My apologies but this post is going to be long! My apologies too, to all those people who were considering applying for the EUREC masters in 2010, that I didn’t provide an update sooner.
Well it has been a long haul concerning my letter of complaint and, as far as I see it, there are still many outstanding points. I’m currently waiting for a response from Ms Paola Mazzucchelli (director general of the EUREC agency), representing the EUREC Masters Steering Committee, to my latest email. Yes, there have been a number of emails between her and myself and the intention of this post is to put up our email interactions, word for word. So brace yourself, it could get boring for some but will hopefully serve its purpose for others by telling the full story from both sides.
First lets go back to the initial instalment where I boldly stated my claims on the 25th of October 2009. In addition to my blog post, I sent the following email to all the members of the EUREC Masters steering committee, EUREC administrators at each of the member universities as well as the 2007-2008 and 2008-2009 EUREC students:
From: Roy Emmerich
Date: 2009/10/25
Subject: Open Letter of Complaint Concerning the EUREC Master ProgrammeDear Ms. Mazzucchelli, Mr. Golba, Prof. Schmid, Prof. Mayer, Prof. Eames, Prof. Valero, Prof. Zervos, Prof. Pearsall, EUREC administrators, EUREC 2007 and EUREC 2008 students,Attached please find the PDF document entitled:
eurec_masters_programme_open_letter_of_complaint-final.pdf
Yours sincerely
Roy EmmerichEUREC masters student 2008-2009
I received a mixed reaction from my fellow students. Some were very supportive while others were somewhat aghast at my straightforward approach to the matter and said that I was being disrespectful. This initial email of mine was shortly followed up by a response from Ms Mazzucchelli two days later:
———- Message Begin ———-
From: Paola Mazzucchelli
Date: 2009/10/27
Subject: RE: Open Letter of Complaint Concerning the EUREC Master Programme
- EUREC Master website: we have, indeed, been victim of a virus attack during the months of June and July. The situation should be solved by now, and we have also introduced a stronger filter, so that passwords are no more sent automatically to everyone, but a previous approval is needed. However, if you still receive spamming from the master email, please, let me know
- EUREC staff dedicated to the Master course: since August, as you will have noticed, I am personally answering to your emails and requests
- If you need some additional documents (e.g. the list of projects), you can ask me directly. The fact that some documents are not made generally available depends on the fact that we want to keep track of whom has access to them
From: Roy Emmerich
Date: 2009/11/4
Subject: Re: Open Letter of Complaint Concerning the EUREC Master Programme
[Ms. Mazzucchelli --> all]
…
you at our best.
[Roy]
From what Ms. Mazzucchelli said in her initial response, extracted above, one would assume this was the first sign of dissatisfaction of this nature, certainly this year, and possibly ever before by EUREC students.
Following the release of my open letter of complaint, it has come to my attention that a very similar letter was compiled by the 2005/2006 EUREC group.
Just to refresh your memories I have attached this letter entitled:
2005-2006_eurec_group_criticism_final.pdf
Roy Emmerich
EUREC masters student 2008-2009
- the admission of guilt on a number of issues I raised,
- as well as the following quote: “However, we understand that it is far from being exhaustive and touching upon all the points that you have raised.“
From: Paola Mazzucchelli
Date: 1 December 2009 13:35
Subject: RE: Open Letter of Complaint Concerning the EUREC Master Programme
Dear Roy,
Please, see attached the requested reply to your complaint letter.
We hope that it can be used as a basis for a fruitful discussion on 14th December 2009.
Kind regards
Paola Mazzucchelli
Secretary General
EUREC Agency
rue d´Arlon 63-67
B-1040 Brussels
Belgium
———- Message End ———-
Things got a bit hectic at this point as it was nearing the time of thesis hand in so I was unable to prepare properly for the meeting on the 14th of December 2009. It was in no way productive! It basically ended up in a slanging match with team Spain making a spirited attack claiming I didn’t know what I was talking about and team England saying that the core modules at the various universities (Loughborough, Oldenburg, Zaragoza and Ecole des Mines) were never intended to be the same. So I left Brussels with a heavy heart concerning these matters but was still resolute in wanting to find proper answers to my questions. Clearly this is an emotive topic and maybe the conversation is best conducted at a distance via email where people can carefully construct responses. So over the festive season I let things simmer down and burst out of the blocks with the following in mid February:
———- Message Begin ———-
From: Roy Emmerich
Date: 17 February 2010 14:05
Subject: Re: Open Letter of Complaint Concerning the EUREC Master Programme
To: Paola Mazzucchelli
Dear Ms Mazzucchelli,
On 1 December 2009 12:35, Paola Mazzucchelli wrote:
> Please, see attached the requested reply to your complaint letter.
