Egyptian young trainees in Dutch horticulture: their take-aways

“We have been trained well by our University for technical stuff, so here we can quickly understand and learn more,” said Dunya, one of the students. In plant breeding for example, the students already knew how to emasculate plants, so their technical reports were adequate and they continued with other topics in the seed company.

Main take-away by all students is a social aspect: the learning culture in the Netherlands that provides a safe environment in which mistakes are part of the learning cycle. “I was assigned with a landscaping task that I never did before. My manager just told me ‘to make a lot of mistakes’. For the Dutch, it is all learning by doing, and you do not get in trouble when you make a mistake,” said Manaar who studies landscape. The students also appreciated the Dutch openness in discussion, providing information and answering questions. “They have explained to us in great detail, and if we ask questions they appreciate it and show everything, there are no secrets,” said Dunya.

The internship program was intensive. They acknowledged that the adaptation at the beginning was hard to balance the work, study and integrating to the life rhythm at the new place. However they have learned a great deal and are looking forward to applying their new experience back in Egypt. “The situation is different, but we can do a lot in Egypt. For example, how to manage business, the work ethics, application of new technologies or devices, and simply appreciate trees more and make them valuable.” The internship has been concluded and all students have returned to Egypt on 27 September 2024.

The internship is part of the MOBILISE Mobility project which is implemented by Maastricht School of Management (MSM) / Maastricht University (MSM) in partnership with Aeres Green Education Group (Aeres), and co-funded by the European Union via the Migration Partnership Facility of ICMPD. The project aims at launching a scalable and institutionally entrenched circular talent development programme between the Netherlands and Tunisia, Egypt and Ethiopia for the strengthening of climate-smart agriculture. The project, which specifically targets the agricultural sector, seeks to meet the demands of the labour market in the participating countries by involving partners from the public and private sector while developing cooperation with local higher educational institutions. Please check the MOBILISE project at their website.