FD: 'International students are not cash cows'

Mol’s message is clear: ‘The world faces significant challenges with regard to climate, biodiversity and food production. Precisely the domains on which WUR is working. Internationalization is in the WUR DNA. We need international students and staff to apply this knowledge globally. Regardless of national politics, they are and remain very welcome at WUR.’ 

In short
The Cabinet is working on curbing the influx of international students.
These students are said to oust Dutch students and cause the Anglicisation of education.
WUR’s rector magnificus speaks against a national policy on this issue.
He argues that universities cannot be compared and that Wageningen’s international nature provides unique benefits.

Interview

A Chinese delegation has just settled in the central hall of the Atlas building on Wageningen Campus. The delegation members and nitrogen professor Wim de Vries somewhat awkwardly exchange pleasantries and gifts in English.

The delegation consists of representatives of Zhejiang University. Dozens of international delegations visit Wageningen each year in search of partnerships with the institute known as one of the world’s best agricultural universities.

Wageningen is, by tradition, an international university that was initially founded for agriculture in what were then the colonies. ‘Thirty per cent of the first generation of students in 1918 did not come from the Netherlands. We were the first university to offer English-spoken education’, Mol says. 

Tailored
There are currently over 13,000 students from more than 113 countries enrolled at WUR. Mol: ‘And we have partnerships in over one hundred countries. Ours is an international profile, which means we also take business across borders.’

So, when the Cabinet discusses curbing internationalisation, Wageningen is almost instantaneously sidelined into the role of spectator, especially when a minister announces plans for a national approach to the influx of international students, as education minister Robbert Dijkgraaf (D66) did in April. ‘Each university is unique; this is not something you should want to manage at a national level’, Mol cautions.

The fear is felt in several cities outside of the conurbation of Western Holland. In Limburg, the Brightlands innovation campuses have warned that curbing the number of international students is an ‘impending disaster’ for the region. The campuses were created by Limburg province and Maastricht University to connect knowledge and entrepreneurship. ‘It would severely impact the attractiveness of the area for businesses. And it would result in education programmes being cancelled,’ the CEOs say.

In recent years it became clear that universities failed to sufficiently restrict the rapid increase in international students. Several universities reported they were ready to collapse under pressure. Moreover, students in cities such as Amsterdam are simply unable to find housing. Universities called on Dijkgraaf to provide them with tools to manage the increase, for example, by restricting the admittance of specific groups of students to some programmes.

Lucrative students?
The minister, in turn, criticises the financial stimulus that results from internationalisation. International students are said to benefit universities financially, but Mol disagrees. ‘International students are not cash cows’, he states. Wageningen receives an annual income of 17.2 million euros from international students, only 3.5% of its total revenue. And international research contributes 36 million euros to Wageningen’s total research revenues, which equals 30%.

An average study programme has a cost price of just under €20,000. Students from outside of the EU pay almost the entire sum from their own pockets. Students from within the EU pay the same as Dutch students, approximately 2200 euros. ‘For each of these students, the ministry pays around €11.000 per student’, according to Mol. ‘Plus small budgets for, for example, libraries. The total adds up to the cost price.’

He concludes: ‘We do not make a profit on international students.’ But for universities wanting to grow, recruiting international students may provide a stimulus. Mol: ‘We don’t have the ambition to grow, and we don’t have a lack of student housing. Ousting of Dutch students due to a shortage of available spots is also not an issue in Wageningen.’

And precisely that is his point: no two universities are the same, and subjecting them to a single policy does more harm than good. ‘I am afraid that the government decides that all programmes must be Dutch-spoken. That would be a disaster.’ Wageningen recruits master’s students, which would become much more difficult. ‘This is a group that is lucrative for the Netherlands. They have enjoyed 21 years of learning and then do their final two years here, after which they enter the employment market.’

Mol refers to the international network of 12,000 alums. ‘These former students hold positions in businesses and embassies. That is a network we must cherish and fortify as it benefits all of the Netherlands.’ Wageningen Campus is home to many businesses. ‘We are Food Valley, the Silicon Valley of food and agriculture’, says Mol. Unilever has its headquarters here. ‘Unilever is here for our knowledge but also to scout international talent. If fewer students are able to obtain their master’s degree in English, businesses will be less willing to settle here.’ 

China 
Some international students pose an increasing risk of espionage, intelligence services warn. After Italy and Germany, China, a country considered risky, is best represented among international students in Wageningen. The Cabinet is working on a list of research topics from which students from risky countries may be excluded or for which they may be subjected to screening.

Mol: ‘We want to continue our partnerships with universities that have the best expertise, and those are not limited to Europe. China is an enormous farming nation with a lot of talent.’ Moreover, he adds: ‘Almost everything we do is open source; there is not much to be had.’

There are indications from other countries that students funded through a Chinese grant are pressured into serving the interests of their home country, on pain of fines, for example. Dijkgraaf is investigating whether this issue is also known to occur in the Netherlands.

Mol has not received any such indications. The rector convenes with intelligence services on a regular basis, ‘and they are nuanced.’ ‘They understand that we have international assignments in the domain of agriculture and food. It is the House of Representatives whose perspective is increasingly undifferentiated.’