. Much more so than in the days when our current members of the Executive Board and the members of the Cabinet in The Hague were studying. Then it’s extra important that there is social cohesion in a house. It is essential that you choose people who fit in with you. We experienced in our house that a co-occupant did not want to clean and did not participate in any activities. And I don’t think it’s surprising that residents like to speak Dutch in their own home. Because let’s be honest: the English of many people, including the Dutch, is not very good. Not good enough usually to express themselves properly.”

No advertising
But then the other side of the coin. Lefika Otisitswe is from Botswana and sits for the faction uTOP in the university council. “When I came to Enschede I got the impression that all Africans lived in the ITC hotel and all Dutch people lived on campus,” he says. “That felt like segregation. I couldn’t get around on campus myself and many more students feel that way. Not only international, but also Dutch youngsters. It’s hard to get housing in Enschede. There are houses whose occupants don’t want to live with non-Dutch speaking people. That’s not an advertisement for the Netherlands. But not only internationals think this way. In conversations with Dutch students, I hear that some of them also had a sour taste in their mouths after interviewing in a student house.”

The final say
So how should it be done? A difficult question for those involved. Mirjam Bult of the Executive Board wants a solution that everyone understands and that reflects the culture of the UT. Thus, there is talk of developing an algorithm that pairs students with a campus house based on their interests and not on their backgrounds.

The larger student fractions UReka and DAS in the u-council are open to improvements. But they don’t want to surrender completely to an algorithm. Maarten Bonnema of UReka sees something in pre-matching, but wants the campus houses to have the final say on who gets to live in a house. “It’s their sphere of life and their living room. They have to choose,” he says. “That’s not for the executive board to determine. But some kind of pre-selection is interesting. You can filter by characteristics such as hobbies whether someone is a studious or party person, follows a diet or smoking. Skin color or disabilities should not be an issue. And speaking Dutch? Yes, that is a good question. We’ll have to talk about that then.”

Dirk Koelewijn of DAS also does not feel for a dictate imposed from above. Lefika Otisitswe of uTOP thinks that the executive board should make the decision. He is positive about the idea of an algorithm, but for both parties. Both householders and house seekers must digitally indicate what they are looking for. Language or race should not play a role in any case.

Heavy word
Mirjam Bult notes that co-opting is now a heavy word on campus. “That’s a shame,” she says. “It seems like you’re either all for it or all against it. We analyze with the housing corporation and students where the problems are in the system and what improvements can be made. With the freshmen or sophomores, for example. We also want to visit mixed houses to see how students live there together. I think it’s nice when young people from different backgrounds live together. In a safe house, where the residents can work on their development.”

The housing corporation De Veste is considering adopting the co-optation. It is taking stock of how student housing corporations in other cities are handling it. “We want to adapt the regulations to the needs of our time,” says Richard Ditzel of De Veste. “This is done in consultation with the university, but especially with our central residents council on campus.” De Veste has 2,200 campus rooms, 60 percent of which are co opted. The rest are independent living spaces.

“Student House LosChiChis: ‘Actually, we’re each other’s best friends’
Residents of student houses on the UT campus like to choose their own roommates. The same is true for the students in Los ChiChis. “Once or twice a week we have a party. If you don’t want to participate in that, then maybe this house is less suitable for you.”

What is immediately apparent upon entering 43 Campuslaan is that the residents have a culture all their own. There are many important traditions and customs. Some residents wear sweaters with the name Los ChiChis. On a pillar in the living room are the handprints of almost all the residents since the 1980s.

“And we have an extensive program of activities,” says Sander Meinderts, the house oldest of Los ChiChis. “The Feuten Party is especially for new housemates, at the Super Bowl dinner party we eat American refreshments, Christmas dinner is traditionally in March, and then we have the house weekend. That’s in June. Usually we go for a weekend to the city or town where a new roommate is from.”

Fourteen residents
The house oldest himself has lived in Los ChiChis since 2015. He praises the close, mutual bond of the fourteen residents. “Actually, we’re each other’s best friends,” he says. “So close. We’re a party house, but that doesn’t cover the full scope. Serious conversations we have, too. And if someone wants to discuss a problem, there’s room for that.”

