Alumni magazine Illuster

Beep beep: the tyranny of the smartphone Marjon de Hond about her career change Alumni magazine March 2018

Keep smiling :) The many faces of stress and burnout

The kick-off

Content

Stress and burnout It may not be the most cheerful subject, but in this issue of Illuster we have chosen to focus on stress and burnout, a topic that is unfortunately familiar to many of us.

It’s a problem that has a huge impact on society as a whole and is very costly.

Having the jitters before an exam isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Real stress, how­ever, can have hugely detrimental effects on the persons experiencing it and their surroundings. Burnout is a growing problem and appears to be affecting people at an increasingly early age. I suspect that the pressure to be ‘always on’ — fuelled in no small part by social media and fomo, or ‘fear of missing out’ — plays an important part in this. Stress and burnout can affect people from any area of the academic world.

Thankfully, Utrecht University has made addressing this issue a priority — both within its own community, in its role as an education provider and employer, and, more broadly, by making it the focus of academic research. One of the projects funded by the Utrecht University Fund as part of the Doorgeven 2018 (‘Paying It Forward’) programme is a study into the use of support dogs to provide help for people with Post Traumatic Stress Disease. You can read more about this project on page 10.

One person who doesn’t suffer from stress is Bert van der Zwaan. His secret is to keep a positive attitude at all times. In March he will step down from his post as Rector Magnificus, leaving behind a university that is flourishing. We thank him for his successful and inspiring tenure as Rector and wish him all the very best for his retirement.

Lodewijk Hijmans van den Bergh Chair, Utrecht University Fund

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March 2018

4 In Utrecht 6 Generation UU 8 My career… Marjon de Hond 10 Money well spent 12 JAN — Young Alumni Network 14 UU Central 18 Class of 1992 19 DUB 20 Interview 22 In de spotlight 24 Picture… of the past 25 Message from… Santiago de ­Compostella 26 A pick of what’s on offer 28 In the picture

Workloads in the education sector UU Central

14

Femke Kaulingfreks on stress on the streets

22

10

From mascot to support dog Money well spent

In de spotlight

12 ‘I never felt a lot of outside pressure’ Young Alumni Network (JAN)

Message from… Santiago de ­Compostella

25

Walking in search of answers

‘Doing things you don’t like sucks energy out of you.’— Marjon de Hond, page 8

The opening

Text Armand Heijnen Photo Pieter van Dorp van Vliet

Colofon Illuster is a publication by Utrecht University and the Utrecht University Fund. It appears biannually and is sent to alumni of Utrecht University.

Editorial staff Xander

‘There is growing pressure to perform in academia’

Bronkhorst, Joost Dankers, Sophie van den Elsen, Robbert Jan Feunekes, Armand Heijnen, Stephanie Helfferich, Inge Mathijssen and Hanneke Olivier.

Editorial committee Olfert Koning, Communications

–– The University’s Dies Natalis on 26 March will be the final aca-

Advisor at GGZ Nederland;

demic ceremony that Professor

David Veldman, Magazine

Bert van der Zwaan attends

Production Manager/

as Rector Magnificus. He is 66

Copywriter at Uitgeverij

and on the brink of retirement.

Virtùmedia; Julienne Straatman, Entrepreneur at

‘It’s time for me to make time for other things.’

Straatman Strategisch Advies.

Art direction & design flowdesign.nl Printing Xerox.

ISSN 1338-4703 Year 23, #82. © Utrecht University Reuse of articles is permitted with citation.

Illuster is printed on environmentally friendly, FSC-certified paper.

Follows us on Facebook and LinkedIn: Alumni Universiteit Utrecht Email: alumni@uu.nl

He’s in two minds about his impending departure.

‘It’s great for the university that, after seven years, someone else is going to be taking my place — someone who will be bringing different ideas, a different approach and different aspirations for the future to the role. And it’s good for me too, in that I’m looking forward to being able to do other things.

But I’m leaving behind a great job, one that it will be tough to say goodbye to.’

It may be a great job, but it’s also a busy one.

And Van der Zwaan not only works as our Rector — he also authored a book about the future of higher education, and writes columns for DUB, the university magazine. How has he managed to combine such a demanding job with these other time-consuming projects?

‘A positive attitude’ — that’s how he sums up the mindset that has protected him from burnout. ‘I like to work, and I love spending my Sunday morning writing. It’s not about the time — it’s about the fulfilment I get out of it. And I’m very disciplined. I get up early, make sure to get in plenty of exercise, and when I go to dinners and receptions I usually call it a night early. You have to set priorities — I make sure to give

my full attention to people who are saying goodbye to the university, but I’ll tend to give the dinner afterwards a miss.’

Stress and burnout — the topic of this edition of Illuster — is a pertinent issue for the university as a whole. At the New Year’s reception, President of the Utrecht University Executive Board Anton Pijpers noted that the results of the 2017 ‘Employee Monitor’ revealed that workload is considered to be a major problem.

Van der Zwaan: ‘There is a growing pressure to perform in academia, and academics tend to be very invested in their work. This means that they’ll often end up taking their work home with them. While that kind of drive is a good thing, it can have some real drawbacks as well.’

‘One thing that we’re working very hard on right across the university is leadership style. The way that staff experience their workloads can vary radically from one department to the next depending on what style of management is in place. That’s why we’ve made leadership one of the central priorities on our agenda, with ongoing support programmes in place for young researchers and professors, for example.

During my time as Rector, I’ve had many discussions about this topic.’

‘But we also need to keep things in perspective’, says Van der Zwaan. ‘The academic world is a long way from topping the list of sectors where there’s a high workload. University staff work hard, but they also have a lot of freedom. If you’ve spent many of your evenings or weekends working, you also have to have the guts to take Friday off if the opportunity arises. Academia allows for that freedom — in a lot of other sectors that wouldn’t even be an option.’

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March 2018

In Utrecht

Utrecht University Fund offers award for innovative research At a celebratory alumni dinner on

and environmental issues.

Misiedjan intends to do with the prize

22 February, the Utrecht University

Agnites Vrolik (1810 – 1894) was the first

money is to take part in the

Fund gave out its inaugural Agnites

Chair of Utrecht University Fund when it

International Summer School on new

Vrolik Award.

was established in 1886. In the presence

research methods at the University

of his great-grandson and around 80

of Exeter (UK).

This award is given to talented academics

alumni, the jury, chaired by Naomi

at Utrecht University whose research has

Ellemers, presented Misiedjan with the

contributed to addressing current pressing

award acknowledging the innovative,

issues in society. This year’s winner is

multi-disciplinary approach she has taken

Dr Daphina Misiedjan. She was given

to her research.

the award for her PhD thesis entitled Towards a Sustainable Human Right to

The award was established as a gift

Water: Supporting Vulnerable People

to the university on the occasion of

and Protecting Water Resources, with

its 380th anniversary in 2016, made

Surinam as a Case Study. In her thesis,

possible by an endowment by Cobi de

Dr Misiedjan brings together legal

Bree (1920 – 2013), a graduate of Utrecht

aspects — such as the ability to enforce

University’s Dentistry programme.

the sufficient availability of clean water

The award consists of a cash prize of

as a human right — with developmental

€25,000 and a medal. The first thing

––

Anniversary celebrations focus on digitalisation

Hastings College of Law, San Francisco,

times an hour each way — not to mention

and Professor Albert-László Barabási

the countless bus lines that it will be sharing

from Northeastern University in Boston,

space with. Nine pedestrian crossings with

Massachusetts.

warning lights and sound alerts are to be installed in the central area of Utrecht

This year, the university’s Anniversary Day theme was ‘On Darwin, data and academic intelligence’. The keynote speech explored the fundamental question of how best to engage with the digital revolution that

Jury member and alumnus Steven Martina (CEO The ­Greenery) presents Daphina Misiedjan with the award on behalf of the Utrecht University Fund

––

‘Smombies’ beware — a tram will be riding here soon!

Science Park De Uithof, but there is still a risk of accidents.

