From 17 to 27 July, eleven students and three lecturers from different studies within the Hanze went to Tanzania for the annual Summer School. They collaborated with students from the University of Dar es Salaam on the theme of entrepreneurship. Alje Zwijghuizen, an International Finance and Control student, looks back on the experience.
Discovering another culture
Alje completed his Communication programme at Hanze in 2023 and is now in the second year of his second bachelor’s degree, International Finance and Control. “I’ve always been interested in traveling and discovering other cultures, so I thought: let’s add an international study programme. The Summer School in Tanzania was a great opportunity for me to immerse myself in a completely different culture. I was the only Hanze student working with four students from the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) and a coach in a project group. It was a nice opportunity for me to discover how they work together and communicate there.”
Focus on the community
Alje saw that there was a big difference in the way of communicating. “The cliché that the Dutch are often too direct is true. In the Netherlands, you get a short and powerful answer to a question. If you want to know more, you have to keep asking questions. In Tanzania, they start with a long speech full of details and slowly come to a conclusion. I had to get used to that.” Another big difference with our country is that in Tanzania the focus is on the community, on the collective. “It’s the complete opposite in the Netherlands, we are very individualistic. In class at the UDSM, they’re all good friends with each other, it’s a close-knit group. You don’t see that at Hanze.”
Sustainability as a luxury
The theme of the Summer School was entrepreneurship. The focus was on developing a business idea that meets the needs of the Tanzanians. Alje’s project group came up with a consultancy firm for energy saving. Sustainability is not that high on Tanzania’s list of priorities yet. “Our company wanted to help entrepreneurs save energy. With small things like replacing a halogen bulb with an LED. It allows you to calculate how many kilowatt hours and how much money you save. The idea came from a very smart electrical engineer from our group. In the Netherlands we are so prosperous that we can find sustainability important, but in Tanzania it is a luxury. The priority there is: how do I make ends meet and how do I get food on the table.”
Campus-app
At the end of the programme, the different groups were allowed to present their ideas to a jury. The winning idea was a campus app that shows you the way, gives you an overview of activities and many more things you need as a student. This schoolyear, the idea will be given time and a budget so that it can actually be implemented. “A smart plan, because it’s a very large campus. We experienced first-hand how difficult it was to find a room.”
Filthy rich
Hanze students pay for the trip themselves. “I crowdfunded 250 euros for food and transport, among other things, so that the students in Tanzania could also participate. That doesn’t sound like a lot of money, until you realise that 1 TZS (Tanzanian shilling) equals 0.00033 euros. And with over 750,000 TSW, you can spend quite a bit of money. For example, a local student told us that he pays 10,000 TSS on rent per month. We really are filthy rich compared to Tanzanians. We are rich because we were born and live in a prosperous country, not because we necessarily work harder or are any smarter.”
Accelerating learning
The Hanze students had little spare time, but they did tour Dar es Salaam with local students. “We saw all kinds of things, ate local snacks and got to know the city that way. Although not formally the capital, Dar es Salaam is Tanzania’s undisputed economic and administrative centre. Alje recommends the Summer School for every student who is open to other cultures. ‘In ten days you learn about Tanzania at a rapid pace. You learn about the country, the history, the culture, the politics, the people. What they feel, what they think and how they live their lives,” Alje concludes.
Curious?
This annual student trip is organised by the Hanze East Africa Hub and the Hanze University Foundation. If you are interested in joining next year, click HERE.