Every beginning academic should go abroad, says former Education Minister and current Labour MP Ronald Plasterk, who was a leading professor in molecular biology before embarking upon his political career. Every year, 43,000 Dutch students go abroad, while 75,000 foreigners come study here in the Netherlands. “A lot of research can be done in Holland. But spending some time abroad is an immensely enriching experience.”

Cambridge
“As a student, I did a six-month internship in London. After completing my dissertation, I lived half a year in California and another six months in Cambridge. In retrospect, those proved to be extremely valuable periods, determining ones. It wasn’t just the science—it was an adventure.”

Mr Plasterk was speaking in Radio Netherlands Worldwide’s Expat On Air programme to comment on the growing internationalisation of Dutch higher education. According to Nuffic, the Netherlands organization for international cooperation in higher education, every year, 43,000 Dutch students go abroad, while 75,000 foreigners come to study here in Holland. Nuffic says the numbers are still growing. For them, Nuffic organised on Saturday the Day of the International Student in The Hague.

Grants
One of Nuffic’s aims is to persuade foreign students to come pursue a study in the Netherlands. “Sometimes, it takes a little persuading”, says Nuffic’s Hanneke Teekens. “Holland is well-known among foreign students but not well enough. In Korea, for example, we explain that Holland has an excellent educational system. We also explain that there are grants to help pay their studies here. But she also underlines the importance of other aspects: “The environment outside the university is just as important. People are not just students. Another key factor is that everyone in the Netherlands speaks English.”

Mr Plasterk agrees. “After six years of high school French, I was hardly able to give a talk in France. I would, occasionally, use the wrong gender. Here, on the other hand, no one minds if one’s English is not absolutely perfect. In that sense, we’re a very open country.”

Complete study
The former minister does, however, have reservations about the fact that a growing number of Dutch students pursue their entire studies abroad. “Should we really encourage that high school students should focus on Oxford to study economics? One can study economics here, too. They could at least complete their studies here and then do an internship or get their doctorate abroad.”

The reverse also holds true for Mr Plasterk: “Why should Dutch universities form Korean students with Dutch tax payers’ money? There are, of course, perfectly good reasons, but it shouldn’t be taken for granted.”

Ms Teekens also favours short-term exchanges. “These are particularly frequent within Europe. But there are also very interesting universities in Brazil and India. These countries are important for Holland, not only in an economic sense but also culturally.”