As for Los ChiChis’ right to decide new roommates for themselves, the residents are very clear about that. That is a right they do not want to give up, says Casper Thostrup. He wrote a letter to the u-council on behalf of the housemates, asking that any change to the co-option system be made with the utmost caution. “If we no longer have any say, then the unique identity of this house will be lost,” says Thostrup. “And that’s a shame. Contacts with other students you have on campus anyway. Whether it’s during sports, culture or education. But when you come home, you prefer to curl up on the couch with roommates you feel comfortable with.”

Learning Dutch
Residents Leon, Jonah, Ron, Casper, Sander, Iris and Anita recognize the difficulty of finding housing on campus, particularly for international students. They themselves are open to a foreign housemate. In fact, they had a German co-occupant a few years ago and a student from Egypt last year. The current residents are all born Dutch. “The unwritten rule is that the language of communication is Dutch,” says one of them. “An international student doesn’t have to speak the language upon entry. But we do ask to learn Dutch. The Egyptian did a university course. She spoke it in no time.”

Sander Meinderts puts The House Book on the table. The residents use it as a shared diary in which they describe their experiences. But it also contains questions that are asked of prospective co-tenants during the interviews. There should be an explanation, they think: “Some questions are namely quite hard. An example is the following question: Negro or ninja? We sometimes get special comments about that. Most students answer ninja, to which our follow-up question reads: Do you sometimes have something against Negroes?”

Serious types
The residents themselves can have a good laugh about it. They call it an example of “blunt humor” that new residents should be able to handle. But what if someone feels hurt by this? The residents can imagine. “But from our follow-up question, it is clear that we have absolutely nothing against international students. We see co-optation as a way for both parties to find out if they fit together. So that applies to the host as well.”

“Look, there are also houses where more serious types live together. Who mainly study in their rooms and do little together. We have no value judgments about that. Like us, they value co-optation. You want to end up in a house where you have a good student time.”

The choice is great for Los ChiChis. Every summer the mailbox is filled with about two hundred messages from prospective residents who want a room. How does the selection take place? Sander and Casper explain that the students go through the mails with a rough comb. “It will be clear that we don’t read everything carefully. That has to do with such a large quantity. After the pre-selection, we invite a number of candidates for an interview. We do three interviews in one evening. If more than half of the residents present like someone, they can come straight away. Origin plays no role.”

Housing shortage
“Yet we recognize the perception that many international students don’t know they need to introduce themselves. They write a one-line mail. But we don’t hire someone based on that. Iris almost turned it into a marriage proposal. That is the opposite. Well, you don’t say ‘no’ to that, of course. Incidentally, we think that the housing shortage also plays a role in the current debate on the use of cooptation. This is particularly true on campus in the summer. During Kick-Inn, people sleep in tents on campus. Some young people also do that because they haven’t found a room yet.”

“That problem also deserves a solution. Furthermore, we see that the way co-opting works out is sometimes disadvantageous. Especially for international and socially disadvantaged students. That’s something to think about. But it should not be the case that we will soon be given a list of names from which to choose.”

 

Translation from Deepl and Alina Ritter

Towards the end of the third cycle of the year 20/21 the executive board brought up that the scheduling department was facing difficulties with arranging physical exams and lectures in the given time frames and facilities. The reason for the problem came from the concerns of students about participating in physical activities with big group sizes. Even though the maximum group size of the activities was within the government measures, the board wanted to acknowledge the concerns of the students and make smaller groups to make them feel saver.

In order to make this possible, the board and scheduling department suggested upping the maximum number of evening activities to 2 per week.

When the problem was brought up within the council. The UReka faction asked students via a survey what their opinion was on this. Based on the results they could conclude that:

• Most students don’t prefer evening lectures above online lectures.
• Most students prefer physical exams above digital exams (with proctoring included).
• The most preferred scenario is to do more lectures online if needed, to allow physical exams during the day.

In discussions with the executive board the faction represented the student perspective and voiced the concerns about the impact on student well-being, the lack of explored alternative solutions, and more evening activities in the future.

The board argued that this is the only feasible solution and that they are aiming at having this as the very last resort. The council has already agreed upon a priority list regarding physical activities, where physical exams are top priority. They committed to strive for 0% evening lectures.

