International Graduate's Strategic Career Move Pays off as She Secures Job in Billion Dollar Flower Industry

When MBA student Diah Syauqiresa graduated from Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences this summer, she had already found her dream job – as creative designer at a major, international flower retailer, Bloom On, in Amsterdam. Her strategy? To ensure the internship she applied for as a student has a high probability of turning into a permanent position later. And of course, working hard!

"I always wanted to work as a graphic designer, and while studying at Wittenborg, I looked for an internship in that sector many months before I graduated," says Diah, who hails from Indonesia and did an MBA in Entrepreneurship at Wittenborg Amsterdam. She quickly found a job at sustainable flower delivery service Bloom On, which has a presence in 6 countries. By the time she graduated in July, Diah had signed a contract with them. "I landed my dream job at my dream company." 

What does a typical day look like for her? "My job entails many aspects. I do graphic designing for the website, social media, packaging, banners, flyers and many other things. Every three months we have a photo shoot, so I also direct those shoots and occasionally act as photographer myself."

Why did she decide to study in the Netherlands and at Wittenborg? "I've always wanted to study in Europe, I just didn't know where exactly. But my boyfriend lives in the Netherlands, and I knew it is quite diverse and there are a lot of Indonesians here so that piqued my interest. Also, the fact that Amsterdam has a large expat community and a very international ambience, as well as knowing I have lots of opportunities here.

"With regard to Wittenborg, I was very interested in its Entrepreneurship programme and the fact that it has 6 enrolment dates a year. The possibility it offers to enrol every two months really helps students to not have gap months or even year."

On the question of how studying at Wittenborg changed her personal life, she says: "Just in general, studying in the Netherlands made me way more independent than I have ever been, more on-time, more grateful, more disciplined and more hardworking. I would definitely recommend studying here. My advice would be to do an internship during your studies. That way, after you graduate, you don't have to spend your search year applying for internships or looking for a job."

WUP 9/8/2020
by Anesca Smith
©Wittenborg University Press

Meet EuroCHRIE's New Director of Conferences – Wittenborg CEO Maggie Feng

Wittenborg CEO Maggie Feng Elected to EuroCHRIE Board of Directors

Congratulations are in order for Wittenborg CEO Maggie Feng who has officially been elected to the Board of Directors of EuroCHRIE - The European Council on Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Education. Feng is now serving as EuroCHRIE's Director of Networking and Conferences. This comes on the heels of the announcement that Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences will host the prestigious hospitality and educators conference in 2021.

Conference Has True Added Value

Feng said she is thrilled to serve the organisation in this capacity. "The conference has true added value for many educators, scholars, researchers, managers, directors of institutes in the hospitality, tourism, even recreation sector. I believe that this role, Director of Conferencing and Networking, is vitally important for this group of hardworking and like-minded people to be able to serve the community in the coming years in whatever shape or form."

Sustainability Key

According to Feng, one of her goals in the role as Director of Conferences will be to establish a truly sustainable process in terms of future events. "In other words, I would like to set a package that will be useful to all future conferences, a foundation that they can keep working on and improving on, while at the same time giving room to each host to add their signature touch and speciality to the conference."

Meanwhile, Wittenborg, led by Feng, is working closely with the team behind this year's host city, Aalborg in Denmark, where EuroCHRIE2020 is due to be held from 5 – 8 October, although organisers are keeping a close eye on the situation around COVID-19.

Wittenborg to Host EuroCHRIE2021

Looking forward to Wittenborg hosting the conference in 2021 in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn, Feng said: "The conference will not only give us the opportunity to interact with researchers and research-minded scholars, but also to share teaching and learning experiences with educators and improve on our practice, so that our students get an even better learning experience. I expect hundreds of undergraduate and postgraduate students to get involved in different roles during the conference. This will be a great learning opportunity for business, event, and hospitality students."

Wittenborg's hospitality programmes are some of the most popular among students. Its Hospitality Business Administration pathway offers specialisations of its broad BBA bachelor’s programme, such as Hotel & Hospitality Services Management, Event Management, Tourism Management, Hospitality Management and Sport Business Management. It also offers a number of joint bachelor’s & master’s degrees with the University of Brighton.

WUP 4/8/2020
by James Wittenborg
©Wittenborg University Press

Taking Responsibility for Your Own Mistakes

Do you have what it takes to be a good student?