Urban Jungle

continues apace, characterised by innova-

Three groups of students from HU University

tions such as big data, artificial intelligence

of Applied Sciences Utrecht’s Communica-

and the ‘robotisation of knowledge’.

tions programme set to work looking for

This question will also be discussed at the

ways to prevent students from trying to cross

University Day on Saturday 14 April (see

the road while they are engrossed in their

the events calendar on page 26).

smartphones. At the end of January, they presented their campaigns ‘Urban Jungle’, ‘Don’t hurry, be happy’ and ‘I saw you — did

Honourary doctorates

you see me?’ In these projects, the students

Above all, the Anniversary Day focused on saying farewell to Rector Bert van der Zwaan,

The new tram line that cuts right across

explore the use of street art, sound effects,

whose astute and passionate leadership has

Utrecht Science Park brings with it one

virtual reality and posters as ways to shift

further cemented Utrecht University’s status

problem: how do we alert smombies (smart-

smombies’ attention away from their smart-

as an educational and research institution

phone zombies) to the fact that they are

phones and back to the visual elements in

(see The opening on page 3). During the

risking their lives by crossing the tracks

the street — and, by extension, to the tram

celebration of the university’s 382nd anniver-

without paying proper attention?

tracks. Some of their ideas will be used when

sary, two honourary doctorates were also awarded, to Professor Joan C. Williams from

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March 2018

Once the tram route opens, during peak times trams will come barrelling past 16

the Uithof tram line comes into service.

www.uu.nl/nieuws

–– Alumni rate UU

90%

7,8

would recommend UU to prospective students

on a 1-10 scale

Alumni: ‘UU stands for quality’ Utrecht University graduates have a positive view of their university.

This has become apparent from a large-scale survey conducted by the Alumni Office and the LifeLong

Alumni associate UU with

Learning programme, the objective of which was to gain insight into

professional

international

De Uithof scienceknowledge research accessible

studying

familiar and trusted

innovative

quality

a sound approach

engaged

studies

diverse

reliable

history

the city of Utrecht

centrally located

a well-rounded education

my student years

––

‘Working for the university should have a revitalising effect’

in opportunities for continuing professional development.

academic

alma mater

friendly, social atmosphere social development

big

alumni engagement and their interest

Want to know more? View the results at www.uu.nl/alumni-enquete (in Dutch).

faculties with large student bodies, where

adhered to, and offering a so-called ‘vitality

lecturers and researchers find themselves

programme’ will all be explored. As part

juggling ever-growing responsibilities: for

of its involvement with the Association

example, the number of Bachelor’s degrees

of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU),

awarded increased by 33% between 2009

the university board will also look to discuss

and 2016, while at the same time there is

funding for higher education with the

growing pressure to publish and obtain

Minister for Education, so that the allocated

research funding.

budget more accurately reflects student

Foto Robert Oosterbroek

numbers, and so on.

Sabbatical In tackling the various pressure points in the system the university will be using the ‘Job Demands-Resources Model’ that has

––

A makeover for Illuster

Utrecht University is taking action to reduce

been developed by UU professor Wilmar

the workload experienced by members of

Schaufeli (see the interview on pages 14 –17).

For a number of years, Utrecht University’s

staff. A survey conducted among the univer-

This model is based on the notion of finding

Alumni Office has been publishing the

sity’s staff in 2017 revealed that the workload

an equilibrium between ‘sources of stress’

alumni magazine Illuster in the current style.

is still considered to be too high. Over the

and ‘sources of energy’. The university has

But times change, and Illuster is changing

next few years, staff at every level of the uni-

decided to focus especially on boosting the

with them. Illuster is not only getting a

versity will be involved in tackling this issue.

sources of energy, resulting in a ‘positive’

new design; the content will be undergoing

The Employee Monitor conducted last

balance, with staff deriving more energy

a transformation as well. You’ll be seeing a

from the work they do.

new structure with new regular features that

year revealed that the workload experienced by staff at Utrecht University has barely

This will be happening at all levels —

place our alumni centre stage. Illuster is also

reduced compared to the results of a com­

at the central, university-wide level; at the

becoming more sustainable: the magazine

parable survey in 2013, even though the

decentralised level, within individual faculties

will be printed on environmentally-friendly

university brought in a range of different

and departments; and at a personal level,

paper and is shedding its plastic cover. This is

measures to bring down the workload

with individual staff members and their

the last issue to be published in the current

during this period.

supervisors. In concrete terms this means

style. We hope that you’ll be pleasantly

that the possibilities for strengthening team

surprised by the next issue in the autumn!

Among other things, each faculty drew up and implemented an action plan, and

collaboration and rewarding team achieve-

additional funding was made available to

ments, providing support to those in super­

hire more lecturers. Nevertheless, the work-

visory roles, ensuring that agreements about

load is still felt to be too high, especially at

sabbaticals and non-teaching weeks are

5

March 2018

Generation UU Are we working too hard nowadays? Do we experience more stress than previous generations? Can burnout be seen as a quintessentially modern ailment? If Professor of Work and Organisational Psychology Toon Taris and psychiatrist ChristiaanVinkers from UMC Utrecht — who also researches the subject of stress — are to be believed, it’s not as bad as all that.‘Stress is a perennial issue.’

Stress is a perennial issue

‘The ancient Romans were already seeking respite from the clamour of city life’ Toon Taris Put simply, stress is the difference between

what you have to do and what you think you can handle. In the case of work-related stress, there are three key factors: a bigger workload, a lack of support from your colleagues or supervisor and a lack of agency over what you need to do. One person will be more prone to stress than another. If you have a neurotic personality or tend to be a perfectionist, you are at a slightly higher risk of getting burnout.

But stress can also be a good thing. It can help you perform at your best — look at athletes, for example.

It’s good to put yourself under pressure from time to time and step outside your comfort zone. You ‘Burnout affects shouldn’t try to avoid stress people at all ages — — and besides, that’s not possible anyway. not just something

that afflicts the young’

Christiaan Vinkers Stress

tends to have a bad name, but in and of itself it’s a very useful mechanism — as long as it doesn’t go on for too long, and you’re able to find a good balance between exertion and relaxation.

There are no hard and fast rules for that, but when you look at how adaptive and resilient we are, I think we’re

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March 2018

perfectly able to cope with stress, even in today’s demanding world.

Toon Taris There seems to be a general consensus that

we’re busier and more burnt-out than ever, but this isn’t the case. Stress is a perennial issue. An example: Jacques van Ginniken, who went on to be professor at Radboud University (known back then as the Catholic University of Nijmegen), predicted in 1918 that by the end of the century the number of insane people in Europe and the US would considerably exceed the number of ‘normal’ people — solely due to increasing work-related stress.

Christiaan Vinkers It used to be that people died at a

younger age, were sick more often, and faced a lot more violence. While the problems we’re dealing with have changed, we’re definitely not more stressed than ever. The ancient Romans already had villas outside the city where they would go seeking respite from the clamour of city life, and in the 18th century people cautioned against the spread of ‘an epidemic of melancholy caused by society’. In 2018, as ever, there are plenty of reasons for us to find ourselves facing too much stress from time to time.

Text Lennaert Rooijakkers Photo Kees Rutten

Christiaan Vinkers (left) and Toon Taris (right)

Toon Taris In other words, burnout isn’t, as people

will often claim, a particularly modern ailment. The Netherlands Institution for Social Research (scp) and Statistics Netherlands (cbs) have been keeping track of the number of people with symptoms of burnout in the Netherlands for twenty years. During this entire period, there has been only a slight increase; 10% to 15% of the workforce suffers from symptoms of burnout. And it’s an issue that affects people of all ages — it’s definitely not just something that afflicts the young.

Christiaan Vinkers The number of people suffering

from depression has remained stable over the past three decades, while the number of burnouts diagnosed by GPs has decreased. And the rating that Dutch people give their own mental health has, in fact, increased over the past few years. That doesn’t mean that burnout isn’t a real issue or that stress can’t cause serious health problems — but the notion that we’re finding ourselves increasingly overwhelmed by stress simply doesn’t hold water.

Toon Taris And yet we spend a lot of time talking about

stress and burnout. But I don’t know if we have a clear idea of what type of behaviour that results in. As an

occupational psychologist, I try to use questionnaires to get a picture of what’s going on, but we don’t look at what we can do with that data in the longer term, even though we should.

Christiaan Vinkers The

biggest misconception ‘Stress tends to have surrounding burnout is that a bad name, but in it’s a clearly-defined ailment and of itself, it’s a very and everyone knows what it is. But we can’t find it useful mechanism’ defined in diagnostic manuals, and psychiatrists and GPs can’t reliably diagnose it. We see overlaps with depression, anxiety disorders and acute stress disorder, and burnout also affects people who don’t have jobs and older people. So we all use the term to mean something different, even though the issue of having too much stress is one that everyone can relate to.