The council asked the board to commit to the following conditions:

1. During the regular learning period,
   1. the number of evening lectures be minimized as much as possible and options such as online lectures, recording evening lectures, and hybrid lectures be used instead.
2. During the examination period,
   1.  lectures be moved online or into the evening so that exams can remain physical and during the day,
   2. and evening lectures will be reduced to a minimum or not be used at all.

In about two months there will be a re-evaluation moment to look back on the impact.

The University of Twente is rapidly becoming an international university with 39% international students and a majority of study programmes have shifted to English as the language of instruction. Moreover, the language policy of the university has also switched to English as the primary language. Although the university is fostering an international environment on campus and working to achieve its goals of educating students to be global citizens, the shift in companies and the region of Twente is not that rapid. 

Unfortunately, international students struggle to settle in the Netherlands after their graduation (25% of students stay after graduation, source: Nuffic) and mention that low proficiency in the Dutch language acts as a barrier. Even though proficiency in Dutch is not required on campus, it is quite significant in the region and especially in the job market. Hence, the region is losing talent and low proficiency in the language is causing a ‘brain drain’. The Minister of Education has also highlighted these concerns and there is a growing desire to incorporate Dutch in the curriculum to facilitate international students for a future in the Netherlands (source: U-Today).

The University of Twente offers multiple opportunities for students to learn Dutch through the services of the Language Centre. International students are very appreciative of the quality of staff, frequency of language courses and cost of each course. However, many students are unable to make the most of these services and are unable to complete the courses and speak Dutch proficiently. Students mention that they find it very challenging to learn Dutch while following a full-time study. First-year students remarked that they face a lot of pressure to meet their MoMi and BSA requirements, and even though they wish to learn Dutch, it is very hard for them to learn Dutch with the stress and study pressure and eventually choose to prioritize their study. The student wellbeing report also highlighted that students that attempt to learn Dutch while following a full-time study are at a higher risk of a breakdown.

Allowing students the opportunity to learn Dutch (optionally) will increase their understanding of the language, form a connection with the region, integrate better in society, increase chances of securing a job and a future in The Netherlands – contributing positively to the Dutch economy. Additionally, it is beneficial for Dutch students because it establishes lower thresholds in communication, instigating better integration of international students and leading to better prepare for an international field of employment which is an improvement for every student. 

Hence, the aim of UReka is to give explicit attention to ‘prepare students for a successful future in the Netherlands after graduation’. Through our consultation with the International Committee organisation of Study Associations (ICOS), we concluded that special attention must be given to Dutch corporate culture and language. Additional subjects such as intercultural communication may also be beneficial for students. Through extensive consultation with the international student community, we drafted a list of boundary conditions that would ensure international students make the most of the services the UT offers:

• The content must address (at least) Dutch corporate culture and language.
• Provide opportunities to learn Dutch while students are not studying full time.
• Provide opportunities to learn Dutch during a nominal study period.  
• Education should either be offered in Enschede or compensation should be provided for travel/housing costs as travel costs are high for international students. 
• Learning Dutch must remain optional for international students.

Based on the boundary conditions, UReka proposes to design a minor focusing on Dutch corporate culture and language. There are two possible scenarios for this:
First, design a coherent module of 15 EC with 8 EC focussing on Dutch corporate culture (courses from an existing minor “Professional Learning in Organizations” may be used) and 7 EC focusing on language courses organised by the UT language centre. 

Second, develop/extend strategic partnerships with other Dutch universities and jointly offer this minor. The UT-VU collaboration may be extended or a new partnership with Utrecht/Leiden could be formed. It is imperative that teachers are imported, and lectures are given at UT campus as the travel costs would not attract international students to enrol in this minor.  

Through this platform, we reach out to the UT community to work with us, provide feedback on our proposal, share ideas so together we can fix the problem. We are open to discuss alternative, broader solutions, however, it is imperative that they pertain to the boundary conditions addressed. 

On behalf of UReka,
Kind regards,
Muhammad Hamza Riaz
Chair of Strategy and Internationalization Committee, University Council
Contact: faction@ureka.utwente.nl