ERASMUS CHANGING LIVES OPENING MINDS fOR 25 YEARS

Bram
Peper
‘Seeing the students working together is inspirational’
Home institution:
Erasmus University Rotterdam, the
Netherlands
Field of study/job title:
Sociology/lecturer
Year became active in Erasmus:
1992
Back in 1992, Bram Peper attended an Erasmus Intensive Programme organised
by the sociology department of his own university in Rotterdam. The eight-day
course brought together students and lecturers from different countries in an
intense but informal gathering. ‘It was good to meet and talk to the other students,
also for my own interest in discussing different welfare systems,’ he says.
Inspired to pursue his studies, he went on to become a sociology lecturer and,
since 2005, has been himself the academic coordinator of Erasmus University
Rotterdam’s Intensive Programme in sociology. The successful programme –
it will host its 21st session in 2012 – now brings together staff and students
from 13 institutions. ‘Every year we’re pleasantly surprised to see 50-60 students
work together so hard and so well,’ he says.
The annual sessions offer a rich forum to share ideas and have led to the publication
of four academic books. They are also useful for staff to observe other
teaching styles. ‘It’s beneficial to see how other colleagues teach their class,’
he says. ‘University professors are normally very autonomous and don’t usually
see how others present their lectures.’
Even though it’s a lot of work to organise, he strongly advocates the benefits
of organising an Intensive Programme. ‘It’s worth double the work you put in
as you get so much out of it, both in terms of you as a lecturer and building an
academic network with new colleagues; and seeing the students working
together even though they speak eight or nine different languages. It’s inspirational
and it’s a lot of fun.’
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