After several years in finance, Vikaash Koeldiep noticed: this work is not for the rest of my life. By chance, he discovered opportunities at The Hague University of Applied Sciences. ‘There I had a nice interview and the click was good, but … I had no teaching experience,’ he says. Fortunately, his trial lesson to a group of lecturers was convincing, and THUAS ensured that Vikaash got the right training to start working as a lecturer. He is now degree programme manager Accountancy, Finance & Control.
Vikaash started as a lecturer in the Accountancy degree programme, where he taught business economics and finance. ‘That is also my background,’ he explains. ‘I myself did a degree in business administration and took a master’s degree in finance. I found it super fun to transfer that knowledge to students. And soon I saw other tasks that I found interesting. For example, the degree programme’s customer relationship management: establishing and maintaining contacts with the business world. That gave me just the variety I was always looking for. When the position of my manager became available, I saw a new challenge in it.
‘I have now been degree programme manager for six months and it feels like running my own shop: I have to deal with personnel management, budgets, marketing and with ‘customers’, namely the students. My business studies degree comes in handy after all’ he laughs. ‘Because the work is so varied, you work with many parties: your own lecturers team, team leaders and students, but also fellow degree programme managers to spar with, lectors and partners from the business world. It is dynamic and everything is interrelated. That is sometimes quite feisty and I am busy, but it doesn’t feel like work. Also because the atmosphere is very good. We talk openly about what concerns us and we help each other where necessary and possible.’
In just seven years, Vikaash grew from lecturer to degree programme manager, and that is typical of THUAS, he believes. ‘It’s all about people’s growth here, not just students’. So if you indicate where you want to go, doors open. Last year, for instance, I made a foray into research. I was given space to engage in that one day a week, see where it would lead. And when that turned out not to be for me, it was no problem at all. That’s nice, that you can just try things out. That way, your development path naturally takes a nice shape. But, and this is very logical: you have to say where your ambitions lie and then go for it. A lot is possible, but it doesn’t happen by itself!’
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