> We hope that it can be used as a basis for a fruitful discussion on 14th December 2009.
[Roy]
I trust you had a restful festive season and have now had the time to settle back into the 2010 work year? I would very much like to update my blog with the most recent activities surrounding my letter of complaint which I wrote last year.
As I’m sure you are aware, many of the points in my letter were not discussed during this meeting. I would therefore like to offer you the opportunity, in conjunction with the EUREC Steering Committee, to supply me with a full, written response addressing each of my points in turn.
As I see it, the following items still need to be thoroughly addressed by the EUREC Masters Programme Steering Committee:
1. Course accreditation
2. Course fees
3. Poor website
4. Rubrics for core and specialisation providers
5. Keeping lecture notes updated
6. Finding a thesis
7. Practical aspects of the course (e.g. laboratories)
What I would really like you and the rest of the steering committee to realise is that my complaint isn’t just about a list of issues I have with the way things are managed. There is a higher goal to all of this. Essentially this goal is for the EUREC Masters in Renewable Energy to become the best degree for renewable energy training that is humanly possible to achieve. I think it is quite possible.
However from my perspective, the only certain thing I got from the meeting on 14 December 2009 is that the EUREC masters is made up of a consortium of universities, essentially following their own path, with no shared plan guiding the development of the degree, with the EUREC agency merely supplying the logo and fulfilling an administrative role. Instead I expected EUREC to be the driving force behind the development of the degree. I see no definitive leader of the programme. Without a leader you will get lost. In fact I think you (EUREC) probably lost your master programme visionary somewhere along the way and continue to muddle along somehow. This is hardly a recipe for success. Or at least this is the way I see things.
What frustrates me most is the lack of real engagement from the EUREC side. You say you are concerned but I don’t feel it. So please, if you want me to write something positive on my blog, respond to my letter with some form of concern, some iota of gusto or passion. Please!
One last thing. Next time there is a meeting where something as important as the points above are discussed, please have the decency to sit down, look the person in the eye and at least pretend you are concentrating! Somebody else can serve the beers.
Many thanks
Roy
P.S. I will leave it to you to forward this email to the rest of the
Steering Committee.
———- Message End ———-
I was expecting a terse response after an email like this and I certainly got it:
———- Message Begin ———-
From: Paola Mazzucchelli
Date: 18 February 2010 16:32
Subject: RE: Open Letter of Complaint Concerning the EUREC Master Programme
To: Roy Emmerich
Dear Roy,
To my knowledge, all your issues were discussed.
You also received an official letter from us sometime ago explaining the actions that we were taking and that you promised to upload on your blog.
Kind regards,
Paola Mazzucchelli
EUREC Agency
Secretary General
———- Message End ———-
To which I responded in detail pointing out, what I thought was a very clear manner, how my points had in no way been adequately answered:
———- Message Begin ———-
From: Roy Emmerich
Date: 25 February 2010 23:56
Subject: Re: Open Letter of Complaint Concerning the EUREC Master Programme
To: Paola Mazzucchelli
Dear Ms Mazzucchelli,
[Ms Mazzucchelli]
> To my knowledge, all your issues were discussed.
[Roy]
Only some aspects were discussed at the meeting in Brussels on 14 December 2009 but, from my perspective, there was certainly no clear consensus reached. Furthermore, your letter of response only goes so far as to acknowledge guilt on a number of the points I raised but I don’t think this is sufficient. As the letter of complaint from the 2005-2006 EUREC students attests, many of the same issues were raised then and still no improvement is visible. Therefore, below is a list of the questions I would like answered in a clear and unambiguous way with certain requests for concrete information, ideas and timelines. Once this information has been provided I will leave you in peace and then you (the EUREC Steering Committee) can be held accountable by those students who come after me and hopefully also by the newly formed alumni group.
