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| Huub Ruël |
`The Kuwaitis make an entire show of such a graduation ceremony,' says Ruël, a couple of days after his arrival back home in his office at the Capitool building. `The festivities took place on a big ship, all the students wore togas and even the minister of Education was present.' The assistant professor of International Management (Department of Nikos) at the School of Management and Governance still feels that he needs to acclimatize. He laughs: `I have lived and worked in Kuwait for a year and a half. If it had lasted any longer, I would have picked up too much of the Kuwaiti's lifestyle and habits. In the Middle East, the tempo of life is much slower.'
Ruël feels richer for his experience abroad and will readily talk about it. `I think the UT also has considerable opportunities to earn money in the Gulf states. But, we need to make sure to grab these opportunities.' He refers to the fact that the Dutch government had recently identified education in the Gulf states as a `promising sector.' In other words, there is a chance for trade. But universities and colleges of applied sciences are not really making any moves. Ruël: `I know from experience that the Kuwaitis are screaming for western education because it has more status and value. And they will pay for it as well. I notice reactions around me, within the UT, that people are hesitant to `make money out of education.''
In 2001, Huub Ruël received his doctorate at the UT from the department of Business Administration, specializing in HRM. His dissertation focused on research into the implementation of ICT, and afterwards, he became a lecturer at the University of Utrecht. At a certain moment, he read an advertisement in The Economist about a vacancy at the Kuwait Maastricht Business School. `I was looking for a change and applied for the job. The job interview was in London and had a rather `alluring' character. The academic director went out of his way to make the job look as attractive as possible. In hindsight, I was the only western professor to apply.'
In September 2006, Ruël left for Kuwait. The salary he received for his teaching position in the MBA department was more than generous. `My net income was more than a professor makes in the highest salary scale in the Netherlands.' He chuckles: `Yes, very nice.'
Ruël rented an apartment in Kuwait City and gave lectures on e-business, Organizational Behavior and Human Resource Management. He soon discovered that there was a big difference between Kuwait and Dutch students. `The students are incredibly insecure about their performance and achievements. And the Kuwaitis wanted to reduce that insecurity to the absolute minimum. For example, they would ask for exam questions in advance. I had to offer information in manageable chunks.' What was also noticeable was their `slimy behavior.' Ruël: `I had many invitations to parties and dinners, but students also proposed to drive me home. At first I rejected all of it because I didn't want my students to think they would get a good grade in return. But later on, I loosened up. This `friendly stuff' is just normal in the Middle East. It's how their society works.'
A big difference between the Dutch and Kuwaiti educational system, according to Ruël, is the achievement rewards system. `At the UT, you can perform either good or bad in education, but it won't make a difference in your salary. In the Kuwait Maastricht Business School, the performance in education was the most important criteria during job evaluations. Good performance could lead to an increase of salary and to a promotion. Business Schools are something else than universities, but here in the Netherlands there is not one single external motivator for performing well in education.' Every six weeks, Ruël flew back to the Netherlands. His wife (UT-lecturer Tanya Bandourak) stayed in Enschede during his time in Kuwait. `Naturally, it wasn't always easy for her.' And eventually, his private life played a role in his decision to quit his job at the Kuwait Maastricht Business School and return to the Netherlands. `In addition, I wanted to do research again, next to lecturing, which had a lower profile during my stay in Kuwait.'
Of course, he needs to become readjusted to the Dutch educational system. For instance, recently a student asked rather informally if he could mark the exams a bit faster. `Kuwaitis would never speak to me like that. Students are very respectful; they always called me doctor Huub. Maybe a bit too formal, but in the Netherlands, we're tipping the scales the other way.'