Do you have what it takes to be a good student? Or do you blame your teacher or the books if you don't get good grades? If your answer to the second question is "Yes", then the answer to the first question is a "No".

"A bad workman always blames his tools"

“A bad workman always blames his tools” is an old adage which surfaced sometime in the 13th century or earlier.  As the sentence implies, it criticises a person who always puts the blame on other people or things for his or her own failure.  Sometimes, we forget that it is not the tools we use which make us good, but rather how we employ them.

Making mistakes is inevitable; it is just how life is.  Nobody is perfect and life does not always pan out the way we hope it will.  But it has always been the default reaction of many people to find somebody or something else to blame for their misfortunes.  When things happen, it is the result of many contributing factors caused by your own actions and those of others.  But the tendency is that we always point the finger at others and not at ourselves.

"You don't need an expensive racket and shoes to play good tennis."

A tennis coach once said to his young children that they don’t need an expensive racket or tennis shoes to play good tennis.  What they need is perseverance, hard work and discipline.  The tennis shoes and racket are merely tools.  This is exactly what the 19th century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer says: “If your life is difficult, in 99% cases it is because you didn’t work hard enough, you didn’t learn well enough, you didn’t live selflessly enough.  And if you want to better your life, start learning well, working hard and living for reasons larger than your mortal self.”

Making Mistakes is Part of the Learning Process

Blaming others is always easier that admitting your own faults or shortcomings.  You feel embarrassed or too proud to admit you are in the wrong.  The truth is, you can spend your whole life blaming the world, but take note that your success and failures are, for the most part, your own responsibility.

The important thing that we forget is that learning is all about making mistakes first.  It is through mistakes that we learn how to do things right.  Thomas Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb.  When he was asked by a reporter how he felt, to fail 1,000 times, he replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times.  The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.”  Owning your mistakes and turning them into something positive does not dishonour you as a person.  In fact, it elevates your standing as a brave and responsible person.  Just like Thomas Edison.

If you can't dance, don't blame the dance floor

Being unable to take responsibility for our own mistakes and blaming others can cause damage in many different ways.  Take the scenario in the first paragraph of this article.  If you fail to see that you yourself have contributed to your own failure, you will never work harder or find your weakness in the subject and try to correct it.  Shifting the blame onto someone else can cause a rift in relationship or loss of one’s respect.  It really doesn’t make any sense when you don’t want to bruise your own ego by admitting your mistake, but you have no qualms in bruising another person’s honour by blaming him/her.  It is best to do your own self-analysis, be humble and try to correct the mistakes. If you can’t dance, go and learn how to dance.  The floor will not change no matter how much you blame it.  And you will continue not to know how to dance if you don’t do anything about it.

WUP 2/8/2020
by Hanna Abdelwahab
©Wittenborg University Press

Sport Lecturer Bas Schreurs to Leave Wittenborg as Programmes are Restructured in Line with International Accreditations like AACSB

After two years of sharing his expertise in sport business management with students at Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences, lecturer Bas Schreurs is to leave the institution for now in the face of the restructuring of programmes at the institute, changes in educational pedagogies and preparation to achieve new international accreditations, especially the AACSB accreditation.

In an interview, Schreurs, who also works as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) manager for premier league football club FC Twente, talked about how his lecturing career was enriched by working with international students at Wittenborg, his optimism about returning at some point and possibly pursuing a PhD exploring the impact of sport on climate change.

Schreurs, who occupied different positions at FC Twente starting as an intern in 2011, was approached by Wittenborg in 2018 about lecturing and says he was immediately drawn to the job. He holds a master's degree in Public Administration and Organisation Science from Utrecht University as well as a master's in Sports Policy and Sports Management.

At Wittenborg, Schreurs taught different modules relating to sport management while at the same time doing his Post Graduate (PG) Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, which is offered jointly by Wittenborg and its long-term British partner, the University of Brighton, to teaching members of staff. Combining his two jobs while studying required a balancing act of note, but Schreurs pulled it off and said this upped his teaching game to a higher level of professionalism. "It was a huge investment in terms of my free time, but it started paying dividends almost immediately – I was literally applying what I learned in class to my teaching from the beginning of the programme.

