I have been writing about this subject before: the importance for employers of a team that can understand and work with people from different cultural backgrounds. If you are reading this blog you are most likely an expat in the Netherlands and you will know as no other that cultural competencies are a necessity to…
Continue reading ➞ Being culturally competent in the Netherlands
Looking in the mirror from time to time to evaluate how "things are going" is always a good idea. Taking personality tests online (on a regular basis because when you evolve so does your personality) can give your valuable insights in the way you live your life/want to live your life. Dialogue with the Dutch…
Continue reading ➞ Does your personality influence adaptation?
Levels of diversity Did you know that when we talk about diversity we often think about culture? Well cultural diversity definitely is one of the layers of diversity, but there is more to it than culture alone. Culture is actually the outer layer of the diversity paradigm, therefor it's very visible. No wonder this is…
In these hard times, where the world gets tortured with the Corona virus, intercultural communication in the professional life is a daily situation. There is a lot to learn from other countries in these difficult times. But there are so many different approaches, so where to start? It's a hot topic, intercultural communication in business.…
Continue reading ➞ COVID-19 pandemic and cultural differences
The more we can be our self, the more we can bring to the table. The “feeling we belong” comes from inclusion, and inclusion is a beacon and symbol for our possibilities. A hot topic is social inclusion, which is about improving the terms of participation in society for people who are disadvantaged. Many large…
After writing 6 blogs on internationalisation in higher education, there is still a major topic that gets, and deserves a lot of attention nowadays: the United Nations Sustainable development goals. There are Facebook pages dedicated to them, like this one and this one. Of course the United Nations have a dedicated page. The sustainable development goals,…
In my last blog I wrote about mental health among international students. In this blog I will continue on the subject by adding aspects of language and identity. The lingua franca of internationalisation in higher education is English. More and more universities wonder if this is the correct approach, being afraid that the national language…
In this series of blogs on internationalisation in higher education mental health among international students is an important subject. For example, how do students handle culture shock, the acculturative stress and adaptation challenges? Jessica Price wrote an interesting article about this subject. She says that despite the fact that many universities see these subjects as…
Colour plays a big role in our lives, think about how often for example we describe our mood based on colours. Instead of being green with envy when your neighbour always seems to pick the right colour to wrap his gifts, I will give you a golden opportunity to learn a little more about it…
When it comes to gift giving, what’s appropriate and what is not? With the Holiday season just around the corner, let’s see how different cultures handle gift giving. First some examples because customs can be so intriguing! A few weeks ago I was invited to the birthday of a girl turning one, the girl, who…
Dialogue with the Dutch 