Sometime ago, when I was visiting Delft, I met up with a good friend of mine over a cappuccino. She is also from India and pursuing her PhD at TU Delft.
Invariably, the conversation soon turned to topics concerning ‘home’. She went on to describe how a professor had rejected a PhD applicant from India. The reason: the applicant had projected himself to be superlatively good at everything, thereby placing his credibility under suspicion.
We recognized what had happened . he was another victim of cultural differences between Europe and Asia. In India, it is the norm to project oneself as God’s gift to mankind. It’s considered a sign of confidence and we are groomed to do this from our school days. Nevertheless, the same attitude comes across as ridiculous in a European setting. The topic of cultural differences is so beaten a subject that it has started to border on being utterly trite. But, this is when the difference of culture hits home really hard . when you are cast aside from every job application, because you don’t ‘fit in with’ their organizational culture.
There is no doubt that organizations take their work culture very seriously. Some of these companies even employ professional agencies to help induct new employees, to get them to fit into the company and the Dutch way of life. At the international Master’s level, one expects all candidates to be technically very good. Hence, the emphasis in the recruitment process is placed on the candidates’ attitudes and interpersonal skills. All this makes way for a blatantly visible gap in the system. Foreign students are carefully selected into top universities like TU Delft for their academic merit, and yet many of these technologically talented people aren’t so appealing to the industry that is meant to absorb them after graduation.
So what can be the solution? The recent exit survey of students graduating from TU Delft showed that 69 percent of all students weren’t aware that there is a career guidance and counseling center here on campus for their benefit! And among those who did know about it, a total of four people made use of it. There is only one way of describing that . pathetic! There is no doubt that the career-counseling center badly needs to be given some publicity. Better yet, let the career-counseling center be a hub to impart the necessary ‘soft skills’ required for excelling in a Dutch working environment. If foreign students were made aware of the fact that their future careers are quite dependent on their imbibing certain qualities, they would be well motivated to do what is necessary. This in itself would promote better Dutch and international student interaction. It doesn’t take too much to get students to work on their individual brand image if it’ll mean the difference between a salary in euros or a flight back home after graduation. The career-counseling center can disseminate such awareness through individual student organizations. Rest assured, this would definitely be more effective than student excursions and borrels!
Ramesh Chidambaram uit India was MSc-student micro-electronica aan de TU Delft.
Sometime ago, when I was visiting Delft, I met up with a good friend of mine over a cappuccino. She is also from India and pursuing her PhD at TU Delft. Invariably, the conversation soon turned to topics concerning ‘home’. She went on to describe how a professor had rejected a PhD applicant from India. The reason: the applicant had projected himself to be superlatively good at everything, thereby placing his credibility under suspicion.
We recognized what had happened . he was another victim of cultural differences between Europe and Asia. In India, it is the norm to project oneself as God’s gift to mankind. It’s considered a sign of confidence and we are groomed to do this from our school days. Nevertheless, the same attitude comes across as ridiculous in a European setting. The topic of cultural differences is so beaten a subject that it has started to border on being utterly trite. But, this is when the difference of culture hits home really hard . when you are cast aside from every job application, because you don’t ‘fit in with’ their organizational culture.
There is no doubt that organizations take their work culture very seriously. Some of these companies even employ professional agencies to help induct new employees, to get them to fit into the company and the Dutch way of life. At the international Master’s level, one expects all candidates to be technically very good. Hence, the emphasis in the recruitment process is placed on the candidates’ attitudes and interpersonal skills. All this makes way for a blatantly visible gap in the system. Foreign students are carefully selected into top universities like TU Delft for their academic merit, and yet many of these technologically talented people aren’t so appealing to the industry that is meant to absorb them after graduation.
So what can be the solution? The recent exit survey of students graduating from TU Delft showed that 69 percent of all students weren’t aware that there is a career guidance and counseling center here on campus for their benefit! And among those who did know about it, a total of four people made use of it. There is only one way of describing that . pathetic! There is no doubt that the career-counseling center badly needs to be given some publicity. Better yet, let the career-counseling center be a hub to impart the necessary ‘soft skills’ required for excelling in a Dutch working environment. If foreign students were made aware of the fact that their future careers are quite dependent on their imbibing certain qualities, they would be well motivated to do what is necessary. This in itself would promote better Dutch and international student interaction. It doesn’t take too much to get students to work on their individual brand image if it’ll mean the difference between a salary in euros or a flight back home after graduation. The career-counseling center can disseminate such awareness through individual student organizations. Rest assured, this would definitely be more effective than student excursions and borrels!
Ramesh Chidambaram uit India was MSc-student micro-electronica aan de TU Delft.
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