"Also, we are always promoting lifelong learning to students – this was an opportunity for me to set an example myself.  I feel very motivated to help and support students to be professional business employees in the future, in line with the vision of AACSB to transform business education for global prosperity." Schreurs says he survived the gruelling hours  of working two jobs, studying and personal life by prioritising tasks, balancing his different work obligations carefully and being efficient with his time.  

Schreurs already had some experience in working with internationals at FC Twente – he was the Head of Player Guidance, which means helping international players to the club settle in. At Wittenborg this knowledge of working with people from different cultures was deepened.

"I learned by observing students' behaviour in class and I believe that increased awareness made me a better lecturer, being aware of the general characteristics of people from different countries. Handling different cultures can be challenging, especially when you have that challenge all in one class."

For the immediate future Schreurs says he will focus on his work at FC Twente which he enjoys immensely. He is part of the FC Twente Scoring in the Community Foundation, which reaches out and gives back to the Twente community and surrounding areas. "It is a great job. We have 15 employees and about 50 volunteers."

He will also look out for opportunities in education and certainly does not exclude returning to Wittenborg in the near future.  

WUP 31/7/2020
by Anesca Smith
©Wittenborg University Press

Wittenborg Joins Partnership to Boost Local Businesses in Apeldoorn LONKT Project

The Important Lesson COVID-19 Has Taught Us

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is how fundamental our local businesses are. One of the effects of the crisis is that we are increasingly becoming a more closed-off society and, as such, it has never been more crucial to take care of our own local resources and businesses. Local businesses are the backbone of many small cities and villages but the shutting down of borders has led to many businesses closing down and people scrambling to find other alternatives to sustain themselves and stay above water. In these trying times, continuing to support local business owners helps the community financially and socially, and this will in turn help the economy in the long run. This is what the Apeldoorn LONKT Project is all about.

An Idea That Became a Premonition

But before dwelling more on the LONKT project, let us digress to the topic of how this project first came about. In 2018, Apeldoorns Business Collectief (ABC) (a do-and-think tank that connects and creates connections between entrepreneurs and organisations in Apeldoorn), noticed that many of their professional members who live in Apeldoorn were working as consultants to businesses outside Apeldoorn. But ironically, many of the businesses in Apeldoorn were getting outside consultants to manage their businesses. As if guided by a premonition of the coming pandemic, ABC then decided to form a partnership with other businesses for the sole purpose of promoting local firms in the Apeldoorn region.

This partnership, the LONKT (Lokaal Ondernemend Naar een Krachtige Toekomst - Locally Enterprising Towards a Powerful Future) project aims to do this by connecting ZZPs (the Dutch acronym for self-employed professionals or freelancers) and SMEs, and widening their entrepreneurial networks and other collaboration. The partners who are actively participating in the LONKT project are Aventus, VNO-NCWMidden, MKB Midden, Owens Corning and Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences. This partnership, led by ABC chairman Trix Schipper-Hop and funded by the province of Gelderland, was formally launched on March 28, 2018. If the outcome is positive, it will be rolled out to other municipalities in Gelderland including Zutpen and Harderwijk.

Wittenborg Heads the Analysis Team

For this initiative, six work packages will be carried out during a four-year process. Each partner is responsible for a work package or contributes to one or more work packages. Wittenborg is represented by its CEO, Maggie Feng, Dr Nicolet Theunissen, Senior Scientist and former Head of Research at Wittenborg and Sanne De Jong. They are part of the analysis team which is responsible for providing insight into the effects of local collaboration and business on the economic climate in Apeldoorn.  

As explained by Theunissen in an interview, the research is carried out in three phases. The first phase was completed in 2019 and a report has already been presented. It involved the administration of questionnaires to a compact sample of target groups, mainly companies, freelancers and umbrella organisations in Apeldoorn. According to Theunissen, the first phase revealed some surprising results. It showed that many participants are keen to increase the share of local business and are open to means that facilitate introduction and findability. Despite a slight delay in the progress of the project due to the corona crisis, the other work packages are gaining momentum and interventions have been developed that will stimulate local businesses. The second phase of the project is in motion and the next set of questionnaires will be administered in late summer and will involve more businesses and participants. The third and final phase is expected to be completed at the end of 2021.

