ut Nieuws weekblad van de Universiteit Twente
6
Thursday 21 October 2010
International page
Coordinator: Robbin Engels/UT-Nieuws | Contributor: Catherine Ann Lombard | For comments and suggestions, email: r.engels@utwente.nl | For previous editions, see: www.utnieuws.utwente.nl
FEMALE ACADEMICS PREPARE FOR LEADERSHIP ROLES
UT women moving to the top Dr. Wietske Bijker, 45, was the first academic from the ITC to join the Female Faculty Network (FFNT) board in January. Last month she agreed to become FFNT Vice Chair. She talks about her new role and hopes for women academics at the UT. Born in Den Helder, Bijker specializes in tropical soil science and monitoring rain forests with radar. Bijker is married with two children and lives in Goor. Presently, she is working on two projects that involve monitoring systems based on remote sensing of vegetated surfaces: one concerning drought in Rwanda and the other monitoring urban trees in Enschede and Delft. Bijker first worked for the Department of Natural Resources and then the Department of Earth Observation Science after obtaining her PhD from Wageningen University in 1997. We spoke together in her ITC office during lunchtime. One wall is decorated with a collection of delicately hand-woven straw purses from her travels to Columbia, Rwanda, Indonesia, and the Philippines. What made you decide to become FFNT Vice Chair? ‘I initially joined the FFNT in January because it felt like a positive
‘Women academics get lost in the pipeline,’ said Bijker. ‘There’s an equal number of male and female students, but we loose the women along the way.’ Foto: Gijs van Ouwerkerk
way to integrate into the broader university vision, and I also thought that I could contribute.’ What’s your response to the recent results of the FFNT 2010 survey? ‘You have to keep in mind that the survey was conducted before ITC joined the UT. But it is clear that
present figures of female faculty are low throughout the UT. For example, at the ITC we have only one full professor and no associate professors. We have a few more women in the lower echelons: 5 assistant professors and 9 docents. Docents are ITC-specific and mainly teach without doing much
research. Of course, without research and publications, it is difficult to be promoted.’
This is a useful and easy way to check if I am applying two sets of rules or criteria.’
How can the FFNT help those women? ‘The FFNT aims to prepare women academics to move into areas of leadership through training and also assist them to gain awareness of their potential and opportunities. Women have less access to this implicit information. It is well documented that men tend to learn these skills more informally from superiors. Through our training, we hope to encourage and teach women how to play the rules of the game, build adequate networks, and benchmark career advancement.’
You’ve been an assistant professor for 13 years. Are you ready to become an associate professor? ‘I would like to become one, but it is difficult at the ITC. You first need a vacancy and we have few. And there are many assistant professors with excellent track records. The competition is tough.’
I see the TNW faculty wants to go from zero female associate professors to four. Will such targets be met by 2014? ‘It will go slowly. But it will happen. There are enough male academics willing to deal with this issue. There has been progress and good will, but we have to work hard to make it happen. As a part of the FFNT-organized gender-awareness event, Professor Virginia Valian presented a workshop in March where she talked about our having gender schemas — preconceived unconscious opinions about men or women. The better we understand these mechanisms, the better we can improve our situation. For example, whenever I judge a person’s work, I now ask myself, “Would I judge these results differently if this person were a man or a woman?”
Who inspires you? ‘The women at the UT who are full professors are so inspiring. Their passion gives us hope that it can be done and you can enjoy being a scientist. But still, we need more role models like them. You learn something different from every one of them, and the more diversity the better. When you aren’t being an inspiration yourself, how do you relax? ‘I enjoy all handicrafts. Cooking and gardening is a great contrast to working scientifically all day in your head. There’s nothing like the instant satisfaction of baking a fresh apple tart and taking it out of the oven. Catherine Ann Lombard For a full version of this interview along with the current and 2014 target number of women academics at the UT, go to the English section of the UT Nieuws, www.utnieuws.utwente.nl/new/
limiting the holes in your pockets
How to live on a paltry student budget
One of the greatest challenges for international students is to survive on a small budget while living in a foreign city and country. Higher tuition rates for non-Dutch students, limited scholarship funds, and the high cost of living can put a pinch on most students’ wallets. The UT Nieuws explores ways to take advantage of low-cost stores, student nights, inexpensive food products and cheap ways to travel. Albert Heijn: Though touted as one of the higher-end grocery stores in the Netherlands, Albert Heijn (AH) has its own line of inexpensive, red and whitepackaged euroshopper products that keeps students on a budget quite content. The no frills packaging lists in bold white letters the product names in English. In almost every grocery isle, euroshopper products are cleverly mixed in with expensive items. If you don’t
Correction A translated article last Thursday on the significant rise in the quantity and quality of research conducted at the ITC Faculty misstated the results of a review committee report. The four criteria in the report were quality, productivity, relevance and vitality/feasibility. The ITC Faculty scored four points out of five in all areas of the assessment criteria. The corrected version can now be found online.
