Workshop Intercultural Communication for Supervisors at the GSLS

This course is for (co-)supervisors and daily supervisors of PhD candidates registered at the GSLS. The course is ideally followed by relatively new supervisors, because then you have the most benefit in your work. If that is not an option: it is useful in any other stage.

During this workshop you will gain insight in cultural differences. International supervisors will learn more about “Dutch culture”; understanding more about Dutch values and behaviour will help to feel more at home in the Netherlands. Dutch participants will gain perspective on the relativeness of Dutch standards of ‘normal behaviour’, helping them to become more flexible in dealing with other frames of reference.

In this course, participants will practice specific situations with a specialized role play actor, with  reference to the theory. They will be asked to fill out a questionnaire in advance in order to make sure the course addresses their specific questions and needs. 

The starting point of the course is the attendee’s own cultural background. Several demo’s with actor and activating exercises help put one’s cultural background into perspective. The theoretical framework is visualized by vivid examples. Attendees are explicitly invited to share their insights and cultural stories, so as to ensure theory-to-practice transfer.

Janneke Dubbelboer, MA, graduated with a degree in Latin America Studies at Utrecht University after which she specialized in teaching courses in (intercultural) communication. Teaching about intercultural communication means helping to enlarge the participant’s knowledge and skills concerning communication and culture. As a result, participants relate more easily to people from different cultural backgrounds.

Group size (min – max) 

10-12

Time investment

Between 4,5 and 5,5 hours: 4 hour workshop and 0,5 – 1,5 hours of preparation (reading the handout and filling out the questionnaire).

"Viewing things from a single perspective limits your vision. For instance, behavior considered respectful in one context might be perceived as disrespectful from another cultural perspective. The intercultural communication workshop taught me that one’s perspective on others and their behavior is strongly shaped by cultural background, which can lead to intercultural miscommunication. The course raises awareness of this and thereby contributes to better intercultural communication. This is important for anyone in a leadership role, such as PhD supervisors." Ewart Kuijk PhD, Assistant Professor, Lab of Cellular Disease Models, WKZ/UMC Utrecht

"This has been an eye-opener experience: using a very efficient, interactive and condense format it moves away from theoretical, dry approaches to abstract principles and terminology; instead, Janneke takes a deep dive into the most confronting realizations about cultural impact and makes you aware of your own daily misleading assumptions. I’m really grateful that I was offered the opportunity to follow this training!" Evgenia Salta PhD, Group Leader – Neurogenesis and Neurodegeneration Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience (NIN-KNAW)

This course is free for (co-)supervisors of GSLS PhD candidates. However: free of charge does not mean free of responsibility. Once you have signed up for a course, we expect you to attend. For every late cancellation or no-show we have had to disappoint others who would have liked to attend. This is our policy:

• You may cancel free of charge up to 4 weeks before the start of the course. After this date you can only cancel if you have a (co-)supervisor of a GSLS PhD candidate to replace you in the course. Send the name and contact information of your replacement to pcc@uu.nl, at least 2 working days before the start of the course;
• We expect that you actively attend the full course, but at least 80%. It is mandatory to attend the first session. If you are absent the first session you cannot follow the remaining of the course;
• Not meeting the above requirements means you will be charged a no-show fee (€ 100). We will send the invoice after the course has ended. We are unable to make any exceptions, unless you have a valid reason (i.e., illness or death in the family 1^st/2^nd degree or partner). Please send an e-mail to pcc@uu.nl indicating the reason.