Doing Business Locally Is More Important Now Than Before

When asked what was her opinion on why doing business locally is more important now than before, Wittenborg CEO Maggie Feng said, “This pandemic has given us a lot of challenges accompanied with many restrictions. The restrictions on travelling has prevented some of us to carry out business in the old way. We have been spending a lot more time at home, in the direct neighborhood. The advantage of knowing people and businesses locally does provide advantages and sometimes business opportunities. I believe that the past period has made some of us think and re-think.” Her opinion is supported by Theunissen, who said that having local business partners not only saves you the trouble of travelling outside Apeldoorn and far afield, but also, healthwise, it reduces your chance of getting infected or infecting others with this virus. Furthermore, less travelling for business meetings will cut fuel consumption and lower one’s carbon footprint. She added that promoting local businesses could also mean doing business with your own neighbours and this can strengthen friendships as you have a chance of getting to know each other better. 

Diversity in Business

While patronage from local businesses creates more local wealth and jobs in that community, the issue of whether there is enough diversity and talent in that community comes into question. To answer this, Theunissen, who has lived in three diffferent parts of the Netherlands (Noord-Brabant, Utrecht and Apeldoorn), said that indeed diversity is very important in businesses, but she believes that even the Dutch have different cultures in different areas in their small country, and thus they get exposed to diverse cultures, which helps them to broaden their views about life and doing business. Furthermore, she believes that Apeldoorn is not lacking in people from different races, cultures and religions, and these help to bring in new ideas, perspectives and innovations in businesses. Feng agreed that there is already quite a lot of diversity in the Apeldoorn business community.  However, she feels that there could be more, and doing business locally does not mean internationalisation and globalisation will disappear as there are many business opportunities out there; we just have to keep on searching for relevant and inclusive solutions, services and products. While diverse talents may not be difficult to find, restricting one’s business in one city may not be suitable for every company.

'Apeldoorn LONKT is by us, for all of us.'  Trix Schipper-Hop

With this pandemic still looming over us, let us start supporting the Apeldoorn LONKT project by buying from and selling to locally owned businesses, and retain the economic wealth within our own community. Keep that sense of camaraderie among friends, relatives and neighbours and strengthen our bond within our community. After all, as mentioned by Schipper-Hop during the kick-off, “Apeldoorn LONKT is by us, for all of us”.

If you would like to be part of this project, you can register at lonkt.nl or contact ABC or any of the partners in the project.

WUP 29/7/2020
by Hanna Abdelwahab
©Wittenborg University Press

New Students Get Taste of What It Is Like to Study at Wittenborg in Online Talk with Staff

See you in September! Virtual Meet-and-Greet with New Students for the 2020/21 Academic Year

Students and staff from Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences teamed up last week to host a virtual meet-and-greet with international students who are to start the new academic year in September. The students logged in from a diversity of countries including Japan, Georgia, India, Nigeria, Iran and Cameroon. Even Wittenborg CEO Maggie Feng joined in specially from her summer holiday to welcome them all to Wittenborg. 

The online meet-up enabled newbies to ask questions and get feedback on what it is like to study at Wittenborg and in the Netherlands, meet some of their future teachers and fellow students as well as share information about themselves and why they chose to study in the Netherlands. Some also voiced concern about COVID-19 restrictions and how it affects their ability to travel at the moment.  

While some students will study at Wittenborg's main campus in Apeldoorn, others will be students at Wittenborg Amsterdam and some of its partner institutions, like New European College (NEC) in Munich, Germany.

Feng urged students to start thinking of their future careers from the first day of their studies. "At Wittenborg we try to prepare you for your future career and we would like you to see it not just as a place to learn and take exams, but actively think about your future. Your success is why we are here. We hope to see you soon and please take care in the meantime."

A number of academic staff members and admissions officers also joined the meeting. One of them was the Head of Wittenborg's School for Hospitality, Esther Bakker, who said that many of the members of staff, like her, were once international students themselves. "We are very experienced in taking care of you as international students, having gone through the process ourselves."

Many students shared how they kept themselves occupied during the COVID-19 crisis in their own countries and what they learned during this period. Miranda Mengot from Cameroon, who will join Wittenborg in September to do an IBA in Logistics and International Trade, said she has gone back to her old passions: drawing and reading. "Keeping indoors is something I have been doing. Everyone is doing what they can to stay safe."