Talking about what exactly we mean by ‘burnout’ is a good starting point for broad-based research. That’s a task that psychiatrists, psychologists and sociologists — to name just a few disciplines — should take up.

They should work together to establish what it is we don’t yet have a clear enough grasp of, and jointly draw up an agenda for future scientific investigation.

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March 2018

My career… Marjon de Hond

Weather forecaster and alumna Marjon de Hond on her own burnout

‘My body simply doesn’t want to do this anymore, and I have to listen to that’

M

arjon spends her childhood ambling around on her grandparents’ farm, and she knows what she wants

to be when she grows up: a veterinarian.

But chemistry isn’t among her final subjects, so instead she ends up becoming a weather forecaster for Dutch public broadcaster NOS. After ten years, confronted with serious burnout, she is forced to give up on her TV and radio career. That leads to the start of an investigation of how the biochemical processes in the body work, and into ways of dealing with stress.

‘At the age of seven — in one of the harshest winters ever — I fell and cracked my head open. My parents said “Well, with a scar like that you’ll never be on tv.’

Being on tv wasn’t one of Marjon’s ambitions. What, however, did she want to do? After graduating from secondary school, she goes on to do a degree in Technical Physics at a technical college.

‘I hated it. I finished it by sheer willpower, but looking back I should’ve just quit — doing things you don’t enjoy sucks energy out of you.’

Hoping to find out what she does enjoy, Marjon decides to defy her parents (‘you need to go out and get a job’) and use her remaining financial aid to study Meteorology and Physical Oceanography

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March 2018

‘I’d have anywhere up to ten deadlines at a time for all the different radio and tv programmes’ — Marjon de Hond

in Utrecht. ‘I wouldn’t say that I loved it.

I really enjoyed the practical part. Doing measurements on Texel and at sea, going on an excursion to a glacier — all that was

just incredible. But sitting at the computer writing programs — that I couldn’t do.

Sitting still for long stretches of time makes me antsy, and I need to be able to talk to people.’ Nevertheless, Marjon successfully finishes the programme.

But before then, Nico Haasbroek, then the editor-in-chief of Dutch public television channel nos, comes to visit the university’s Meteorology department.

Marjon doesn’t feel like attending the meeting, but a friend convinces her to go.

‘He explained to us how the news works.

www.uu.nl/alumni

Text Hanneke Olivier Photo Ed van Rijswijk

––

Benoemingen They were looking for someone to do the weather. I was still unsure, but Nico told me, “You really need to apply for that job!” Maybe he saw potential in me even then. I ended up going. Everyone stood there hemming and hawing, and I was pretty relaxed.’ She laughs: ‘My forecast was total nonsense, but clearly that didn’t matter, because Erwin Kroll called up and invited me to come back for a more thorough screen test, and two weeks later they offered me a contract.’

Marjon loves presenting, but she also describes it as lonely. ‘I’d be working out weather forecasts in a corner somewhere.

I’d have anywhere up to ten deadlines at a time for all the different radio and tv programmes. It was very hectic. And I had a hard time coping with working irregular shifts.’

Orthomolecular

training programmes, qualifying as a Registered Nutritional Consulting Practitioner (rncp) and a Registered Orthomolecular Health Practitioner (rohp), among other things. ‘The way the body works is so fascinating and so incredibly complicated. Every person is unique. You really need to approach health on a case-by-case basis.

‘Dealing with burnout isn’t as simple as “you bit off more than you could chew, so you need to take things easy for a while”. I like to compare orthomolecular medicine to meteorology: a butterfly flapping its wings here can cause a hurricane in the Caribbean. Your body works in much the same way. It starts with something small. You ignore that.

The issue gets worse and so you take a paracetamol. But then you end up with burnout and by that point it’s hard to retrace your steps back to that first flap of the butterfly’s wing.’

‘The way the body works is so fascinating and so incredibly complicated’

When her first daughter is born, things start to go wrong. ‘Breastfeeding, only sleeping in short bursts — I was suffering from something akin to postnatal depression. But everything kept going, and it got harder and harder for me to keep my head above water.

I then suffered two miscarriages, and as a result my hormones went haywire — complete with anxiety and panic attacks.

It was terrible. I went off on sick leave.

I tried to go back after a while, but I started shaking really badly. I thought: my body just doesn’t want to do this anymore, and I have to listen to that. I hit rock bottom.

I had lost my job, my income, my car.’

She is quiet for a moment and looks out the window.

Marjon turns her attention to orthomolecular medicine, slowly gets back on her feet and becomes increasingly fascinated with the biochemical processes of the body. She completes a number of

Vegetable garden

Since 2015, Marjon has been back on tv, on the local station Omroep Flevoland. She also works for a nutritional supplement manufacturer.

On top of that, she offers ‘guided tours of the clouds’ for primary schools, and people can turn to her for orthomolecular consultations. ‘I’m still working on figuring out the balance. I would love to make a tv show about orthomolecular nutrition or the ortho­molecular lifestyle.

But I have to make sure I keep an eye on my stress levels.’

And the one dream she may ultimately be most drawn to is the memory of her grandparents’ farm. ‘Ambling around in the vegetable garden. A pony in the backyard. Sheep. Unfortunately, however, I haven’t won the lottery yet.

But who knows what might happen in the future...?’

Marjon de Hond (Master’s degree in Meteorology and Physical Oceanography in 1999) had a career as a weather forecaster before becoming a nutritionist and orthomo­ lecular therapist.

Martin Bloem (Master’s degree in Medicine in 1981) has been appointed Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future.

Hanne van Aart (Bachelor’s degree in Public Administration and Organisational Science in 2008) has been elected Mayor of Loon op Zand, making her the youngest mayor in the Netherlands.

Annelies van der Pauw (Master’s degree in Dutch Law in 1984) has been appointed Chair of Maastricht University’s Supervisory Board.

Maite Vermeulen (Bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2009) is the host of the new TV programme De Brug (‘The Bridge’) on Dutch public television channel KRO/NCRV. Caroline Princen (Master’s degree in Psychology in 1992) has been appointed Chair of the Supervisory Board of Ordina.

Aalt Dijkhuizen (Master’s degree in Veterinary Medicine in 1983) has been appointed Chair of the Food & Beverage Innovation Forum (FBIF) in China.

Amito Haarhuis (university teacher training programme in Biology in 1992) will be the new director of the Rijksmuseum Boerhaave Leiden as of 1 April.

Janine Oosting (Master’s degree in Medical Biology in 1989 and PhD in Medicine in 1993) has been appointed member of the Executive Board of IJsselland Hospital.

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March 2018

Money well spent

Text Josien Jacobs Photo Bas Niemans

From mascot to support dog How a dog can help people with PTSD A support dog is not a solution, but can be a helpful adjunct to treatment

Many people in the military undergo intense experiences while serving abroad in war zones or peacekeeping missions. Sometimes, these experiences are traumatic and they can find themselves continuing to relive their

researcher at the Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (iras) — which forms part of Utrecht University’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine — is spearheading this project.

trauma afterwards, making it virtually impossible to lead a normal life. The Utrecht University Fund is supporting

Why is it so important that research is done in this area?

research into whether support dogs can offer a degree

‘We know that the relationship between people and animals has a relaxing and stress-reducing effect.

We see that the support dogs placed with veterans with ptsd have a positive impact on their lives.

However, these positive results are mainly based on subjective experience and self-reflection. While that is important, it makes it difficult to develop a treatment method that can be rolled out to as many veterans as possible and, at a later stage, other patients as well. In order to identify the optimum match between veterans and dogs and achieve the greatest effect, we need to make objective measurements.

That’s what we’re hoping to achieve with this research.’

of relief in this situation.

For centuries, dogs have served as mascots for military personnel deployed abroad, providing comfort, distraction and company. But the idea that dogs can also help soldiers and veterans and their family members once they have returned home from combat is a fairly recent discovery.

Since 2012, Hulphond ’ Nederland (the centre of expertise in the ­Netherlands for training assistance dogs used in medical and therapeutic care) has been training support dogs and placing them with veterans with ptsd in order to offer them additional support in their treatment. Dr Joris Wijnker, Major and Military Veterinarian with the Dutch Armed Forces and

‘The demand for

well-trained support dogs exceeds the supply

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March 2018

How will you be going about this? ‘We want to obtain

greater and better insight into the interaction between veterans and support dogs. Initially we will be focusing on parameters such as heart rate, blood pressure, movement patterns and additional indicators of stress,

www.uu.nl/doorgeven

Want to contribute to this research?

