Diederik Oostdijk is a professor at the School of Humanities and talks briefly about his experience with the “Slowing Down, Narratives & Connecting” retreat at the VU Centre for Teaching & Learning.
No Pressure, No Targets
The wonderful thing about the professors’ retreat “Slowing Down, Narratives & Connecting” is that there is no fixed program; no target set for you, or goal you need to achieve. As the title indicates, it is about taking stock of what is happening all around you, and within you.
Gentle Guidance, Deep Reflection
Ironically, many of us, including me, did arrive in Vught with an implicit question, but that question materialized only after we settled in, connected, and shared stories. The question that arose was: “What does it mean to be a professor at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam?” Many questions connected to that one popped up, different ones for all of us. Guided gently but intelligently by Marieke Parijs and Amrita Das, we set out to find answers to these questions. It may take us a while, but we’ll get there.
A Gift for All Professors
I would recommend this course to all professors who feel stressed, and who feel there is no time – which is probably all of us. Yet, as the Dutch poet Vasalis wrote: “There is no time, or is there nothing but time?”
Interested in this programme as well?
Visit the Slowing Down, Narratives & Connecting webpage.
