The central question asked at the Maastricht Symposium 2012 is: “Is a student a product for the labor market or person in development?’’. In short: Is a student a product or a person? The contemporary student wears an academic straightjacket, where the only thing that seems to count is getting credits within a predetermined time period. Universities, at their turn, are ‘punished’ for students that take longer in getting their degree. From the academic perspective an aversion exists to the idea that university students should be produced for society as if they are a regular product from an assembly line. But do universities actually benefit from students taking a gap year to do some board work, an internship or an exchange? Why should a government make such an investments in their students? Would such an investment ever be repaid to society?
In the current Dutch society we can observe a crave for talent by commercial enterprises. Because of an aging population and the increasing importance of the knowledge economy, it can be observed that a certain scarcity in the labor market exists. Does this mean that companies want students to graduate as fast as possible so they can enter the labor market and add to the productive power of corporate Holland or do they, precisely because they only want the best, still want those students who looked beyond their studies and have had some extracurricular experience?
The Maastricht Symposium aims to bring together commercial and social enterprises, students, academics and experienced hires in order to discuss this social issue. Hopefully the interaction and discussion between these different groups can create more understanding of, and perhaps some solutions to, the problems that the higher education is facing in the Netherlands. Several questions can be answered:
• Is the ideal of Bildung still present in the Dutch academic training, or is there only room for Ausbildung?
• What are the consequences of Bildung on the opportunities for personal development?
• Does the society benefit from students who are active on the extracurricular field?
If you are interested to speak at our symposium, please let us know! You can contact us by Phone or via email:
Sprekers@maastricht-symposium.nl
Daan Eijwoudt
+31 (0) 6-53749273
Jan Swillens
+31 (0) 6-43443382
In the current Dutch society we can observe a crave for talent by commercial enterprises. Because of an aging population and the increasing importance of the knowledge economy, it can be observed that a certain scarcity in the labor market exists. Does this mean that companies want students to graduate as fast as possible so they can enter the labor market and add to the productive power of corporate Holland or do they, precisely because they only want the best, still want those students who looked beyond their studies and have had some extracurricular experience?
The Maastricht Symposium aims to bring together commercial and social enterprises, students, academics and experienced hires in order to discuss this social issue. Hopefully the interaction and discussion between these different groups can create more understanding of, and perhaps some solutions to, the problems that the higher education is facing in the Netherlands. Several questions can be answered:
• Is the ideal of Bildung still present in the Dutch academic training, or is there only room for Ausbildung?
• What are the consequences of Bildung on the opportunities for personal development?
• Does the society benefit from students who are active on the extracurricular field?
If you are interested to speak at our symposium, please let us know! You can contact us by Phone or via email:
Sprekers@maastricht-symposium.nl
Daan Eijwoudt
+31 (0) 6-53749273
Jan Swillens
+31 (0) 6-43443382