Visit www.uu.nl/doorgeven

such as levels of the “stress hormone” cortisol. We also want to take comparable measurements with the dogs. Using technology such as smart watches, we will be able to gain insight into how the veteran and the support dog are feeling, both physically and mentally. Ultimately we will map out the way that the interaction between the dogs and the veterans is working.’

How did you get involved in this project?

‘As a member of the reserve, and a veteran myself, I often find myself running into people who have found themselves having to deal with ptsd. In 2014, I was first introduced to Hulphond Nederland through my army contacts, and all of a sudden it was like all these different pieces of the

‘Through this unique project we are gaining quantifiable insight into the relationship between veterans and dogs’ puzzle were falling into place. Through this unique project we will be gaining quantifiable insight into the relationship between veterans and dogs, enabling us to contribute to treatment methods that can help both veterans and civilians with ptsd even more effectively.

This is an issue that has been gaining increasing attention within the Army.

‘Support dogs that are placed with veterans with ptsd have a positive impact on their lives’ It’s partly because of this that the Karel Doorman Fonds (the support fund for the Royal Netherlands Navy) is contributing funding to the project, and pet food manufacturer Royal Canin has also pledged to offer its active support.

There is some urgency to the issue: the demand for well-trained support dogs far exceeds the supply. Over the past five years, Hulphond Nederland has been able to place around sixty dogs, but right now

there is a waiting list of more than one hundred veterans with ptsd. In addition to service members, ptsd also increasingly affects other uniformed professions, such as police officers, firefighters and paramedics. While the use of a support dog is not the only solution, and cannot be a solution in and of itself, it can be a helpful adjunct to treatment. And we hope that in the longer term, it can contribute not only to the treatment of ptsd, but also to ptsd prevention.’

The Veterans-PTSD-Support Dogs-Research Project by Dr Joris Wijnker is partly backed by the Karel Doorman Fonds (the support fund for members of the Royal Netherlands Navy) and pet food manufacturer Royal Canin. The Utrecht University Fund aims to raise at least € 12,000 in donations for the research project.

––

The target figure for InclUUsion has already been reached Like the study involving support dogs, InclUUsion is also receiving funding from the Utrecht University Fund’s Doorgeven 2018 (‘Paying It Forward 2018’) campaign.

This highly successful initiative gives refugees the opportunity to take classes from Utrecht University’s regular curriculum free of charge.

We are proud to announce that the €15,000 target figure for InclUUsion has already been reached. We’d like to extend our sincere thanks to all the alumni who made a donation! The other projects taking place as part of Doorgeven 2018, such as scholarships for international students and research into the financial history of the Netherlands, could also use your support. Will you help to ensure these unique initiatives also become a reality?

Go to www.uu.nl/doorgeven.

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March 2018

For alumni under the age of 35, there is the Young Alumni Network (JAN).

The board of the Young Alumni Network organises activities and events that allow you to expand your network in an informal setting.

Any professional athlete knows what it’s like to be under high pressure. Alumna Inge Janssen is no exception. For ten years, her life was all about rowing, and she claimed an Olympic silver medal and a World Championship title in the women’s quadruple sculls. Janssen, who is on a sabbatical from rowing until September, has never found it hard to transform sky-high pressure into energy.

Olympic rower Inge Janssen

‘I never felt a lot of outside pressure’ Five long, firm strokes of the oar. No matter how much nervous energy Olympic rower Inge Janssen may have felt coursing through her veins at the start of an important race, that’s all it takes for the tension to flow out of her body. ‘The last few moments before the start can really be nerve-racking, but within those first five strokes you feel all that noise and chatter inside your head ebb away and transform into strength. Once you’ve experienced that a few times, you know: no matter how nervous I might be, ultimately it’s going to help me push myself even harder.’

The kind of overwhelming stress that paralyses you in key moments is not something that the 28-year-old athlete has ever experienced while on the water. Nerves, sure — but when she started rowing with Orca she quickly learned that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, and she has become better and better at dealing with them over the years.

But an important prerequisite is that she can spend the run-up to a race making sure she’s totally prepared. ‘I’m good at gauging what my chances are, and I know exactly what I need to do to perform at my best. That’s what I did in 90% of the major tour­ naments I took part in. In those cases good nerves helped me to do better’, says Janssen. ‘You only really have the wrong kind of nerves when you know you’re not going to do well — for example when you’re out of shape or ill-prepared.’

Janssen thinks it was easier for her to learn to cope with pressure because she has never found herself faced with significant setbacks. ‘I never had any serious

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March 2018

injuries and I’ve never failed to qualify at the trials stage. That means I never experienced stress during my career as an athlete, even though I did during my studies — and I do at my job now. Sometimes it even keeps me up at night. I never get that with rowing.’

Why is that? Janssen chalks the difference up to the fact that her sport is purely about physical performance. ‘It’s pretty repetitive, you just have to take the leap and do it. Rowing is in your system.’

That repetitive nature, though, was also what made her decide to take a break so that she could come at it refreshed, ready to get back in the boat for the Olympics in Tokyo.

‘With rowing, it’s clear what your job is. You do what someone else has come up with. And if you give it your all, sooner or later it will pay off. With your studies or work, it’s the other way around, and you’re more dependent on the opinions of your professor, boss or customer’, Janssen explains.

‘I never felt a lot of outside pressure in my rowing career’, the Liberal Arts and Geo-Communication graduate continues. ‘I did feel increased pressure when I went to Rio in 2016 to win an Olympic medal, but that pressure was mainly self-imposed, because I wanted it so badly and because I felt that we deserved it. My teammates and I tend to enter into a race with an attitude of “we have nothing to lose”. In 2017, we really wanted to bag that World Championship title, but we didn’t feel like we had to. Our sheer willpower enabled us to unlock hidden strengths, and that got us the gold medal.’

www.uu.nl/jan

Text Lennaert Rooijakkers Photo Ellen de Monchy

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‘While I was in university, sometimes stress would keep me up at night. I never get that with rowing’

My Utrecht Inge Janssen Student digs My first place was on Gansstraat. I lived there for two years, until I went to the States for a year to row. When I got back, I lived on Bilderdijkstraat and then spent two years living on Amsterdamsestraatweg.

Favourite spot Ledig Erf. I always lived close by, and spent a lot of evenings and sunny afternoons sitting outside sipping a craft beer. And I worked around the corner at IJs en Zopie.

Now I’ve been living in Amsterdam since 2014. I spend three days a week working for BYCS, a start-up that aims to promote the use of bicycles in cities.

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March 2018

UU Central

Photo Shutterstock

Workload in the education sector

‘Teachers just keep on going until they’ve worn themselves out’ 14

Maart 2018

www.uu.nl/alumni

Text Armand Heijnen and Ronnie van Veen Photos Maarten Hartman

‘It was hard work getting #POinactie to be taken seriously’, says Jan van deVen. He launched the initiative to protest against the workload and the low pay in primary education.Are primary school teachers really buckling in droves under the pressure?

Burnout specialist Wilmar Schaufeli, for one, sees significant risks among this segment of the workforce.

A

ccording to Schaufeli, people in human service professions in particular — such as teachers and healthcare professionals — tend to keep going even when they’ve reached the end of their tether. ‘People in those sectors feel responsible for their clients or students, and for their colleagues. They keep working — not just when they’re under the weather, but also when they’re feeling highly stressed. That’s actually a really bad approach.’

Van de Ven recognises that sense of responsibility all too well. ‘There is no safety net in education these days. When a teacher can’t come in, there’s rarely someone qualified available to replace them. So teachers just keep going, until they’ve worn themselves out. It’s a vicious cycle. A huge workload, which results in one in every four to five teachers getting burnt out, which, in turn, only increases the workload, because vacancies aren’t being filled.’

According to Schaufeli, just talking about workloads being too heavy slightly misses the point. Put briefly, what that means is you have to do too much in too little time. ‘But if you have to get a lot done with great colleagues and a nice boss, in a beautiful building with sufficient autonomy in your work, a lot of the time that needn’t be that big a problem. In the education sector, you can’t just alleviate the problem by employing more teachers as a stopgap or reducing classes by three or four children. You have to either take an all-out approach and halve classes to a maximum of around fifteen pupils, or change the working conditions to turn the tide and enable teachers to begin enjoying their work again.’

