Our alumni are true globetrotters. They often find that shared roots in Rotterdam are the ties that bind abroad. Nienke Benders and her husband Hubert de Nie have just moved from Shanghai to Bangkok. They experienced that the Rotterdam connection is intergenerational. Both were board members of the EFR and have found that dedicating a year to offer students the chance to bridge the gap between theory and practice, is an investment that generates dividends for a lifetime.
Hubert grew up abroad, but was born in Rotterdam. He has always felt a strong connection with the city so choosing the International Bachelor of Business and Economics programme (IBEB) offered him the chance to live in one of his favoured places while being part of a multicultural community. Nienke, who attended a bilingual high school, had already spent time in Vietnam and the US when she visited the open day where she concluded that Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) would enable her to study in the Netherlands with an international outlook. Both say that being part of the Economic Faculty association Rotterdam (EFR) has greatly enriched their study experience. Moreover, it has resulted in many long-lasting friendships, while EFR alumni in Shanghai and Bangkok also helped to settle in quickly.
Personal development that gives you a head start
EFR is built on four pillars: education, development, orientation and network. It has 6000 members and approximately 20 of them are working full time on the organisation’s governance and activities for an entire year. Hubert served on EFR committees during every year of his Bachelor and was a board member in 2010/2011. As an alumnus he was chairman of the supervisory board and sat on the advisory board for the EFR Businessweek. This is how he got to know Nienke who was on the EFR board at the time.
Nienke: ‘I achieved a very important part of my personal development during my board year. As a 21-year old I suddenly had a responsibility for the work of other students who had committed themselves full time or served as committee members while thousands of other members expected us to deliver a year of memorable events. I had just started when we organised the debate between Dutch party leaders ahead of the general elections. All of a sudden I was shaking hands with politicians and giving a speech for a large audience. You could say that EFR makes you more goal-oriented. After organising company visits, I knew what future employers were looking for when I started applying for jobs. In addition, most Dutch corporates will have their share of EFR alumni whom you can also ask for advice or introductions.’ Hubert: ‘As a board member, you really have to pull your weight and act as a catalyst to set things in motion. In class you learn critical thinking and conducting research in small groups, but extracurricular work like this sets you apart from your peers at the beginning of your career. After being a board member, I became a more serious student because I was now part of a network full of ambitious people. When I started at consulting firm Accenture, I was able to benefit from my EFR experience immediately. This ranged from simple things like meeting etiquette to conflict management and working with budgets.’
Consulting or hands-on responsibility?
Nienke: ‘I always thought I wanted to become a strategy consultant, but when it was time to choose, I opted for Venture IQ, a start-up that made its software available to large investors that were looking for new investments. The fact that I immediately had a lot of responsibility in a fast-growing company was what convinced me.’ Hubert: ‘In my case, it was the other way around. Working for an established company like Accenture means that you are a small part of an organisation full of experienced people from whom you can learn a lot. After 5 years, I was approached by an alumnus of RSM who worked for logistics company Moov. They were looking for someone who could help them to design and implement the right IT strategy in order to facilitate growth from their head office in Shanghai. This offered us an adventure that we both relished and professionally it was a good opportunity. I could apply the skills I had learned as a consultant: bringing structure in order to analyse complicated problems and break them into smaller parts so the right resources could be allocated to each of them. Accenture has now asked me to rejoin them, but this time in their Bangkok office where I will act as a sparring partner for senior- and C- level IT executives of multinational clients and have responsibility for Accenture teams that implement solutions for clients in the areas of supply chains and financial services.’
As a board member, you really have to pull your weight and act as a catalyst to set things in motion
The experience Nienke had gained at Venture IQ enabled her to continue her career while following her husband to Shanghai. She became the general manager for Bakker Marine electric, a part of the Dutch PON conglomerate. Immersing themselves in Chinese culture and taking language classes helped the couple to make the most of their time in China. They travelled extensively and discovered that the country is extremely diverse with a large variety in people, nature and regional cuisine for example.
Communism the Chinese way
Nienke and Hubert have been impressed by the entrepreneurial spirit they encountered in China. Hubert: ‘If you come with a production sample, you will find a supplier that can offer large-scale production in no time. However, you have to be critical because there are big differences among producers and they are all willing to give it a go, qualified or not. The sheer size of the capacity here makes me doubt whether international companies can move a substantial part of production elsewhere despite all the talk of near-shoring. Some activities can and will be moved to other countries in the region, if only because China is becoming more expensive in certain areas such as wages and real estate. However, ultimately the world economy cannot function without an important production base here.
One of the most common misconceptions about China is that it is a classic communist country. It has its own type of communism. This is implemented in a way that may seem harsh from our point of view, but if you compare China’s recent development with similar countries in terms of demographics like India or Indonesia, it has left them far behind. This system has taken more than 600 million people out of poverty by emphasising the benefit of the many over the sacrifice of the few. In China the individual is nowhere near as important as the collective. We may not understand that, but in return they can’t comprehend what happens in the Netherlands either. When our Chinese friends saw footage of protests in the Netherlands at the time of the Corona curfew, they asked us why people did not accept that the government would choose the best course of action for them as a group.’
'I have come to realise how our culture of ‘polderen’ slows us down in the Netherlands'
Nienke adds: ‘Most people in the West don’t fully grasp how rapidly China has developed over the past decades. Many of our Chinese friends told us that their parents’ generation lived in houses without toilets whereas now the country is full of megacities with high-rises where you enter your flat with a fingerprint instead of a key. All these places are connected by trains that travel at 300 kilometres an hour and you don’t need a wallet anymore because you can pay for everything through your mobile phone or even facial recognition.
A different perspective of the Netherlands
Living abroad has given us a different perspective of the Netherlands. It’s good to see the success of Dutch innovations. In China our country is respected in particular for its achievements in the field of agriculture / food and water management. I worked in shipbuilding for Bakker, and often visited shipyards where a lot of Dutch people were working. It made them look like a small Dutch village, which was really impressive to see. On the other hand I have come to realise how our culture of ‘polderen’ slows us down in the Netherlands. This phenomenon was hard to understand for our Chinese colleagues for example. They liked to transform ideas into action straight away instead of making sure there was sufficient consensus and all eventualities had been covered. In their approach you simply pick up the pieces afterwards if the plan fails. Our Dutch colleagues would then be surprised that the Chinese had not thought about the possible consequences or risks before. Managers in the Netherlands work in a planned manner while their Chinese counterparts spend a considerable part of their time dealing with the results of those rapidly executed plans. Interestingly, the outcome is usually the same in the end.
Our reasons to move to another country were both work-related and personal. Air pollution was an important factor (which is slightly better in Bangkok), but also the stifling experience with the uncertainty about Chinese borders during the pandemic. Five months ago we became parents for the first time and so far it has been impossible for our family to visit us. We decided to move to a country where there is a bit more flexibility. Although we would like to move back to China at some point, we do see ourselves coming back to the Netherlands eventually.’ In the background their son Max seems to express his agreement. Will he study in Rotterdam? Nienke: ‘It’s his choice of course, but he will definitely go to the open day.’