The Coordinators One IRSP research is conducted by four students. There are two people who coordinate them. Firstly, there is a Professor of the IRIO-department who watches over the academic quality of the research. As a researcher you will meet them on regular basis. Secondly, there is a representative of the IRSP Committee who is in contact with the respective partner and who controls that the partner’s wishes are met. Here you can see who will coordinate what research. Dr. Ir. Menno Kamminga (Picture) will be the University’s coordinator for this research. Dr. Kamminga is a senior lecturer at the University of Groningen with much experience in research. From the IRSP committee, Linda Klunder was the coordinator until April 2015. Linda is a second year IRIO student who is very interested in research, who left to do an internship in the Dutch Embassy of Saudi Arabia. The last month of the research is observed by Karen. The researchers of this research are Elisa Ahovuori, Pavela Mitova, Lise Weerden and Alex Onaca.
The Researchers
Elisa Ahovuori Age: 25 Degree programme: International Relations MA
Why did you participate in the IRSP? I read about the research for the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and became very interested in their research topic. Education is a crucial part of a society's development, and improving research and educational cooperation can be a great way to improve relations between countries in general. What have you learnt from the IRSP? We have a multicultural research group, which has been very enriching. IRSP has helped mainly in organizing us things that help with our research, such as logistics.
What is the most interesting/funny/nice thing you encountered during the research process? As our main research method we have been interviewing university representatives. It has been very interesting to hear a lot of different views about student mobility and educational relations between the Netherlands and other countries, and different interests of universities. Every interview session is unique as well, so I never get bored with participating in them, even now after 11 interviews!
What did you find most difficult in the process? The first step of narrowing down our research question was the most challenging, since everything in educational bilateral relations seems so interesting! At the end, the Ministry helped us with narrowing it down. Now we are glad that we have a clear focus.
Alex Onaca Age: 22 Degree programme: BA IRIO
Why did you participate in the IRSP? I participated in this project because I wanted to learn about the educational missions that are organized by the Dutch government. Our two focus countries were Canada (incoming mission May 2015) and China (outgoing mission June 2015). What have you learnt from the IRSP? See previous answer.
What are the most positive things you encountered during the research process? I enjoyed teamwork with fellow students, the openness of interviewees during our conversations, and the clear communication with the representatives of the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science in The Hague and abroad.
What difficulties did you encounter? Educational cooperation is not my field of specialization. It was therefore an interesting challenge to get to know more about this topic.
Lise Weerden Age:23 Degree programme:MA IR – Specialization Global Governance
Why did you participate in the IRSP? I decided to participate in the IRSP, because it offers a great opportunity to put everything that I have learned in my bachelor’s and master’s into practice, while simultaneously improving my research and writing skills.
What have you learnt from the IRSP?That conducting team research is a rather demanding process, yet very rewarding.
What is the most interesting/funny/nice thing you encountered during the research process? In my opinion, the most interesting part of the research were the interviews. They provided a unique opportunity to talk with very diverse people and to hear about their opinions on our research topic.
What did you find most difficult in the process? The most difficult part of the research process was getting in touch with all the stakeholders – both in the Netherlands and abroad. It involved a lot of waiting, resulting in time management issues towards the end.
Pavela Vasileva Mitova Age: 23 Degree programme: MA IR - International Security
Why did you participate in the IRSP? I think a research for an institution such as the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is a great opportunity for my CV, but it is also a great way to gain specific knowledge and experience.
What have you learnt from the IRSP? First, I learnt that I should have more confidence and trust my ideas and opinions. Second, but most importantly, I learnt how to conduct a formal research for an important stakeholder.
What is the most interesting/funny/nice thing you encountered during the research process? I found a new friend, which I regard as the most positive aspect.
What did you find most difficult in the process? The most difficult part was the beginning of the research, when the main research question was not very clear and we had to narrow it down. Of course, another difficulty was to work through our different visions, ideas and preferences to form a coherent team.