But Van de Ven knows that with the current teacher shortage, bringing class sizes down to fifteen pupils is a pipe dream. ‘Those kinds of blanket meas-

ures aren’t going to do it. What we need — what #POinactie is making a case for — is for the government to make funding available to schools that teachers, administrations, employee representation bodies and school boards can jointly decide how to use. That would allow for the problem to be tackled on a case-by-case basis. After all, one school might benefit from improvements to the building, while another needs smaller class sizes or teaching assistants, teachers for specific subjects or caretakers, and yet another would benefit from purchasing computers.’

There is also room for improvement in the way education is structured. Van de Ven: ‘Take the arrangements in place for so-called “inclusive education”, for example. It’s a great idea to have kids go to school near their home and with their friends wherever possible.

But resources need to be made available to accommodate this approach. Right now, it seems like it’s being foisted on teachers solely as a way to cut costs.’

‘Including children with a physical or mild mental disability in the classroom is a great idea with a view to increasing inclusiveness’, says Schaufeli. ‘But the government needs to be aware that right now it’s mainly being experienced as an austerity measure that’s hugely taxing on teachers.’

Are wage increases a way to make the profession more appealing? According to Schaufeli, it isn’t about how high the salaries are so much as about how fair they are. Primary school teachers don’t feel they are getting fair pay — their job is at least as taxing as that of secondary-school teachers, but they aren’t remunerated accordingly. ‘That means they aren’t getting sufficient recognition for their work, and that stings.

It’s not about fifty bucks more or less.’

‘We’re not talking about a wage increase, but about fair pay’

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March 2018

UU centraal Werkdruk in het onderwijs

––

––

Jan van de Ven spent a year studying Language and Culture

Wilmar Schaufeli studied in Groningen, where he obtained

Studies in Utrecht before making the switch to Italian. However,

a PhD in Clinical Psychology, specialising in unemployment

he ultimately felt both courses were a bit too airy-fairy for him,

and mental health. His work as an Associate Professor in Work

so he switched a third time, to History. ‘I saw a lot of fun pubs,

and Organisational Psychology at Radboud University Nijmegen

but not a lot of books’, is how he looks back on this period now.

led to a shift in his focus toward the subject of burnout, and

He switched again to Political Science in Nijmegen, where promi-

he wrote a monograph on the subject in 1990. Four years later

nent Dutch politician Lilian Marijnissen (leader of the Dutch

he delivered his inaugural address on the subject when he

Socialist Party) was one of his fellow students. But when, after

became a professor at Utrecht University. In addition, since

two years he still hadn’t obtained all the credits to pass the first

2014 he has also held a Research Professorship at KU Leuven.

year of the programme, he decided to train to be a primary school teacher instead. He completed that course in three years, after which he began work as a primary school teacher in Venray.

In the past few years he has risen to national prominence with #POinactie, a manifesto he penned together with Thijs Roovers, which has since led to the formation of a trade union.

Tipping point

Van de Ven: ‘I completely agree. #POinactie isn’t advocating a wage increase so much as fair pay. Pay has to be commensurate with a higher professional education (hbo) qualification, so that there is less of a disparity between remuneration in primary and secondary education settings.’

Is Van de Ven himself at risk of getting burnout?

In addition to his work as a teacher in Venray, he is on the Provincial Council of Limburg representing the d66 political party and heads up the #POinactie union, as well as raising two daughters. ‘It’s a lot of work’, he admits. ‘But that variety is exactly what makes it fun, and at the same time there is overlap between all the different things I do. I get a lot of fulfilment out of being able to make a difference in primary education, and the fact that the province has made some money available so that we can get things done gives us an even greater impetus.’

So all that work hasn’t worn Van de Ven out.

Are people perhaps too quick to bandy about the term ‘burnout’ when someone is having a hard time juggling their responsibilities? Schaufeli: ‘Essentially,

‘There is a much greater risk of teachers running themselves ragged than of them trying to coast by on minimal effort’

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March 2018

burnout is a mental state that can express itself in various ways — through exhaustion, irritability, difficulty concentrating. When I started studying this issue back in the 1990s, there was a lot of controversy surrounding it. Is it just a passing fad? Are we really just talking about depression? Is it really necessary to research it? But depression tends to involve feelings of guilt, anxiety or suicidal behaviour. There is a correlation, but it’s definitely not the same thing.’

According to Schaufeli, burnout tends to creep up on people, until they find themselves reaching a tipping point. ‘Problems at work, trouble in private life like a divorce or having to look after an ailing relative for an extended period of time... People tend to just keep going, because they don’t like to think of themselves as a whiner. Just grit your teeth and keep going — some people will do that for years on end.

But at some point you’ll find that you’re just running on fumes. There are ways to keep it from getting to that point: seek help, talk to your boss, let them know you’re having a harder time coping with your work than before. There are career advisors who can help, company doctors, occupational health practitioners...’

But at the end of the day, isn’t burnout something of a modern phenomenon too? Weren’t our ancestors better than we are at ‘grinning and bearing it’? ‘We can definitely talk in terms of the psychologisation

www.uu.nl/alumni

of society, with behaviour being fenced off with labels’, Schaufeli says. ‘Where we used to talk about kids being rowdy, now we say they have adhd; where you used to say you were in a bad mood, now you have depression. We subject ourselves, our relationships and our inner lives to more and more scrutiny. That all makes it hard to say whether burnout occurred in the past. In the 19th and 20th centuries, people also suffered from nervous exhaustion, but back then that was called neurasthenia or surménage.’

‘If the education sector is to become future-proof, we have to make sure teachers aren’t forced to just stick a plaster over it and soldier on’ Have faith

‘That looked a great deal like what we nowadays call burnout. It was because of our healthcare system that we began to medicalise it. Health insurance wouldn’t

cover it unless it was ascribed a clear medical diagnosis.’

The fact that burnouts are especially prevalent in the education sector also has to do with the nature of the work.

Schaufeli: ‘In the education and healthcare sectors, we tend to see highly-motivated people who want to make a difference in other people’s lives. If you then set up a system full of time-consuming red tape, those people will experience that as drudgery that goes at the expense of the real work — being by someone’s bedside or in front of the class. Because that’s the work they have chosen to do, that’s what they want to be doing. For them, having to spend entire afternoons filling out forms means not getting around to what they truly consider to be important. They feel they are being kept from their work unnecessarily. And all that admin is meant as a way for teachers to give an account of the work that they have done — but it makes them feel like they’re not to be trusted. My take on it is: provide people with sound training, ensure there is sufficient supervision and intervision, along with opportunities for continuing professional development, and then let them do their thing. Have faith in the

professional. And if you want to help teachers, do so by protecting them from themselves, because there is a much greater risk of them running themselves ragged than of them trying to coast by on minimal effort. This fear of layabouts is a collective administrative psychosis.’

Students bear the brunt

Van de Ven: ‘I couldn’t agree more. The education sector is full of people who feel a great sense of responsibility, both for the thirty children in their class and for their colleagues. They don’t call in sick until they’re really at the end of their tether, because they know their colleagues end up getting saddled with their workload, and the students bear the brunt of their illness because it’s their education that suffers as a result. That’s very different from an office job where most of the time it’s not a big deal if you put off an item on your to-do list until the next day.

So teachers tend to push their boundaries and keep going for too long. If the education sector is to become future-proof, we have to make sure teachers aren’t forced to just stick a plaster over it and soldier on regardless.’

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March 2018

Class of 1992 Students in the year 2018

Photo Maarten Hartman

Tariq Sewbaransingh is the chairman of the Dutch national student union, LSVb. He is currently writing his thesis to complete his Master’s degree in Governance and Public Policy. ‘It’s pretty intense’, he says.

That brings him to the subject of the work pressure experienced by students. ‘Last year I interned with a research institute to find out whether academia really is my passion, or if I would ultimately prefer to be out there on the front line. I have great ambitions in both areas, but the workload that brings with it forces me to set priorities.’

LSVb recently conducted research into the pressure of work felt by students. It turns out that one in three students feels they are on the verge of burnout. By way of comparison: in other areas, 15% of employees consider themselves at risk of burning out.