My questions:
1. In your response letter you mention a EUREC Master equivalence certificate. You mention that this letter from EUREC is “fully
recognised in their own country.”
1.1 Please substantiate this claim with written proof?
1.2 Would the EUREC Master equivalence certificate be recognised by other institutions in these countries? Please substantiate this claim with written proof?
1.3 Would the EUREC Master equivalence certificate be recognised by the rest of Europe? Please substantiate this claim with written proof?
1.4 Would the EUREC Master equivalence certificate be recognised by the rest of the world? Please substantiate this claim with written proof?
1.5 If you are unable to substantiate questions 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 and 1.4, may I ask when the course will be accredited, either individually in each of the consortium member countries or via a blanket accord such as the Bologna Process?
2. How much money does EUREC require to administer each student for the duration of the course?
3. In your response letter you acknowledge the poor state of the EUREC masters website. By when and how will the website layout and content be improved?
4. In your response letter you acknowledge that EUREC needs to assist students more with finding project placements.
4.1 How will new students be timeously provided with the spreadsheet that you maintain which holds the details of previous EUREC master student projects without having to ask for it personally?
4.2 In what other ways will EUREC provide further assistance for project placements and by when will this support be in place?
5. Will EUREC provide a searchable, online database of all publicly available, completed master theses? Here is a good example of how a competitor is doing this:
Theses title list
http://newenergy.tuwien.ac.at/english/students/master_theses/
Full text download:
http://tinyurl.com/yekp7cu
6. It is clear the content taught by the various core providers, as well as the teaching methods used, is very different.
6.1 Is there an intention by EUREC to iron out these differences by moving towards a common rubric for the core providers? If so, how and by when will this be achieved?
6.2 If this is not the case, how and by when will these differences be conveyed to prospective students so that they are able to make an informed decision regarding which core provider would suit them best?
6.3 Is there any intention to supply a more detailed course breakdown for each of the specialisation modules so that students are able to make a more informed decision regarding which specialisation would suit them best or whether this degree is able to meet their expectations? If so, how and by when will this be done?
7. Is there any intention for EUREC to get to know exactly what is taught by each of the member institutions and to systematically evaluate the quality of the teaching and materials or will this continue to be based purely on a trust relationship as stated by Prof. Mayer at the meeting in Brussels on 14 December 2009?
Many thanks for your understanding on these matters which are so important to me,
Regards
Roy
P.S. Once again I will leave it to you to forward this email to the remainder of the EUREC Steering Committee.
———- Message End ———-
At this point it certainly seemed to me EUREC was playing a political strategy game with me, hoping, now that I had graduated, I would just go away and shut the hell up. Well I can be a rather determined bloke and I would really like to bring this discussion to some meaningful conclusion. As usual Ms Mazzucchelli humoured me with a response:
———- Message Begin ———-
From: Paola Mazzucchelli
Date: 11 March 2010 19:54
Subject: RE: Open Letter of Complaint Concerning the EUREC Master Programme
To: Roy Emmerich
1.1 http://www.master.eurec.be/node/14
1.2 http://www.master.eurec.be/node/14
1.3 http://www.master.eurec.be/node/14
1.4 http://www.master.eurec.be/node/14. We have provided a European Diploma Supplement to different non-EU students who applied to PhDs outside Europe (e.g. Canada)
2. Total cost for EUREC is 9.000EUR for EU students and 11.000EUR for non-EU students.
3. Content will be improved/updated before the beginning of next AY in September/October 2010. Changes to the layout will be discussed in 2011.