WUP 27/7/2020
by James Wittenborg
©Wittenborg University Press

Netherlands says it "Values International Graduates" as it Lowers Salary Criteria

International Graduates in the Netherlands get Longer Period to Look for a Job at Lower Salary

The Dutch government has announced it will extend the lower salary criteria for recent international graduates from 1 year to 3 years. This means, they will have a longer period to look for a job at a lower salary. Under normal circumstances, highly skilled workers younger than 30 years must earn a gross salary of at least €3 381 to obtain a residence permit, but for recent graduates looking for a job, the minimum salary is €2 423 during their search year (12 months). This period will now be extended to 3 years.

The news comes after alumni from Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences petitioned the Dutch government to extend the search year visa from 1 to 2 years due as COVID-19 caused a scarcity of jobs in the labour market.  

The government has now responded to the petition with the following statement: "In the past few months there have been several requests to extend the search year because of the downturn in vacancies caused by the Corona crisis. Unfortunately, this is not possible because the conditions for the Search year are entrenched in law, a change in which is a lengthy and uncertain process. However, the government values the contribution of international students and highly skilled migrants to the Netherlands greatly. Therefore, the lower salary criteria to find a job as a highly skilled migrant is extended for all recent graduates up until 3 years after graduation in the Netherlands.

"In practice this means that if you don’t find a job within the search year, you can continue looking for a job with the lower salary criteria from abroad up until 3 years after graduation. This will facilitate your search for a job as a highly skilled migrant in the Netherlands, even if you are not in the Netherlands when you are job hunting."

It also urged graduates to explore the idea of self-employment as an alternative. "The Netherlands welcomes people with the ambition to grow their innovative idea into a viable business. If you have the creativity and the energy, the Netherlands offers the self-employment permit and start-up visa, a residence permit that allows you to work on your idea without a work permit. For the start-up visa you will need to find a facilitator. Applying for a Self-employment permit or Start-up permit might be a good alternative to the search year, you can also try both."

It also pointed out that there are several options regarding the search year permit:
• You can apply for the Search year up to 3 years after graduation.
• If you get a job without having had the Search year visa, you still qualify for the lower salary criterium, on the basis that you were eligible for this permit up to 3 years after graduation.
• You can register at the UWV (Employee Insurance Agency) as a job seeker and receive job placement assistance from the UWV.

WUP 24/7/2020
by James Wittenborg
©Wittenborg University Press

Netherlands Top Choice for EU Students Unwilling to Pay Higher Fees to Study in UK

The Netherlands stands to gain as an alternative study destination for European students who cannot afford to study in the UK as a hike in study fees is expected in the wake of Brexit. In a written statement to parliament, the British government announced that EU, EEA and Swiss nationals will no longer be eligible for home-fee status. A survey has now revealed that 84% of EU students are not prepared to pay international fees and will look elsewhere with the Netherlands rated as the top choice (49%), followed by Germany (36%).

This could mean a loss of 120,000 students based on recent enrolments, or 25% of all non-UK students, the survey by Study.eu has revealed. British study fees are already considered to be some of the highest in Europe.

Until now, EU students shared the same status as their British counterparts and as such paid the same fees. They could also access UK government loans to pay those fees. That means, currently, British and EU nationals pay fees of up to £9,250 (€10,210) per year for an undergraduate degree. The fees for international students vary from between £10,000 (€11,040) and £38,000 (€41,945) depending on the university and the degree, University World News reports. Should EU students start paying international fees, this would effectively mean an average fee increase of around 99%.

In recent years, continental European universities have been increasing the number of English-taught courses, and more so since the Brexit referendum in 2016. About 49% of surveyed students said that, with the UK potentially becoming too expensive, they would consider studying in the Netherlands, long a frontrunner for university internationalisation. Other popular alternatives include the mostly tuition-free Germany (36% of respondents), France (19%), Ireland (16%) and Sweden (14%). Higher-fee destinations like the USA, Canada or Australia were only seen by a few as alternatives.

The survey asked students to rate how likely they would be to continue with their plans to study in the UK if fees were to rise by 10, 25, 50, or 100% or more; the latter serving as a proxy for the average fee premium charged to international students. At a 100% increase, 84% said they would “definitely not study in the UK”; only 1% said they would be unaffected by such fees, while 15% said they would be “less” or “much less likely” to study in the United Kingdom.