According to Tariq, changes such as the switch from a grant-based to a loan-based system in the Netherlands, the so-called ‘binding study advice’ and what is expected of graduates’ CVs nowadays are all to blame for the pressure felt by students. ‘You have to excel at your studies, while at the same time gaining experience serving on boards and committees, as well as having spent time abroad, and so on, and so forth.

That creates tremendous pressure.

Students should sound the alarm in the earliest stages of a burnout, when they start to get overexerted. But there seems to be quite a stigma on that amongst young people, so effectively they end up

LSVb study into burnout among students

‘I have great ambitions in many different areas’

addressing it too late.’

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March 2018

DUB, the Digital University Bulletin, is Utrecht University’s own independent publication. Visit www.dub.uu.nl/en for the latest news, in-depth features, discussions and columns all about education, research and student life.

dub.uu.nl

Study societies receive nearly one and a half million in subsidies of Applied Sciences Utrecht concluded that the code of conduct had been violated, and as a result the administrative grants (‘bestuursbeurs’) for individual students and the core funding of €64,500 per year were withdrawn with immediate effect.

In order to be eligible for funding again, the association is now required to conduct an investigation and come up with a plan to prevent similar excesses in the future.

The study society of the Earth Sciences programme found itself facing similar penalties from the university, after Dutch Research by DUB has revealed that, each

Dutch investigative journalism documentary

newspaper NRC wrote about their songbook

academic year, HU University of Applied

series Rambam, according to which pros­

full of sexist songs. DUB found out that the

Sciences Utrecht and Utrecht University

pective members of the Utrecht Female

student organisations receive a total amount

jointly spend more than 1.4 million euros

Student Association (Utrechtse Vrouwelijke

of €1,442,425 annually in scholarships for

on the various student organisations and

Studenten Vereeniging, UVSV) were spat

student representatives, core funding for

study societies in the city. This financial

on and force-fed as part of a hazing ritual.

study societies and one-off project grants.

contribution is the subject of some debate.

In addition, one prospective member was

The university makes these subsidies

said to have had their medication taken from

available because student organisations ‘con-

among other things, by an episode of the

them. Utrecht University and HU University

tribute to an inspiring academic community’.

Students to create their own degree programme

UU cuts ties with tobacco industry

Utrecht University’s student cards to remain digital

Starting this spring, students will be coming

At the start of this year the university came

This academic year, Utrecht University

up with their own degree programmes.

under fire for receiving funding from PMI

became the first university in the

The best programme will end up actually

IMPACT, a funding initiative launched by

­Netherlands to replace its paper student

being taught. One of the people behind the

tobacco producer Philip Morris. This fund

card with a digital one. Loading the student

project is Philosophy student Robin Wisse.

awarded € 360,000 for a two-year period

card while offline doesn’t always work, and

She came up with the idea after her experi-

for a research study into tobacco smuggling.

digital student cards aren’t trusted and

ences in Berkeley, where some modules are

The Dutch Cancer Society (KWF Kanker­

accepted everywhere. For this reason the

taught entirely by students. She felt Utrecht

bestrijding) subsequently threatened to

student representatives on the various

University had to follow suit — and soon this

withdraw the grants it awards to UU

consultative bodies want students to be

will become a reality. Several of the ideas

researchers — meaning millions of euros.

offered a physical student card as well,

generated by the students will be developed

Faced with mounting pressure on the univer-

but the board is unwilling to accede to this.

into full-fledged courses under the supervi-

sity board, UU decided to sever all ties with

The board members feel that physical

sion of an educational expert. All students

Philip Morris and pay for the study itself.

student cards are outdated and want to

The recent debate has been prompted,

will be able to enrol and obtain credits.

digitise other university IDs as well.

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March 2018

Interview More stimuli from new technology

No stress: that smartphone has an off switch

Opinions vary as to how many times a day people check their smartphones. But one thing is for sure: our phones are the source of a range of different stimuli, which also makes them a potential source of stress.We sat down for a chat with Dr Stefan van der Stigchel about how best to deal with the way our phones are constantly clamouring for our attention.

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March 2018

Text Inge Mathijssen Images Flowdesign

B

eep beep: a new comment on Facebook. Beep beep: a new message in the family group chat. Beep beep: an email from that important client. Beep beep: a colleague replying right away. Beep beep: your partner asking what time you’ll be home.

A beep or a flashing screen every once in while is not a problem, says Stefan van der Stigchel: people can handle that just fine. Van der Stigchel is Associate Professor of Experimental Psychology at Utrecht University. In his AttentionLab, he researches how the attention span works.

A beep draws attention immediately, and that’s a good thing. ‘The concept of “attention” can essentially be boiled down to just one word: selection’, Van der Stigchel explains. ‘Your brain sifts through a huge amount of visual and auditory stimuli and selects what’s important for you at that moment in time. You do have some degree of control over that.

But there are also stimuli that are so strong they grab your attention almost automatically. There’s nothing you can or should do about that — from an

‘You can’t text and bike down a busy city street at the same time’ evolutionary perspective, it’s extremely useful and efficient.’

For example, it’s crucial that you’re capable of registering sirens or flashing lights in traffic. Your smartphone uses the same principles to draw your attention using powerful stimuli, like light, sound and vibrations. ‘App developers tend to know exactly how to get people’s attention — and how to hold it. It’s not the beep itself so much as the association that’s ultimately what distracts us. You can ignore the sound, but you get curious about what it is. It keeps bugging you, and that’s what

ultimately causes you to reach for your smartphone yet again.’

And checking that screen ‘just for a second’ when you’re really doing something else, actually takes more out of you than you’d think, since the brain is incapable of doing two things that both demand attention simultaneously. ‘You can’t text and bike down a busy city street at the same time’, Van der Stigchel says by way of example. ‘What that means in practice is that you’re constantly switching back and forth between two tasks. The system you use to carry out tasks is like a workbench. It has the tools on it that you need in order to complete that task at that particular moment. If you have to perform a new task, the workbench has to be cleared, and you need to fetch new tools.

But when you go back to the previous task, you have to go and get the old tools again.

That takes time and energy and tends to lead to errors and stress.’

Essentially, the smartphone is constantly tempting you into going back and forth between different items on your to-do list, with all the usual updates about sports, your kids and the various other commitments in your personal life.

And yet the smartphone doesn’t necessarily have to lead to a disturbed (in both senses of the word) state of mind. ‘Ultimately you decide what you’re allowing yourself to get distracted by. If you hide away in a cubicle with no distractions, you’re completely in charge of the focus of your attention. But if you keep your phone and all your notifications turned on, you are choosing to be distracted.’

Van der Stigchel doesn’t believe the doomsayers who argue that smartphones are running our lives and having an irreversible impact on our ability to concentrate. ‘It’s a relatively new technology and we’re still learning how to deal with it.

The idea that we’re becoming “slaves to the system” comes up time and again when technological innovations first arrive on the scene. When I grew up, television was subject to similar controversy, but nowadays it’s not an issue for anyone anymore.’ Van der Stigchel does admit that as a result of developments like the smartphone, the amount of stimuli

‘App developers tend to know exactly how to get people’s attention’ has increased, which means it’s harder to choose what to pay attention to. That brings new risks with it, for example when you’re in traffic or in trying to find a good work-life balance. Educating people is key. ‘We have to teach people — especially young people — how the attention span works and just how valuable the ability to give something your undivided attention is.’

–– Research into the attention span In Utrecht University’s AttentionLab, a team of researchers headed up by Dr Stefan van der Stigchel is researching attention. The objective is to study attention and visual awareness among the healthy population as well as in clinical groups, using a range of methods such as eye movement measurement and psychophysics. The goal is to find out how people create a visual perception of the world. Van der Stigchel is the recipient of a Vidi grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO), the author of the book Zo werkt aandacht (‘This Is How Attention Works’, published in Dutch).

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March 2018

In the spotlight Dr Femke Kaulingfreks obtained her PhD with a thesis about the political significance of riots and public disorder among young people from deprived neighbourhoods.‘I’m a very curious person — I want to know what your world looks like.’

Femke Kaulingfreks about stress on the streets

‘Social tension is mainly a result of people feeling like they’re not being heard’

K

Foto Khalid Amakran

aulingfreks became fascinated by the lives of young people from immigrant backgrounds living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods in the Netherlands when she was still doing her undergraduate degree in Philosophy. She wrote her thesis about changing views on multiculturalism in the Netherlands. ‘This was back when there were serious riots in the banlieues of Paris. I was struck by the fact that this was viewed as the result of poverty, segregation and the ine‘Everyone had an quality of opportunities for the young people opinion, but the young people themselves were living in those areas.