4.1 They’ll have a projects list by the end of March 2010 with all additional information on project regulations
4.2 We sent information on students (degree, core, spec, field of interest…) to all our contacts by mid-February requesting them to contact those students who looked interesting to them
5. This might be discussed in 2011. It is not a priority in 2010.
6.1 This is not the point of the EUREC Master, as you were told in December. The core semester provides the students with the same level of knowledge on RETs to then move to the chosen spec. The fact that no students coming from the same core have repeatedly failed the chosen spec. clearly shows that our objective is reached
6.2 It will be made clearer on the website
6.3 Core universities are supposed to additionally provide help to the students on the choice of specializations. We will have the universities to provide us with updated course content to be uploaded on the website before the beginning of next AY
7. This is regularly discussed and done by the Steering Committee+ through students’ feedbacks collected before the end of the course
———- Message End ———-
During this period I went on a long holiday back home to South Africa and, upon my return to Germany, started a new job. This topic naturally fell to the bottom of my priority list and took a while to surface again. But when it did I responded to Ms. Mazzucchelli with an email stating that I was unfortunately still not satisfied with her answers:
———- Message Begin ———-
From: Roy Emmerich
Date: 7 June 2010 01:38
Subject: Re: Open Letter of Complaint Concerning the EUREC Master Programme
To: Paola Mazzucchelli
Dear Ms Mazzucchelli,
My apologies for the slow response. I’ve recently returned from a holiday to South Africa and am busy settling into my new job. Life got a lot busier again. It reminds me a bit of Oldenburg.
[Roy 1]
1. In your response letter you mention a EUREC Master equivalence certificate. You mention that this letter from EUREC is “fully recognised in their own country.”
1.1 Please substantiate this claim with written proof?
[Ms Mazzucchelli]
http://www.master.eurec.be/node/14
[Roy 2]
I would still like to be able to download, from the EUREC website, 4 official documents from the 4 core universities which state that the degree has been through some form of accreditation overseen by recognised groups within each member country which are independent of the people who are involved with the degree.
As an example, I will quote section 8.3 (Approval/Accreditation of Programmes and Degrees in the German Higher Education System) from a document which was included in the info pack handed to me at my graduation by Edu Knagge.
“To ensure quality and comparability of qualifications, the organization of studies and general degree requirements have to conform to principles and regulations established by the Standing Conference of Ministers of Education and Cultural Affairs of the Länder in the Federal Republic of Germany (KMK). In 1999, a system of accreditation for programmes of study has become operational under the control of an Accreditation Council at national level. All new programmes have to be accredited under this scheme; after a successful accreditation they receive the quality-label of the Accreditation Council.”
Now, I would really appreciate being able to download a document from this German Accreditation Council stating that my degree, based in Oldenburg, has been approved. Is this possible?
Another question. Is the German Accreditation Council aware of the EUREC Master equivalence certificate?
[Roy]
2. How much money does EUREC require to administer each student for the duration of the course?
[Ms Mazzucchelli]
Total cost for EUREC is 9.000EUR for EU students and 11.000EUR for non-EU students.
[Roy 2]
Either you don’t understand my question (highly unlikely) or you are trying to sidestep it (i.e. not answer it clearly). What I want to know is the following. The EUREC office in Brussels has to pay for office space, staff, stationary, electricity, water, etc. to administer the EUREC master programme. I would like to know how much this cost amounts to as a Euro/student number.
Let me be even clearer. Consider my case. I paid 11000 Euro for the course. Of this fee, Oldenburg was paid 2300 Euro, Kassel was paid 2500 Euro and the rest (6200 Euro) went to the EUREC office. I would like to know how much of the money that the EUREC office kept was used on administration tasks? I’m expecting it to be a fixed number as per the fixed amounts that go to the universities. I’m also expecting it to be MUCH less than the amount the universities need to teach us as the amount of work the EUREC office puts into administration can in no way be compared to the work the universities put into teaching the students.
Let’s be outrageous and assume all students in my year were European and went to Loughborough and Northumbria. Total fees paid per student would be 9000 Euro. University costs would be 2 x 3650 = 7300 Euro, leaving 1700 Euro per student for EUREC admin fees. Now this is the worst case scenario. I know that a very high percentage of your students are non-European and very few of them attend the Loughborough, UK core (due mainly to the high cost, only 2 out of 36 did the core there in my year).
So what I’m trying to find out from you is where all the money goes and whether you know where it goes or whether it is just spent without having a firm grasp on what it is being spent on or whether it could be spent on better things. I want a fixed number, essentially a budget, something that you would have drawn up at the beginning of the year to get a grip on your expenses. Do you have this information available? I hope my question and my motives are crystal clear now?
