Skip to main content

An Unlikely Turning Point

I am looking back at my almost 40 years of career in education with happy bewilderment. In the 1980s I started unglamorously from a position as a cleaner at the Leyden University Hospital, and the high point of my career as a university executive as Vice-Chancellor (Rector) of the Papua New Guinea University of Technology for 2 terms from 2012 to 2018, a total of 6 years. In between for 10 years I was a professor of environmental economics and policy in Costa Rica, and for over 4 years director of research funding at Maastricht University, one of the top-10 young universities in the Times Higher Education Ranking.

In the 1990s, as a doctoral candidate studying abroad at the European University Institute in Florence (Italy), I was eager to learn from professors at top institutions from all over the world. I had just won one of only two competitive national doctoral scholarships for historians. My own thesis supervisor seemed knowledgeable at first, but it soon became clear he struggled with indecision. All his doctoral students complained about the same.

ID Card while PhD candidate

He proposed three conflicting thesis topics in quick succession, leaving me confused and frustrated as valuable time was wasted. Worse still, I realized he lacked the experience and publication record to provide proper guidance, often hiring assistants in hopes they would prepare his publications.

At my lowest point, doubts crept in that an academic career may not be worthwhile if my evaluation depended on someone so erratic. But I found the courage to speak with my doctoral committee, who validated my concerns and supported my vision for a focused dissertation.

When I told my supervisor the thesis was complete against his demands for rewrites, he entered a panic. Subsequently, he started to spread unsubstantiated rumours about my skills which still sting. I am proud to say, that my thesis was the first thesis to use the then-nascent Geographical Information Systems running on 486 computers to analyze railway traffic and combine this into an indicator of regional development. His gossip sadly closed the door for my re-entry as an economic historian at a university in my home country, because there are always a few who believe the big lie.

However, that difficult moment also freed me to take charge of my future. Fortunately, my supervisor was unable to convince the other members of the committee - all of them from renowned world-class universities, several of whom became friends. The rumours spread by my supervisor were particularly hard to believe since I had just signed a contract to publish my thesis with Cambridge University Press, the oldest and one of the largest academic publications in the world.


Cover of my railways book

It set me on a path of advocating for students, helping implement fair policies, providing accessible resources, and empowering future scholars everywhere to feel inspired rather than impeded in their learning journey. For 18 years I worked with less privileged students in the developing world in Central America and the Caribbean and  in the South Pacific. Personally, I was able to supervise 5 doctoral theses and over 20 Master theses, and I gave all my students full support and fair, precise, and timely feedback. A key achievement as a university administrator has been providing reliable campus-wide broadband internet for the Papua New Guinea University of Technology, where I was Vice-Chancellor.

While the initial setback with my thesis supervisor stung, realizing I could overcome even the unlikeliest of obstacles by following my principles gave me strengths I may not have found otherwise. It lit a passion for supporting other students, that has since helped countless more achieve their academic dreams. 

One of my key achievements, for example, was in 2010 helping win the record number of 6 post-doc Marie Slodovska Curie grants for researchers at Maastricht University School of Business and Economics, and leading the team organizing the European Reseachers' Night at this University, the second university to hold such an event in the Netherlands.

My story shows that challenges may come from any direction, but resilience and perseverance forge the greatest victories – and most unlikely friendships along the way.


Works Cited


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Learning how to champion change through Social Impact Projects

Introduction Creating positive change in the world often starts from learning how to make an impact, and then taking action. Several successful entrepreneurs discovered approaches for driving social progress through initiatives that addressed pressing needs in innovative ways.  Their projects not only solved problems but also revealed valuable lessons that continue furthering humanity. Their success is not measured in terms of profit but rather in terms of how many people are impacted. Examples of successful social impact projects Blake Mycoskie and TOMS Shoes When Blake Mycoskie witnessed children without shoes in Argentina, he sought a way to help through his business. He founded TOMS Shoes, pledging to donate a pair of shoes for every pair sold. Mycoskie learned the importance of creating shared stakeholder benefit. In addition to providing footwear for millions worldwide, TOMS generated profit as a sustainable social enterprise model. Mycoskie realized empowering communities ne...
Post a Comment
Read more

How to Plan Your Life Like a CEO

It's easy to get caught up in the daily grind of work, school, activities and social life. But have you thought about where you want to be in 5 or 10 years? What kind of career interests you? When can you say your life is great or successful? Is there something else you'd rather be studying? What areas are you neglecting? How can you balance fun with achieving your goals? I've found a framework called Strategize Your Life (SYL) that can help you gain clarity and develop a plan for your future. SYL uses strategic thinking tools that top business leaders use to map out corporate strategies. You can apply the same principles to chart your own life course. Remember that the future is where you will spend most of the rest of your life, it is worth giving it a thought. Created with Bing Image Creator What is SYL?
Post a Comment
Read more

Growing Strong Roots: the Bamboo Method for writing

Emma and Rafael were nervous about their upcoming extended essay, the biggest assignment of the term. Where to even start with the research and writing? Emma came across Dr. Bilal's Bamboo Method on Twitter https://bit.ly/bamboodrbilal . Bamboo is a type of grass, that first develops strong roots. In this period you can not see the plant grow. Once it has established its root system, it starts to grow exponentially , meaning its rate of growth will be ever increasing. Created with Bing Image creator 30 Dec 2023 At first, Emma’s daily commitments seemed daunting alongside schoolwork and activities. But she was willing to try anything to avoid last-minute panicking. Each afternoon for 25 minutes, Emma wrote notes on her topic without pressure to complete full thoughts. At first, her mind wandered but the process became instinctive. Rafael joined in when Emma explained her system. Together they rewarded effort over perfection with short breaks between focused sprints. As weeks passed,...
Post a Comment
Read more