Discussions were held not given a voice’ about all sorts of social issues, but people were failing to look at the political dimension when, in my view, those young people also wanted to be recognised as equal citizens. Everyone had an opinion about the problem or an idea about what should be done, but the young people themselves were not given a voice.’

In 2007, the French duo Justice released their song Stress, along with a confrontational video in which viewers were presented with the extreme, often senseless violence that teenagers living in disadvantaged areas grow up with. The music video was staged, but

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March 2018

many people assumed that it was a real-life depiction of life in the Parisian suburbs. It was quickly banned from French television for its controversial content, but teenagers were still able to find it and the video went viral. According to Kaulingfreks, the uproar about this music video perfectly reflects the societal panic about the behaviour of young people from immigrant backgrounds. ‘Wildly exaggerated stories were being bandied around about crime among this demographic, but no one actually took the trouble to talk to those youngsters about all the various aspects of their lives.’

She decided to take matters into her own hands, and as part of her PhD research, she went into those neighbourhoods to talk to the youngsters living there, in the suburbs of Paris as well as in Utrecht’s Kanalen­ eiland district. ‘Of course you can’t just walk up to these kids and start firing questions at them. They can tell right away that you’re not one of them and are likely to suspect you of being an undercover cop.

As a woman, you’re less of a threat, but you still need an “in” somehow.’ Usually a youth worker would make the initial introduction. Kaulingfreks then had to invest a lot of time winning the young people’s trust. She would often organise group meetings, but she wouldn’t talk much herself. ‘I really only had one question: “What’s it like growing up here?” Time

Text Joost Dankers Photo Shutterstock

‘Those police officers in Paris are like Robocops.’

and again I was surprised by how much material that brought up. They described their lives in concrete terms, talking about family, money, friends, and so on, but they’d also reflect at length about more abstract concepts like trust, fear and their sense of being excluded. I’d be sitting there with some of the most difficult boys, who’d be referred to by social workers

‘In Paris, the government plays no role in youth work at all — it only doles out punishment’ as the dregs of the neighbourhood, but I found they had very clear ideas about inequality, poverty and injustice.’

Kaulingfreks did see differences between the situation in Utrecht and the case of Paris: ‘About ten years ago, there was a lot of vandalism in Kanaleneiland because the adolescents living there were angry and frustrated about the lack of activities and support for young people

living in the area. They felt a huge disconnect from political decision-making in the city, and this was their way of demanding that attention be paid to the things that were going wrong. The city went on to invest a lot of money in youth work and made community policing in the area a much greater priority. As a result, the community police officers really came to be seen as a positive presence here. In Paris it’s very different. The neighbourhood of Grigny has a reputation for poverty and violence. The government plays no role in providing youth work here — it’s only responsible for law enforcement and disciplinary measures. This means that the youngsters living there feel completely abandoned, which results in confrontations with the police. The police is a fully militarised arm of the government — the police officers are like Robocops.

You can’t reason with them, so things inevitably end up turning violent.’

In her recently published book Straatpolitiek (‘Street Politics’), Kaulingfreks extends the graph to look at more recent events in the Netherlands such as the

advent of vloggers making online careers out of pranking people (the so-called ‘treitervloggers’, or ‘bully vloggers’), the riots in the Schilderswijk district of The Hague after the death of Mitch Henriquez and the protests in favour of and against Zwarte Piet (Black Pete). According to Kaulingfreks, this kind of social unrest is what happens when people who have a hard time getting access to the mainstream political sphere feel like they aren’t being heard. In order to get people to pay attention, they end up expressing themselves in more confrontational ways. She feels we should not dismiss this as ‘senseless violence’. Some forms of social disruption can be seen as acts of political agency: ‘By viewing this behaviour as political, we can better understand it and maybe find a way to address these issues. As a socially engaged academic, I feel it is vital that these people, too, are heard.’

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March 2018

Picture… of the past

Stress among students is nothing new Student life has a reputation for being the last chance to live it up before committing to the responsibilities of working life. But it’s not all partying until sunrise and cutting class to sleep off your hangover — at least, not if the book De Utrechtse student: 1945 tot nu (‘Students in Utrecht: From 1945 to Now’), to be published on 5 April, is to be believed. According to this book, many students in the first two decades after the Second World War spent ‘countless hours in class’. First-year students, in particular, had it tough: they usually had class every morning, including on Saturdays, and would spend the afternoon in practicals or at the library. And they spent a lot of time biking to and fro, as the university made use of buildings all over the city: from Lange Nieuwstraat to Croesestraat, from Janskerkhof all the way to Bijlhouwerstraat.

Juggling their demanding studies with a busy social life definitely led to stress among parts of the student population.

The fact that it took some students 8 or 9 years to get their degrees wasn’t only because of the many hours they spent at the student union bar. Students either had a hard time dealing with their sudden freedom or they had a hard time keeping up with their

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Students in Utrecht: From 1945 to Now Illuster is giving away two copies of the book. For a chance to win one, email your name and address to alumni@uu.nl.

The book has been edited by Professor Leen Dorsman, alumni Hylke Faber and Dr Pieter Stolk, and contains around 330 photos. Currently there is an exhibition about student life in Utrecht since 1945, curated by image editor Maurice van Lieshout, at the Utrecht City Archive on Hamburgerstraat. The exhibition can be visited free of charge until September 2018. www.ddm.works/studenten-leven

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March 2018

Protests in 1994 against the austerity measures by then Minister for Education Jo Ritzen.

studies. It wasn’t until 1982, when the two-tier structure — a precursor of the Bachelor’s-Master’s system — was introduced in the ­Netherlands, that the era of the ‘eternal student’ came to an end.

And it wasn’t for nothing that in 1951 the university appointed someone who was to focus on ‘student welfare’. This person was the legendary ‘Auntie Wally’ — Wally van Lanschot, social worker, study advisor, student counsellor and confidential advisor all rolled into one. One person to serve several thousand students.

The study advisors for the individual degree programmes and faculties only came later — initially, it was something lecturers did on the side; it wasn’t until the 1980s that it became a position in its own right.

With ‘Auntie Wally’ and her Office of Student Affairs, Utrecht was ahead of its time. Two years after she was employed, the government, too, realised that many students were living difficult and stressful lives. It established the Rutten committee, which was to do research looking into students’ mental health and financial situations. In the report of its findings, the committee recommended that student grants be increased, but also that investments be made in healthcare, housing, nutrition, sports and mental healthcare facilities for students.

De Utrechtse student: 1945 tot nu, edited by a team including Professor of University History Leen Dorsman, clearly demonstrates that some aspects of student life have changed beyond all recognition, while others are virtually the same as they were 75 years ago — such as students struggling with their workload.

But the many richly-illustrated stories about student housing, part-time jobs, study societies, committees and clubs and so on are sure to make entertaining and relatable reading for alumni.

Message from… S­ antiago de C ­ ompostella

Text Wenjia Jiang

Walking in search of answers

answer to. “What is the meaning

longer matter — we’re all family.

of life?” And “Who are we,

We embrace, encourage and

really?” I was hoping to find an

inspire one another, because we

answer to those questions on

all have the same goal: reaching

the Camino de Santiago —

Santiago. The Camino taught me

where you’re on your own

how to deal with diversity. I’m

without ever truly being alone;

very proud of having gone on

where you keep meeting friends

this adventure as a Chinese

and strangers and yet can be

person, because encountering

completely yourself.

Chinese people on this route is

After many incredible experiences on the Camino, I realised three things. First of all, my body

I experienced how puny and ephemeral we humans are when I spent an entire night ‘The first thing you are probably wondering is “Why?” Before

Wenjia Jiang (in the blue t-shirt) came to Utrecht from China to study Human Geography and went on a pilgrimage on foot to Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

lying in the Sahara desert ­looking up at the stars

a very rare occurrence.

Right now I’m at Nanjing University working on a project studying the way that international business is organised.

