Word from the Chair: Looking Back, Looking Forward
It’s with relief but also confidence and some pride that we can close off the 2020-2021 academic year. Relief that we made it, confidence that we can handle just about anything, and pride in the enormous commitment from everybody – students and staff – to keep the International Studies show on the road.
A year ago: a disappointing and demanding turn of events
Bob Dylan may have counseled ‘Don’t Look Back’, but its important to reflect on the unique academic year we now bring to a close. A year ago we thought we’d seen off the Covid wave and, with the expectation of a relatively normal autumn approaching, had the mistaken view that ‘everything would be over by Christmas’. But Covid, just like the Dutch weather, didn’t take any notice of our prescribed holiday schedule. Instead, it continued to mutate in more ways than even David Bowie could manage, and a full year of almost 100% online followed.
This was obviously not what we wanted, and I know that it did cause stresses and strains that no-one was really prepared for. It’s been a tough year, no question. I am extremely grateful for everyone’s contribution in getting us to where we are today.
This year: moving on
But we have been able to move on, despite this. We moved location to take over our new building on Schouwburgstraat, and very much look forward to making full use of that after the summer. We put together our very own set of courses on offer as an ‘unofficial minor’ for 2021-2022, taught by our own staff, and the level of student interest encourages us to turn it into a full official minor in the future. We held an innovative and highly successful Covid-proof graduation ceremony in August 2020, against all the odds, and are aiming to do so again for our 2021 graduates on 3 September. Never lose the right to party!
Next academic year: back to campus
Looking ahead, we can’t wait to meet you all again on campus in September. Maybe we are, again, overly optimistic, but even the official university guidelines are based on the premise that, with most inhabitants of The Netherlands vaccinated, life will be more or less back to normal by the beginning of September. So we expect all of you to come to The Hague and follow your courses on campus again, and we are really looking forward to that. Of course, for those of you who cannot travel due to corona restrictions, we will make every effort to provide online solutions. If this concerns you, please make sure your coordinator of studies is aware of your situation.
Opening of the Academic Year: 17 September 2021
Just like every year, we will hold an official Opening of the Academic Year for 2021-2022. This year, the Opening will take place on 17 September, with a very interesting guest speaker: Miguel Luengo-Oroz, Chief Data Scientist at the United Nations Global Pulse project. Miguel will be talking to us about the ethical possibilities of employing big data and artificial intelligence to expose and address socio-economic and environmental problems on a global scale. For an insight into what Global Pulse does, take a look: https://www.unglobalpulse.org/
We will also make use of the occasion to officially open our new Schouwburgstraat location.
We look forward to seeing you at the event, and to opening another successful year for International Studies!