[Roy]
3. In your response letter you acknowledge the poor state of the EUREC masters website. By when and how will the website layout and content be improved?
[Ms Mazzucchelli]
Content will be improved/updated before the beginning of next AY in September/October 2010. Changes to the layout will be discussed in 2011.
[Roy 2]
Upon reflection I realise words like “improve” are qualitative and therefore very difficult to measure. Is there a more concrete yardstick you can provide by which this progress can be measured?
[Roy]
4. In your response letter you acknowledge that EUREC needs to assist students more with finding project placements.
4.1 How will new students be timeously provided with the spreadsheet that you maintain which holds the details of previous EUREC master student projects without having to ask for it personally?
[Ms Mazzucchelli]
They’ll have a projects list by the end of March 2010 with all additional information on project regulations
[Roy 2]
Would it not make sense to provide students this list upon registration? That way they would have more time to investigate options. Another idea would be to encourage them to sign up for the free online magazine, Renewable Energy World (http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/magazine). This contains lots of adverts for companies in the RE industry as well as being an instant window into their chosen new world. This is an easy, “no effort on your part” suggestion.
[Roy]
4.2 In what other ways will EUREC provide further assistance for project placements and by when will this support be in place?
[Ms Mazzucchelli]
We sent information on students (degree, core, spec, field of interest…) to all our contacts by mid-February requesting them to contact those students who looked interesting to them
[Roy 2]
I don’t think this is an effective approach. I don’t know of anybody who has successfully landed a project from the EUREC contacts. Maybe you need to rethink your approach. Why not ask the students themselves how you could best assist them? After all they are the ones needing the help. It is best to ask the current batch for feedback each year around the early October mark, before things get too busy near the submission date. Feedback from this year could then be evaluated and implemented for the following year. This iterative approach will eventually result in the most effective help for students. And if the students see you actually being helpful they will be more willing to give suggestions.
[Roy]
5. Will EUREC provide a searchable, online database of all publicly available, completed master theses? Here is a good example of how a competitor is doing this:
Theses title list
http://newenergy.tuwien.ac.at/english/students/master_theses/
Full text download:
http://tinyurl.com/yekp7cu
[Ms Mazzucchelli]
This might be discussed in 2011. It is not a priority in 2010.
[Roy 2]
Okay, I have put this deadline on my calendar to remind me to contact you for feedback by the end of February 2011.
[Roy]
6. It is clear the content taught by the various core providers, as well as the teaching methods used, is very different.
6.1 Is there an intention by EUREC to iron out these differences by moving towards a common rubric for the core providers? If so, how and by when will this be achieved?
[Ms Mazzucchelli]
This is not the point of the EUREC Master, as you were told in December. The core semester provides the students with the same level of knowledge on RETs to then move to the chosen specialisation.
[Roy 2]
Can you not see you are contradicting yourself? I say the material taught in the cores should be standardised or at least made similar. You say it is not the point for the cores to be the same/similar, but then go on to state, “The core semester provides students with the same level of knowledge of RETs.” Now this statement is complete nonsense! This is absolute mis-information Ms Mazzucchelli. The cores could not be more dissimilar than they currently are. It is quite clear the various programmes have developed in complete isolation of each other and are masquerading as one, unified course behind the EUREC logo. At best this is a wish, at worst an out and out lie!
If it is not your intention to standardise the core modules then I’d strongly suggest you make it abundantly clear to prospective students that the cores are completely different and were never intended to be the same. It should be made clear that each university decides independently what is taught and how it is taught. It is then your (EUREC’s) responsibility to get each core to provide a detailed curriculum saying exactly what is taught and how it is taught so that students can choose which core they would like to attend.
Anything less would be misleading.
[Roy]
6.3 Is there any intention to supply a more detailed course breakdown for each of the specialisation modules so that students are able to make a more informed decision regarding which specialisation would suit them best or whether this degree is able to meet their expectations? If so, how and by when will this be done?