40% of those surveyed plan to begin their studies in the academic year 2020/21 and would still be charged tuition fees at the Home/EU level; meanwhile, 60% of respondents plan to start their studies in the academic year 2021/22 or thereafter, and would thus be affected by the expected rise in tuition fees.

“This is a lose-lose situation for everyone. It is unfortunate that the political process leads to such negative consequences for students and universities. We hope that some other solution can be found that would promote student mobility between the UK and the EU,” comments Gerrit Bruno Blöss, CEO of Study.eu.

“Beyond the already shocking numbers, British universities have to consider potential domino effects. Less diverse campuses might overall be less appealing to international students, regardless of fees charged.” The proportion of international students is also a factor in popular university rankings, such as those published by Times Higher Education or QS.

WUP 22/7/2020
by James Wittenborg
©Wittenborg University Press

Students and Staff Back to the Netherlands

Back to the Netherlands, Back to Normalcy

With the travel ban having been lifted by the Dutch government on 15th June, a few students and staff of Wittenborg have since left their homelands and returned to the Netherlands. Wittenborg News caught up with a staff member and a student to find out more about their experiences and perspectives of the COVID-19 situation.

How was your experience staying in your home country during this pandemic?

For Wittenborg's Communications & Events Coordinator, Nadia Zaman, it was unfortunate (or fortunate) that she left the Netherlands on the 28th February for her hometown in Malaysia to attend her brother's wedding. When she arrived, the Malaysian Movement Control Order (MCO) was imposed and she had to observe a 14-day quarantine in her own room. "It was very strange. Malaysia is such a lively country and it took me some time to adjust," said Zaman. Despite having daily Zoom workout sessions with her friends and taking up the Ukulele to fill her time, not having physical contact with others for a long period of time was not fun for her.

As for MBM Human Resources Management student, Sarani Ayesha Wijesundara, she was called back home by her parents when the pandemic struck, and returned to Sri Lanka on 15th March, 2020. Although she could not go out for the last 3 months due to the curfew, she was glad that she had returned home. She thoroughly enjoyed being with her family as she had not seen them for quite a long time due to her study in the Netherlands.

"Don't put your targets on hold due to the pandemic." Sarani Wijesundara

Zaman returned to the Netherlands on 19th June to get back to work at Wittenborg. When asked how she felt, Zaman said that she was happy to be back in the Netherlands and back to her life before the pandemic. Her family is, of course, worried that she is here alone, but she will just have to stay safe and keep herself healthy here. For Wijesundara, she came back to the Netherlands on 17th June to apply for an internship. She believes that going back to the normal routine is what we all need and we should not hold back our own targets that we have set for ourselves just because of the pandemic.

To both Zaman and Wijesundara, the pandemic is a wake-up call for them to really take care of themselves as nothing else really matters other than their health and wellbeing. Zaman said she would feel better if the virus were under control, although she doesn't have any problem with social distancing, wearing a mask or even staying at home if it means that she will be safe. She now makes time for her hobbies, exercises more and eats better food (or at least she tries). For Wijesundara, observing hygiene and safety protocols is becoming second nature to her, as it has for many other people around the world.

Do you think this pandemic has upended our lifestyles or do you think it is a blessing in disguise?

Both Zaman and Wijesundara believe that the pandemic is a blessing in disguise. "I feel sad for those who have lost their loved ones to this virus. But the blessing is that we are forced to slow down and see what actually matters to us. Also, the decline in pollution and emissions are things to be thankful for," said Zaman. Wijesundara opines that people now realise that there is more to life than money and that health is actually their wealth. She agrees with Zaman and said that the decline in pollution and emissions are helping Mother Earth to heal, and that is a positive thing.

How do you hope to spend the summer in the Netherlands?

Wijesundara hopes to get an internship so that she can spend her summer fruitfully. She encourages her friends to obey the rules that the Dutch government has set and believes that together we can defeat the pandemic. On the other hand, Zaman hopes to enjoy the summer from the comfort of her own home here in Apeldoorn. She encourages her fellow colleagues and friends to take care of themselves, stay vigilant always and she believes that all this is just a temporary phase.

WUP 19/7/2020
by Hanna Abdelwahab
©Wittenborg University Press