Remko van de Beek is team leader of the degree programme ICT and also supervises students. For him, that variety was an important condition for his move from the business world. By the way, he finds variation not only in his work, but also in the people he meets every day: ‘THUAS is a great reflection of the diversity in the region. I learn a huge amount from that!’
Remko worked as a business consultant for many years. When he received an offer from his network to work in education, he was not very keen. ‘My father was in education for 40 years and I saw him doing the same thing every year. That was not for me! But when I did take a look, I soon saw that today’s education is completely different from what it used to be. The emphasis has shifted from imparting knowledge, to helping people develop. That’s where the fun and also the challenge lies for me: coaching, looking at talents and meeting people in their enthusiasm as well as their quirks. Then no day is the same.’
Remko supervises fourth-year students in graduate programmes and leads 20 lecturers in smaller teams. The more different people he gets to know, the more he learns about himself, he says. ‘Especially here at THUAS, where there is an enormous wealth in terms of cultures and backgrounds alone. Working with such a wide variety of colleagues and students expands my world. For instance, I now know that I am an enormous visual thinker, and also that people with autism can’t do much with my metaphors. I really had to learn to fine-tune my communication and always check: do we understand each other? A super important skill, both for my role as a lecturer and as team leader.’
Vanuit het bedrijfsleven instromen, voelde ook als een andere bril opzetten, vertelt Remko. “Het is een veel grotere organisatie dan ik gewend was. Dat is aftasten: hoe werkt het systeem en waar zit de speelruimte? Ik heb enerzijds gemerkt dat er veel vrijheid te creëren valt, en anderzijds dat alles langzamer beweegt. Dat laatste kan frustrerend zijn, maar het geeft je wel de tijd goed rond de tafel te gaan en elkaar te begrijpen. En dat werkt! Studenten en docenten geven aan dat ze het gevoel hebben erbij te horen, invloed te hebben en hun talent te ontplooien. Als je het mij vraagt, is dat een geweldige basis om ambities waar te maken!”
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