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‘The Honours College has transformed me into an active student’

‘When I look back on the honours programme, all I can do is smile. It has transformed me into a student who thinks in terms of opportunities and solutions,’ said Roos ter Elst, student of Education and Child Studies, at the ceremony for the award of Honours certificates to bachelor’s students, on 6 November in the Hooglandse Kerk.

The Honours College raises the energy levels

Roos ter Elst na ontvangst van haar certificaat, samen met Dean Willemien den Ouden.

It is clear that Roos ter Elst has really blossomed thanks to the honours programme. She attended an information event together with another student. The other student decided not to enrol, and there was only a week to go before registration closed. ‘It was much too short, I thought, because I always needed such a long time to make up my mind,’ says Roos. And yet, she did make up her mind, on an impulse, and enrolled for the programme. After the six-month introductory period, she thought it would be a pity not to continue. And this turned to be the right decision for her.

‘The Honours College took really good care of us: we were given a lot of individual attention. My mentor treated me as a student with a name, a real person. There were lots of additional activities, from dinners to drinks, and I came home every time totally energized. The Honours College transformed me, from a passive to an active student. I kept having to make new choices, but I also began to view these choices as opportunities, and I started to think in terms of solutions. I now understand much better what learning means. The Honours College has made me more self-confident.’

Performance targets agreed with the Ministry have all been met

In addition to the two student speeches, Professor Willemien den Ouden, Dean of the Honours Academy, also took the floor, and Professor of Immigration Law Peter Rodrigues gave a lecture on the refugee problem. Den Ouden is proud of the honours programme, which was launched five years ago and continues to grow. She explained that until now, the ceremony had always taken place in the Marekerk, but that the venue had become too small for the 150 students and their friends and family. She also reported that the University has already met its performance agreement with the Ministry of Education for this year, namely that 10% of students should follow an honours programme. She then went on to explain that Leiden University is still seeking solutions to specific problems, such as funding: the University does not receive any additional government funding for its honours programmes. For students who have just begun or who wish to start the honours track, her message was: new students will be given even more opportunity to adjust the honours programme to their personal needs and interests.

Amir Zamanipoor Najafabadi (geneeskunde) deed onderzoek in zijn Honourstraject, samen met iemand van de TU Delft. Ze presenteerden dat zelfs op een internationaal congres. Amir leerde samenwerken, organiseren, het belang van de sociale aspecten van samenwerken, en dat 'je niks kunt leren als je niks fout kunt doen'.
As part of his honours track, Amir Zamanipoor Najafabadi (Medicine) conducted research together with a student from Delft University of Technology. They presented the results of their study at an international conference. At the Honours College Amir learnt collaboration and organisational skills. He also discovered the importance of the social aspects of collaboration and that ‘you cannot learn anything if you are not allowed to make mistakes’.

A majority of women

No one could fail to notice that the graduates were mostly women. A simple headcount revealed that approximately 75% of those stepping forward to receive their certificate were women, and only 25% men. The first young man to step forward, a student of medicine, was even given a loud applause. The ratio among the graduates was 23/8, precisely the 75%/25% ratio that also held for the total number of graduates present. This difference is much more significant than the male/female ratio among the regular student population, which is 60/40% in favour of female students. It should however be mentioned in this context that a number of laureates were unable to attend the ceremony due to other obligations: they were following a master’s programme or internship elsewhere, in some cases abroad.

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