Untitled Document
Foreign PhD Students Struggle with Deadlines
Only 15 per cent of PhD students finish their dissertations
within the prescribed four years. Foreign students are no exception,
although they were always more conscious of the time limit than
their Dutch colleagues. The end of an 'AIO' contract equals the
end of a work permit which in turn leads to the end of a residency
permit. Many foreign PhD students therefore receive extensions
to enable them to finish writing their thesis. But there are still
financial and visa problems. Cursor talked to five foreign PhD
students about their deadlines.
"I received an extension of
one year because I had a baby last year," says Shauna Mallory-Hill,
a Canadian PhD student at the Architecture department. "But
there can be lots of reasons for extension. When I arrived I waited
three months just to get a computer on my desk. I now expect to
finish writing my thesis at the end of September. However my extended
contract ended in February, but after all the work I've done,
I want to graduate. My husband is also Canadian and he had been
working for a company here. We were intending to leave for the
States in March in connection with my husband's new job. However
this job disappeared over the Christmas holidays when the company
in question laid off 40,000 people. And if neither of us has a
real job, we'll have to leave the country after six months, which
is in July. Although my husband is now doing some work for his
old company, we are basically living off our savings."
Mortgage
"The costs of day care and our mortgage payments are eating
into them quickly. So when my contract ended, I asked for some
help with my expenses. 'No problem,' our personnel office said,
'we'll just get you 'wachtgeld' (redundancy pay), which you are
eligible for because you were employed by the university.' Since
then, they've really put me through some hoops. Now I find the
Dutch government withdrew its support of redundancy pay in January.
I thought of looking after children to earn some money, but I
understand this is difficult because I'll have to found a company
and charge VAT. I'm not sure what I'll do now, because to be a
resident you have work, and I need to stay until October."
Peru
Carlos Alba Pinto from Peru is finishing a PhD at Electrical Engineering.
"Our advisor believed we needed an extension of three months,
this should be enough for me. Two of our advisors left the university
for a better job. The university cannot cope with this absence.
I'm already looking for a job and I expect to stay in the Netherlands.
I'd like to stay here in Eindhoven to completely finish my thesis
and work for Philips. The police have already noticed that I have
to extend my visa, so I have to show them a job contract soon.
I believe we are sometimes freer than our Dutch colleagues, because
we have less teaching duties. On the other hand we have a harder
time communicating and getting things done."
Alba Pinto's colleague Artur Choynacki from Poland had an extension
of his contract until May. "The extension was no problem,
and I'll finish my thesis this year. But I'm having some trouble
with my visa. I have two job offers for June or July. One is with
Philips here and the other is in America. I haven't decided what
to do yet. But in theory I can be deported for the intervening
month, when I don't actually have my job contract in black and
white. Also, I want to go home to Poland for Easter, but I may
not get back into Holland if I do. While I'm here there's a status
quo, so I'll manage somehow."
Reputation
Mohammed Douch is a third-year Mechanical Engineering PhD student
who was born in Morocco and grew up in Paris and graduated from
the university in Aken. He and his colleague Rashid Moustakfi
expect to finish their work on combustion engines on schedule.
"We want to return to Germany or France. Four years here
is enough. Holland has a good reputation, but as a Moroccan I
experience it differently than someone from a European country
or America. There are almost no Moroccans or Turks at this university.
In Aken, 17 per cent of university staff and students was from
these countries. I think it's a pity there are not more Moroccans
at Dutch universities. Isn't it better to have Moroccan engineers
than Morrocan drug dealers?"/.