In future, I hope to get the chance to work for UN Women, because I’m a feminist hoping to follow in Emma Watson’s

leaving the Netherlands, I had

is a lot more resilient than I

footsteps. I believe that men

to decide what my last port of

thought. In the beginning, I’d

need to be doing more if equal

call in Europe would be.

do 27 miles a day, which took

rights for women are to become

I’d already been to a lot of

me more than 10 hours. I was

a reality. My time at Utrecht

stunning places. I experienced

completely exhausted by the

University and on the Camino

the majesty of our planet scaling

end of the day. But after a while,

taught me that, and I hope this

mountains in Norway; I realised

I started doing around 25 miles

insight will take me to an inter-

how puny and ephemeral we

a day instead, which was a lot

national organisation like the

humans are when I spent an

easier. The second thing I real-

UN, so that we can build a

entire night lying in the Sahara

ised is that my spirit, too, is very

world where we can share love,

desert looking up at the stars.

flexible. I became outgoing,

justice and equality. “Sol Iustitiae

I learned about the good fortune

fearless and determined. Thirdly,

Illustra Nos.”

and smarts of our ancestors on

I learned that we can let go of

trips to various museums, and I’d

our prejudices and enjoy the

about me, have tips on how

seen a lot of conflicts and wars

moment — relish the valuable

I can achieve my dream or

break out over time throughout

experiences that cross your path

want to share your own stories,

the world.

as you walk the Camino. There,

feel free to email me at

differences in nationality, cul-

nju_jiangwenjia@hotmail.com.’

But still I was left with a question I hadn’t found the

If you want to know more

ture, religion, gender or age no

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March 2018

Parnassos Presents

Tropical Butterfly Festival

Alumni function in Sydney

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Especially for alumni

Summerschool Junior

Movies&Science: Genderbende

Friday 11 May

Photo Lize Kraan

Photo Jose Gieskens

TV Dissected: The Crown

Thijl: the Opera

Foto Dick Boetekees

A pick of what’s on offer

Business visit in Shanghai

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Studium Generale

Business visit in Shanghai For the complete and up-to-date calendar, check www.uu.nl/alumni/recent-activities

Thursday 5 April Studium Generale Lecture ‘Not just any body’ and international alumni drinks Green Office (lecture, 5:30 – 6:15 pm), The Basket (drinks, 6:15 – 7:30 pm)

Today, being fit is considered a virtue.

But what about people who do not adhere to the standard? Social scientist Dr Noortje van Amsterdam shows the exclusionary effects of bodily norms.

After the lecture, the Alumni Office is hosting drinks for international alumni in The Netherlands.

Johnson & Johnson, Shanghai (4:30 pm)

Utrecht University’s programme for

Utrecht University alumni in Shanghai are welcome at the pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson. Alumnus Jie Li (uu Chemistry, 2009) is Director Technical Services at this global pharmaceutical company and is happy to be host to this event. He will be sharing both the story of Johnson & Johnson and his personal story from obtaining his PhD in Utrecht in 2009 until his current position.

knowledge and self-reflection, open

––

Saturday 14 April Tuesday 8 May Alumni function in Sydney: virtual reality University of Sydney (6:30 pm)

Alumni in Sydney are invited to step into a virtual reality experience together with other graduates from Utrecht University at the lab of Prof Frans Verstraten.

Verstraten works as a professor in Psychology at Sydney University. He previously worked at Utrecht University, where he received the Psychology Teacher of the Year Award three times.

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March 2018

University Day 2018 Future of Work University Hall

The University Day is an occasion to take a trip down memory lane, learn about what’s going on at Utrecht University right now and brainstorm about the future with academics and other alumni. This year we will be focusing on work. Will we really get to a point where algorithms and robots take over most of our jobs?

to everyone, anytime, free of charge. www.sg.uu.nl

Monday 23 April Movies&Science: Genderbende Filmtheater ’t Hoogt (7:00 pm)

What if you don’t want to be referred to as ‘he’ or ‘she’? The movie Genderbende tells the story of five young people who are questioning dominant ideas about gender. Is it time to think outside the box?

Which human skills are irreplaceable?

What do we do about remuneration?

Does digitalisation lead to more stress in the workplace? And how should the university prepare students for an ever-changing job market?

A range of researchers at Utrecht University spend their time exploring these and many other questions.

The day kicks off with a plenary lecture

by Professor of Labour Economics Joop Schippers.

The full programme for this day can be found at www.uu.nl/alumni.

The programme will be in Dutch.

For complete and up-to-date information on the alumni programme

This question will also form the starting point for the q&a with Dr Christine Quinan after the movie. The movie has English subtitles and there will be a sign language translator ngt.

www.uu.nl/alumni/recent-activities

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Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 May

Dutch Harp Festival Tivoli Vredenburg

Monday 14 May TivoliVredenburg (5:30 pm)

The British tv series The Crown tells the life story of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. This popular costume drama presents us with the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at the power and glory of the Houses of Windsor and Orange. Cultural historian Dr Jeroen Koch (uu) will give a lecture about the royal families of the Netherlands and the uk over the years. (This event is in Dutch)

––

Other activities

The fifth Dutch Harp Festival will feature harpists from all over the world.

In addition to the virtuosity of the musicians, the festival also highlights the versatility of the instrument: from world music to jazz and classical, in a club setting, as an accompaniment to singer-songwriters, as the live score to a silent movie, with dancers, and so on.

Information and tickets: www.harpfestival.nl

comet moths, morpho butterflies and paper kites up close.

Complete and up-to-date information about the alumni programme is available at www.uu.nl/alumni/agenda

Saturday 21 April Utrecht Day of Philosophy 2018

Friday 1 June – Sunday 3 June

University Hall (9:30 am – 6:00 pm)

Parnassos Presents Parnassos, Utrecht

The Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies is organising the inaugural Utrecht Day of Philosophy.

During this day, topics such as alternative facts, climate change, Dutch rap, animal ethics and philosophy in the city of Utrecht will be explored. The programme contains lectures, walks and discussions as well as a philosophy slam by students.

During the three-day festival Parnassos Presents, the Parnassos students will be in the limelight: from singer-songwriter to photography, from dance to cabaret and from illustration to accordion, everything will be presented. Come and experience the vibe, discover the talent and grab a drink with fellow creatives!

For information and tickets:

Information and tickets:

www.uu.nl/parnassos

https://filosofieinutrecht.sites.uu.nl/

Friday 1 June – Sunday 16 September Tropical Butterfly Festival Botanical Gardens

Starting June first, the Butterfly Greenhouse in the Utrecht Botanical Gardens opens its doors for the public to admire a myriad of tropical butterflies.

A great opportunity to see atlas moths,

Photo Jeroen Berends

TV Dissected: The Crown

30 June –17 July Thijl: the Opera Soesterberg

This year, the Utrechtsch Studenten Concert orchestra will be celebrating its 195th anniversary by producing a very special project: Thijl: the Opera. Working with a professional cast and crew, the student orchestra will bring the story of

resistance fighter Thijl Uilenspiegel to life.

Created by Jan van Gilse, the opera is set at the start of the Dutch War of Independence and follows Thijl on his journey from naive idealist to a powerful member of the resistance against the Spanish oppressors. The stunning natural landscape surrounding the National Military Museum in Soesterberg is the backdrop for this unique performance.

For information and tickets: www.thijl2018.nl

6 –19 and 23 – 26 July 2018 Summerschool Junior

This summer, Utrecht University will once again welcome the youngest among researchers: curious children from year five in primary school untill the second year of secondary school. Throughout a four-day period, they can come to the university and study topics such as their own dna, biofuels, Asian culture and rockets — an instructive taste of a future career as a student or scientist. Enrolment starts in early April.

For information about enrolment: www.uu.nl/onderwijs/summerschool-junior

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March 2018

In the picture

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Plant stress Rens Voesenek is Professor of Plant Ecophysiology and carries out funda­ mental research into stress in plants.

‘Yes, even plants can experience stress’, he says. ‘There is abiotic stress, when plants are exposed to heat, too much salt, drought or too much precipitation.

And there’s also biotic stress, for example if the plant is attacked by caterpillars or affected by pathogens.’

The plant pictured here is sorrel, which is able to adapt to stress — in this case to excess water. ‘That’s a significant problem, as we’re seeing more and more flooding, which presents a danger to agricultural crops’, Voesenek explains.

‘Normally the leaves of this plant have short stalks, but the water enables it to significantly accelerate its growth process, so that the plant reaches above the water and the stomata, functioning like a kind of snorkel, ensure the plant continues to get enough oxygen. We are doing fundamental molecular research into these kinds of adaptation processes to see whether we could bring about crops as well.’

Photo Ole Pedersen

similar kinds of mechanisms in other