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According to a number of foreign academics working at Dutch universities, there is too much government interference in higher education.

Sheila Kamerman

On the phone, Professor Alexander Lichtenstein sounds as though he is in a hurry. He is late for another one of those boring meetings. "Do you want to know what the biggest difference is between universities in Russia, Germany and the Netherlands? In the Netherlands, there are so many meetings to attend. When one meeting is over, there's always another one, and then another. I have to go now, could you ring again this evening?"

No one knows how many foreign academics work at Dutch universities. Not even Nuffic, the organisation responsible for co-ordinating international co-operation in higher education. They know that the number is low. According to Nuffic spokesman Han van der Horst, the Netherlands is not the most popular destination for academics. They tend to prefer London, Paris or Berlin. "Not so much because higher education is better there, but because the Netherlands is relatively unknown. Moreover, we dont have top institutes such as Harvard, Yale or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MITXX). These obviously attract the greatest number of first-class foreign academics."

Van der Horst suspects that when foreign academics do choose a Dutch university, it is usually because of a suitable vacancy. "In addition there are refugees with academic aspirations, such as the former Chilean ambassador Jorge Tapia who used to be Professor of Constitutional Law at the Erasmus University in Rotterdam."

For Lichtenstein, born in Russia in 1955 and Professor of Computative Materials Science at the Catholic University of Nijmegen since 1999, the move to a Dutch university was a greater culture shock than it would have been for a Western European. Even those from neighbouring countries, however, must get used to the peculiarities, rules, traditions and etiquette of the Dutch academic world. Lichtenstein spent seven years as a researcher at the Max Planck Institute in Germany after getting his degree in Russia. He is well-placed to draw comparisons between Dutch, German and Russian universities.

Besides the enormous number of meetings that academics in the Netherlands have to attend, Lichtenstein notes that the relationship between students and staff is noticeably more informal. "In Germany, it would be Herr Professor; here, they like to address you by your first name." Compared to German and Russian students, he considers those in the Netherlands to be 'relaxed'. "Russian students have to pass tough entrance exams to get a place at the top universities. Once they've passed, they're very motivated. The Professor is like a God for them, the fountain of all knowledge."

Lichtenstein quickly noticed that Dutch students were very different in this respect. "They dont respect you just for being a Professor. You have to earn respect. If they disagree with something, they tell you. That took some getting used to at first, but now I've grown to appreciate the feed-back."

The independent-mindedness of Dutch students was also immediately apparent to Franz Palm (1948), Dean of the Economics Faculty at the University of Maastricht. He studied and subsequently taught at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. He has worked in the Netherlands since 1977, first at the Free University in Amsterdam and, since 1985, in Maastricht. "No one in Belgium would dream of interrupting the Professor. Here, they have no qualms about butting in right in the middle of a lecture."

He also points out how different the content of Dutch university courses is. "Students in Maastricht are incapable of listening to overly theoretical exposés. It soon became obvious that, in order to retain their attention, I had to infuse my lectures with lots of practical examples. Belgian students are exposed to theoretical education in secondary school, where the emphasis is very much on the transfer of knowledge. The Dutch secondary education system is much more skills-based and the result is apparent at university." In Palm's view, Belgian universities place a much greater emphasis in producing well-rounded individuals. "Economics students also have to pass exams in subjects such as sociology, philosophy and psychology. The same goes for other courses. Dutch university courses tend to be more specialised, even in the first few years."

Palm is also surprised at the role of the government in higher education in the Netherlands, particularly the frequent modernisation drives initiated by the Education Ministry. "Even before a project is completed, they come up with another. As a result, the academic community isn't really motivated to participate fully. They dont put in a great deal of energy, knowing that it will all be different again in a couple of years time." The Belgian government is much less inclined to modernise. "Change generally comes from the universities themselves, which also means that staff members are generally more enthusiastic about them."

Geoffrey Underhill (1959) is Professor of International Governance at the Political Science Faculty of the University of Amsterdam (UvAXX). He is very impressed with another aspect of government involvement: the funding of higher education and research. In the first year at the university, he has not had to worry about money. Before coming to the Netherlands, Underhill did research at universities in Canada, England and Scotland. "For each research project, the first questions were always: 'What is it going to cost? And where are we going to get the funding?' In the Netherlands, the money is simply there."

Underhill feels that solid government funding is the only stable foundation for a good system of higher education. "It's a fact of life that research is very expensive. But you can only attract good researchers if you offer good facilities. More often than not, the best researchers are also the best lecturers." That is why he will continue to encourage his Dutch colleagues to protest again further funding cuts. "Nevertheless, in comparison to other countries in which I've worked, they have no idea how good their position currently is."

He also appreciates the influence that students have on the day-to-day running of the university. They sit on university and faculty committees which discuss education and research, enabling them to hold a mirror to the staff members. "Their criticism helps us make improvements. In England, the situation is totally different. Some lecturers get upset at the very idea of being criticised by students."

Underhill is less enthusiastic about the freedom - excessive in his view - that students are afforded in the Netherlands. "They do four-year courses, but they're all still there after five years." He is also surprised at the number of exam retakes on offer to students. "No other country I know affords such luxury. If you fail an exam at a Canadian university, you simply choose another subject and try to pass that. If you fail that, you have to redo the whole year. Obviously, it's more expensive for the taxpayer. Perhaps the money might be better spent on hiring more staff and decreasing class sizes."

It may sound strict, but Underhill considers these to be useful lessons. Universities should not only pass on specific knowledge, they also have the task of preparing their students for later life. Students have to learn to deal with deadlines, commitments and stress. That still leaves more than enough time to have fun.

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