Do you remember Albert van Schendel?

Where do you work within BUas? – within BUas I work at the Academy for Leisure & Events

When, why or how did you start working at BUas? – I started working at BUas on 1 September 2001. Previously, I worked at what is now called Curio: MBO (Retail) Commerce (MBO is the Dutch abbreviation for vocational education and training). I was invited by Hubert-Jan Jansen (who unfortunately passed away far too early) to give a guest lecture on Retail Marketing to his fourth-year students of what would later become the minor in REM (Retail and Merchandise Management). When I had given the guest lecture, Hubert-Jan alerted me to a (internal) vacancy for a Marketing lecturer. At the time, I was actually done with MBO; I was chairman of the Advisory Committee on Trade Education (AHA) of the MBO Council’s Trade Sector Group. With that group, we helped all ROCs (Dutch abbreviation for regional training centres) with a trade department to implement the Adult and Vocational Education Act (WEB). After three years, that secondment came to an end and I was ready for a new challenge. Teaching at MBO again was not a good option and that's when I came into contact with NHTV. After a very pleasant conversation with the then director Ger Pepels and our marketing colleague Pieter de Rooy, I was hired and I started this new challenge with fresh enthusiasm.

What is the difference between then and now? – It soon became clear that, besides teaching, there was time available to work out our own initiatives; together with Harm IJben, we wanted to research the economic impact of sports events using an In- and Output table. In that choice, Ger Pepels gave us a lot of support and freedom to work on it. At the same time, a couple of student companies were developing at our academy; ECEM (Expertise Centre in Event Management) and Trequartista (a student training company in sports). The opportunity we were given by Ger then and the method we developed to conduct research was unique. At that time, we also contributed to the national Working Group on Evaluation of Sports Events (WESP); a collaboration between universities of applied sciences, research universities and organisations/entrepreneurs who wanted to work on this topic. Our method of research with students and colleagues such as Liedewei Ratgers and Wilco van Gool, has taken us to great places; for example, the Amstel Gold Race, the Tour of Flanders, the summer games in London, the winter games in Turin, the European and World Short Track Championships in Dordrecht and, most memorably, the World Cyclocross Championships in Triviso and later in Hoogerheide. After the ‘Ger Pepels era’, this unfortunately came to an end. The time and opportunity available for such research became less and less, and the student training companies were unfortunately discontinued. I think back to those days with some nostalgia, when the cooperation between students and colleagues produced wonderful results.

What is the most memorable moment you had with students? – As mentioned, the World Championships in Triviso and a year later in Hoogerheide was the most memorable moment for me with students and colleagues. In Triviso, Hoogerheide had to present itself for the following year. Commissioned by the municipality of Hoogerheide and the province of Noord-Brabant, our students devised an experience, together with Peter van Wijngaarden and Wilco van Gool. They were also able to perform it on site, which was an unforgettable and impressive moment. All that was wrapped up in a four-day stay in Triviso where Lars Boom became world champion and our students gave an excellent presentation and got to know Michael Boogerd from a different side. Later, both Lars Boom and Michael Boogerd gave a guest lecture in Archimedesstraat. So after that, it was Hoogerheide's turn to host the cyclocross World Championships. That event, also thanks to the efforts of our students, became a grandiose success and an example for future cyclocross World Cup event organisers. The UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) and the accreditation committee were full of praise for the way ECEM and Trequartista (at the time with Dilja Holewijn as director) had lent a helping hand. The evaluation, together with Liedewei Ratgers and Wilco van Gool, was a wonderful conclusion to an incredible event. The organisation’s chair, Jan Prop, had a similar experience at that event.

Do you run into alumni at or for the programme? – Whenever I had a ‘talk’ or presentation on our subject, I always ran into alumni: usually you find out later but sometimes I ask at the beginning of such a presentation. There are always a number of former NHTV’ers/NWIT’ers in the room. I also often come across alumni who give guest lectures at school: Lisette Wegman of Bureau Welle is a good example. We enjoy using her expertise on making events more sustainable. The sports marketing company Touché, founded by Nico Moreno Ruiz and Anton Woldhek, is also a welcome guest

What do you learn from alumni? – Connecting with alumni broadens my horizons and gives me examples to share with current students. I am never short of examples! Rather, I have to make a choice of ‘which of the examples fit best here?’. It gives me insight into the opportunities students have in the field: knowledge and experience in that one sector or in that specific field is useful in several places. Our study programme may yet be more widely applicable than you initially think/thought.

What piece of advice would you give alumni? – Gee, who am I to give advice to those youngsters! I would say keep looking and thinking broadly, guard against tunnel vision. Enjoy life and get the most out of it!!! No regrets afterwards!

Would you have a question for alumni? - What would you like us to take away from or include in the study programme? What do you still consciously use in your work; which parts of the study programme have taken you further?

You will retire this study year, what are you going to miss most about working at BUas? - I don't know yet what I will miss, but in any case it will be dealing with young, ambitious people who want to progress. The difference between how students enter in the propaedeutic year and how they stand beaming at the graduation ceremony after a few years. I will miss (no longer) contributing to that development the most. In addition, I will undoubtedly miss the contact with colleagues: just like BUas students, BUas employees have a distinctive gene. Especially those in our Leisure & Events academy! We are not standard lecturers or students; we surprise each other and others more often than we are aware of.

What are you going to do after BUas? - After my period of employment at BUas, I will keep my own financial consultancy firm for at least a few more years: for private clients, I have been filing income tax returns since 1989. I also have a number of self-employed workers for whom I prepare the annual accounts. After 47 years of working in healthcare, my wife is quitting her job at Amphia Hospital and together we now have more time for our two grandsons and our two dogs. The grandsons are slowly but surely going their own way and are already getting quite ‘strong-minded’. The dogs, two Bassets Fauve de Bretagne, are now three years old and still have a lot to learn... We love being in Zoutelande, Zeeland, so who knows, we might spend some time there more often. We'll see, first let's stay healthy! Anyway, as a true ‘Brabo’ says: ‘houdoe en bedankt’ (goodbye and thanks)!!