Headlines

The three nominees for the new award for 'Young Teaching Talent'at Utrecht University are Ms. J. Borghans (biology), Ms. W. van derHel (medicine) and Mr. J. de Blok (earth sciences). The five menwho are contending for the longer-standing 'Instructor's Prize' areL. Dorsman (history), J. Kuijpers (physics and astronomy), A.Meijerink (chemistry), J. Peute (biology) and F. Weerman (arts andletters). The winners will be announced during the eighth editionof the conference 'Het Onderwijs Meester' (The Education Master) onJanuary 7, 2000. The instructor's prize was established in 1994 bythe university board with the aim of stimulating and honoring theuniversity's teaching staff. The winner goes home with 7,500guilders. The special prize for teachers under the age of 34 is a3,000 guilder travel grant. The candidates are nominated by variousdepartmental students' societies, which receive 1,500 guilders iftheir candidate wins. In total, fourteen instructors and six younginstructors were nominated. The theme of this year's OnderwijsMeester conference is 'Do It! Activate and Motivate'. Thoseinterested in attending the conference should register at the FBUconference office (tel. 253-2728) before January 4.

Life-long

Knowledge is about as non-perishable as fresh fish. It doesn'tmake sense to impart a great deal of knowledge to students duringtheir university studies, so study programs could be made shorter.This is the view expressed by Professor Dr. Roel in 't Veld ofUtrecht and Amsterdam during a symposium at the Open University atHeerlen. "Students only need to know a few things before they beginpracticing a profession", according to In 't Veld. "They need astarting qualification and the ability to keep learning. Those arethe basic requirements. What value is there for them in amanagement course? In their first job they would benefit more froma course on 'being managed'. It is essential for them to know thatthe company secretary is much more important then they are." Theregular study programs could be shortened, but graduate educationwould become more important. The professor believes that theinstitutes still have the tendency to view graduate education as akind of moonlighting. "Actually, they should build up life-longrelationships with their graduates, who should return on a regularbasis to refuel for the different phases of their career."