know, you might miss them. Can it get any better for a student than Premium Lager beer for €0.19 a bottle, Willy Wonka-sized chocolate bars for €0.33, eight rolls of toilet paper for €1.35 or a 4.5 kilo bag of Surinaam long-grain rice for a mere €4,72? The Albert Heijn stores also offer customers a free cup of coffee and free samples of new products from time to time. AH’s largest selection and ‘mega-store’ you can find in the Miro Shopping Center, Noord Esmarkerrondweg 421, open every weekday until 10pm, and also on Sunday afternoons. The closest AH location to campus is on the Maanstraat 161. Aldi and Lidl: These two grocery stores are affordable havens for the poor students on a budget. Unlike the Albert Heijn, all products on offer are at bargain-basement prices and you feel more like you’re walking in a warehouse than a grocery store with its no-frills décor and scattered open cardboard boxes. Two Aldi locations in Enschede, close to the campus are on the Haaksbergerstraat 202 and on the Deuringstraat 101. A Lidl grocery can be found on Slijpsteen 11.There’s no beating Aldi or Lidl prices, just ask any Dutch student. Vrijhof Culture Department: Students and staff for years have been able to borrow works of art for their rooms on campus freeof-charge. You can select a work of art from the art-lending library on every Tuesday and Thursday between 12pm to 1:30pm by stopping in the university library (room 261). To date, the university has a circulating collection of over a thousand
works of art on the campusbuildings and student rooms. Another inexpensive gem is the Vrijhof lunch performances held every Monday called Broodje Cultuur, which literally means ‘sandwich culture’, where audiences get the chance to watch cabaret, theater, dance and music performances from 12:35pm to 1:35pm for only €4 by showing their X-tra card. Keep informed on all performances on Facebook, Hyves, Twitter or go to the English site www.cultuur. utwente.nl. Café Aspen Valley: Many University of Twente and Saxion students swarm to the smoke-free atmosphere of Student Night at Café Aspen Valley on every Thursday, where a beer costs only €1.20 euro, starting from 10pm to closing hours at 4am. In one of the three themed rooms, there is a rotating bar which allows people to hop-on and hop-off. Sometimes the bartender will give an impromptu drum performance to the beat of the short clips of music, adding a punch to the lively atmosphere. The café is located at the Oude Markt 18 in Enschede, and you will need to show your student ID at the door. For more information, go to www.aspenvalley.nl Or you can join the Café Aspen Valley community on the Dutch Hyves, Facebook, Twitter or Partyflock sites. Zeeman and Wibra: Earn your ‘Zeebra stripes’ by shopping at these two discounters that have unbeatable prices for an assortment of textile products, including socks, hats, gloves and protective raingear to keep you warm and dry while
cycling in the harsh Dutch weather. Action: Action says it is a ‘nonfood supermarket’ with 220 stores in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany, but quite often, you can find snacks and seasonal food products in its overflowing isles of products. From air fresheners to extension cords, personal hygiene products to computer paper—and you name it— the Action store will probably have what you need at very low prices. A new location recently opened on the Boulevard 1945, and a smaller Action store can be found in the center city next to the main library. Vestingbar Movie Night: Every Wednesday, watch a movie while sitting in the tucked-away comfort of the 53-seat Amphitheater at the Vestingbar in the Bastille building. The ‘Amphi’ film program offers top films from classics of the past like the Blues Brothers to fantasy thrillers to less-known modern titles. The movies begin every Wednesday at 9:15pm and the cinema opens its doors at 8:45pm. Entry is free and a half liter of beer costs a mere €2,50. Secondhand Fur niture: Stop in to visit De Verhuishand store on campus in the Carslaan 60 building, number 163, to select from a wide range of secondhand furniture, electronics, appliances and household goods offered at really low prices from €0.50 to €50, and suited to fit in small spaces. The store is open from
Monday to Thursday from 12pm to 6pm, and on Fridays from 12pm to 5pm. Go to the Verhuishand website www.deverhuishand.nl or call for more information 053-4342208. Train tickets: The Kruidvat drug store offers 2nd class train tickets for only €12.49 to travel unlimited for one day in the Netherlands. You can buy a green ticket that can be used on a Saturday or Sunday during 9 October to 5 December 2010. Or choose for a red day ticket that is valid on a Saturday or Sunday during 11 December to 6 February 2011. Even if you’re not sure when you can travel, buy your tickets early, as the Dutch say: ‘op is op’ or ‘gone is gone!’ More information at www.kruidvat.nl/ns. Robbin Engels