'They expected it to be hard to feel connected in Utrecht'

Saya Abdullah was eight years old when he and his parents came to the Netherlands as Kurdish refugees from Iraq. He still has vivid memories of the journey, which took a year and a half. And also of his arrival in the Netherlands. 'It was such a relief to go to school again. Having routine, order and clarity, getting told "this is what you're doing today" was so great! I finally felt like a child again.' The childhood experiences of the medical student, now only weeks short of graduating, played a formative part in his compassionate commitment to vulnerable children in conflict areas. And in his campaign for a more diverse university.

'The world, and the Netherlands with it, is becoming a village with more and more cultures. That means the university has to change too, there's no other choice. As I see it, it's good for the university when people from all different backgrounds come here to develop their talents and thereby enrich the academic community. Fortunately, students from an increasingly wide range of backgrounds are going into higher education.' Nonetheless, Saya thinks there is still vast room for improvement.

Homogeneous

'After our school-leaving exams almost all of my friends from non-Western backgrounds chose to go to university in Amsterdam, where diversity was much more evident. They expected it would be tougher to feel connected in Utrecht and were afraid of being excluded. I never experienced that here myself, but I can see why people might shy away from making that leap to Utrecht. This is a wonderful, open institution, but it's also extremely homogeneous. Out of the three hundred students in my year, only nine or ten are from non-Western backgrounds. Other universities in the major Dutch cities have four or five times that number.'

Western sensibility

Working as a UN youth representative for two years, Saya was confronted with his own Western sensibility. 'At my first conference I had a guy from the Amazon on one side of me and a girl from West Africa on the other. It wasn't until I heard about the problems they have to cope with, fighting Ebola for example, that it really hit me how shuttered I was and how much we can all learn from each other.

Don't get me wrong, differences can also be tricky because of language, customs or rituals.' During one of his clinical placements, Saya saw for himself how difficult it can be to bridge cultural divides. 'Seeing that men from the Middle East didn't want to shake hands with women, Dutch doctors assumed the men considered women to be inferior. But in fact they perceived touching someone's hand as a very intimate gesture that might be objectionable to the woman. Not offering a hand is actually meant to protect women. Of course, there are other contexts in the Netherlands too, and I'm not going to sit in judgement, but it is good to be conscious of those different interpretations. So back during my placement, I held lectures on cultural differences for my physician team.'

Embrace diversity

Saya's message is really quite simple: try to embrace diversity. 'Engage with a colleague or student who is different to you in some way, any way at all! Ask where they're from, what they've experienced. That engenders a wealth of mutual understanding and is incredibly enriching. You'll realise that as well as differences, you also have a lot in common.'

Diversity Task Force

Saya is pleased with the recent formation of a Diversity Task Force within the University, of which he himself is a member. 'We're already working hard on developing diversity training for staff. The specifics are still being worked out, but it will cover things like how do you recruit for diversity and ensure that new hires feel welcome and like part of the community?

Dutch identity at stake

'In the current political climate, diversity is quite a touchy subject. People feel Dutch identity is at stake. But at the university, almost everyone is open to diversity. The question is, how do you make that part of your image? Well, by not featuring only "old white guys" on your posters, for example, and by considering diversity as a factor when recruiting for board positions. Some universities are trying to break down barriers by offering Dutch language courses, or going into primary schools to connect with specific groups of kids. We can learn from that. 

Diversity is difficult to measure. It’s not only about numbers. That said, it would be great if in a few years' time the student body and staff were more broadly representative. And that Dutch, other Western and non-Western employees and students would feel connected and welcome to pursue their myriad talents here. That doesn't mean we should set aside the Dutch culture, only that we need to seek a new balance. Just wait and see, in 15 years' time, Utrecht will be the best international university in the country!'