PRINS 2021: a very challenging, but also fulfilling experience
Academic and personal challenges were met, new insights were gained, valuable skills were acquired and friendships were formed: this year’s edition of PRINS was an experience that everybody involved will remember for a long time. All of this and more came up during the closing ceremony of the International Studies PRINS consultancy course for third-year students.
The 18th of June was the day that students and research coaches met for the last time in the setting of PRINS 2021. In an online festive closing ceremony hosted by lecturer and Project Leader Sarita Koendjbiharie, a panel of staff members spoke about the highlights and challenges of this year’s course.
No small feat
We’re here to celebrate everyone’s extremely hard work over the last five months,” said Giles Scott-Smith, who was the first speaker in the ceremony. As International Studies Programme Chair he praised the efforts of students, coaches and other staff members during this year’s PRINS edition, which, he said “was no small feat”. By this he referred, among others, to the Covid-19 pandemic, which meant that the entire course was organised in a digital environment. But there are other issues that make PRINS a very challenging, as well as an unforgettable experience, he stressed. While PRINS officially stands for ‘Practising International Studies’, Scott Smith demonstrated that there is a much more fun, and probably also a more telling way to explain this abbreviation.
P-R-I-N-S
'P' refers to Professionalism, he said, which was abundantly displayed by both coaches and students. 'R' stands for Resilience, particularly from the staff members who planned and made possible this year’s edition. “Eight months ago, who would have thought that again, we would have to organise PRINS entirely online.”
'I' refers to Innovation. Scott Smith, speaking to the students: “PRINS is innovating in that it allows you to direct your critical insights towards questions about organisational structures, cultural difference, leadership and other issues. Questions faced by real organisations and businesses.”
'N' is for Nerve racking, a feeling that many students have experienced during the past period. “You may have been working in other courses, working on your thesis, while at the same time doing assignments for PRINS, deadlines coming at you from all directions,” Scott Smith said, “But you have all coped, you have all reached the finishing line.”
'S', the final letter, refers to a phrase rather than a noun: 'Simply the best!' Scott Smith: “As students you have proved that this is really an excellent course, in the skills that it brings you, in the questions it asks you to answer, and in the cooperation that it encourages you to build.”
“Will I survive?”
In an interactive interlude Tina Hannani, who during the course was in charge of PRINS cafés, presented the students with some questions about their PRINS experience. She asked, among others, what their motto or quote had been while working on this demanding project. This resulted in the sharing of some witty motto’s, including: “It’s not over till it’s over”, “PRINS is not knowing what to do and doing it anyway”, “Will I survive?” “PRINS is nothing like the singer” and “Team work makes the dream work”.
Recognition of student efforts
María Gabriela Palacio Ludeña, lecturer and PRINS project leader, had asked students to describe their coach in five words. This led to many appreciative qualifications, including “kind”, “professional” and “supportive”. In their turn, all research coaches presented their views on the teams they worked with, with all of them praising the hard work, dedication and resilience shown by the students. One thing clearly stood out in their short speeches: the pride all coaches all expressed talking about `their’ students and how each team made the most of the PRINS course.
After a brief presentation by the BAIS alumni association, staff members and students all raised a glass to this year’s successful PRINS edition, while already looking forward to the September graduation ceremony.
For more information about BAIS alumni association: www.facebook.com/baisalumniassociation