Emile Dopheide started at ITC as a teacher about 25 years ago. Today he holds the position of Educational Manager.
ITC went through quite some changes over the years. How did that affect you?
"When I started working here, ITC was still primarily an educational and training institution. Since then we have become increasingly academic, especially after joining the university ten years ago. This development meant new demands and expectations for people like me. I've tried to pursue a PhD, but as it turned out it's not my cup of tea to spend years focusing on one single subject. I prefer to work with the whole spectrum. In fact, I have found that I am more of a generalist than a specialist.”
How did the step to your current position come about?
"Since joining ITC I have always been close to education, I was also involved in course coordination and course development. When the position of educational manager became available, a lot of things came together for me. That being said, it was quite a thing for me to say goodbye to the content and direct contacts with students. I still enjoyed teaching, but developing and managing education at a more strategic and tactic level and everything that comes with it really appealed to me."
What do you like about working at ITC?
"When I graduated, I never intended to enter academia. My working in academia now is really a result of my once becoming a teacher in an increasingly academic organization. The fact that I still do feel at home is partly due to my great appreciation for the mission of ITC. In addition, I have been able to grow with the developments of our organization. I now have a position in which I get to work in the Netherlands as well as abroad. Presently, I am also involved in the University Council, where I can contribute based on my years of experience from within the organisation. All in all I think I have a terrific job."
Is talent development getting the attention it deserves at ITC?
"People often find it difficult to come up with ideas about their own development, or to talk openly about things they do in that regard. I think that's a shame, because talking about talent development can stimulate other people or help them to cross thresholds. It's great that at ITC we are given so much space to follow training courses or engage in other personal development activities. However, in many cases the final result stays limited to individual development. Perhaps in an academic environment this is even more so than elsewhere. In science we have traditionally been more individually focused. Scientists mainly develop substantively and cognitively, with the importance of soft skills not always being recognized. If we were more forthcoming in sharing our experiences in personal development, the organization would benefit as well. That's why I'm glad that talent management at ITC has really been put on the agenda.”
What can you as Educational Manager do for ITC's educators?
"A few years ago we at ITC, as part of a pilot within the UT, started looking at how to better value teaching – and I mean value in the broadest sense of the word, not only in terms of financial rewards but also of the time and space a person is given to develop education. A concrete result of this way of thinking is STEP – Stimulating Teacher Evaluation and Professionalization. With this project we give teachers opportunities for development on relatively small themes that can benefit education. Of course, teachers have always been allowed to do things like that, but with STEP we sort of institutionalized it. As far as I'm concerned, formally and explicitly giving people the opportunity to develop is also a way of granting recognition and rewards."