[Ms Mazzucchelli]
Core universities are supposed to additionally provide help to the students on the choice of specializations. We will have the universities to provide us with updated course content to be uploaded on the website before the beginning of next AY
[Roy 2]
So the deadline for the applications for the next academic year are at the end of July 2010 if I’m not mistaken? Has any progress been made in this regard?
[Roy]
7. Is there any intention for EUREC to get to know exactly what is taught by each of the member institutions and to systematically evaluate the quality of the teaching and materials or will this continue to be based purely on a trust relationship as stated by Prof. Mayer at the meeting in Brussels on 14 December 2009?
[Ms Mazzucchelli]
This is regularly discussed and done by the Steering Committee+ through students’ feedbacks collected before the end of the course
[Roy 2]
I don’t think this is sufficient. I believe this information would strongly support my point above, in providing a detailed breakdown for each specialisation for prospective students.
The feeling I get is that the EUREC office doesn’t actually know what gets taught in either the core or specialisation modules. In detail that is. You may have a “hand wavy” overview but I don’t think you really know what gets taught at an in-depth level. What worries me even more is that you don’t have the technical capacity to know what should be taught or at least provide educated suggestions for improvement. There is no committee who can provide sound advice on how the programmes should evolve over a period of time.
Let me give you an example. The Kassel specialisation was set up mainly by two men, namely Ingo Stadler and Franz Kinninger. Naturally this was under the guidance of Prof. Jürgen Schmid and I presume Telsche Nielsen was there to offer her advice, albeit from a technically unqualified standpoint. Now if we look at this department today, you will notice that not one of these people is still in the employ of Kassel University. As far as I know there has been very little development of the course work since it was set up by Messers Stadler and Kinninger in 2002. You, Ms Mazzucchelli, are also very new to the EUREC office and are probably unaware of these facts. I’m also not certain who is responsible for making sure the Kassel specialisation is kept up to date. Is it just the Kassel employees? Or should the EUREC office somehow be involved too? From my vantage point it looks like a house of cards waiting to be blown over by the very slightest of breezes.
Can you tell me what sort of knowledge transfer has occurred from Prof. Schmid and Telsche Nielsen to the new incumbent, Prof Dr. Debora Coll-Mayor? Will she just take up the reigns and keep things as they are or will the course be changed completely? Do you care? Should you care? I think you should care deeply about what goes on in Kassel. In fact you should be doing a lot more than just caring, you should be making sure the content adheres to some master plan that is frequently reviewed by some or other board of expert renewable energy engineers convened by the EUREC office. It’s these types of aspects that unsettle me Ms Mazzucchelli. You are at the whim of the people who head up each core and specialisation module. You (EUREC) provide absolutely no quality control and I don’t think you are currently able to. This is an unacceptable situation to me and unfortunately, until I see a change for the better, I will continue to encourage people to look wider when considering enrolling in the EUREC master programme.
I look forward to your response with anticipation.
Regards
Roy
P.S. Please note that I intend publishing this email conversation on my blog when it reaches a logical conclusion.
———- Message End ———-
And if you’ve managed to follow things down to here then you really are a keen bean! Well done. But if you’ve been paying attention then you will notice that this saga is far from over. I will continue to push until either I get to a point where I’m making some headway or hit a brick wall of resistance. Either way you will hear from me sooner or later. I at least hope this will provide some (a lot perhaps?) feedback about what has been going on behind the scenes.
Hello Roy,
Just wanted to drop in my line of support. As is very clear, things are indeed getting messy with this venture of yours.
I remember you asked me for my feedback on my experience with EUREC. Well one of the reasons I never got around to giving it was simply that I found that I did not care enough.
What I needed was lots of support when I had my visa issues but barely got any, apart from “maybe the people at Oldenburg will be able to help you better with the process since they are in Germany”.
While I am not saying they were bound by law to help me out, I will say that neither were the people over at Oldenburg. But they sure helped me out a great deal on a personal level.
Now, I ended up studying a course that should’ve cost around 3000 Euros for over 9000 euros…. again, legally this is probably all ok (I did sign a bunch of forms), but all in all it left a bad flavour in my mouth. However, I must say that Prof. Pearsall over at Newcastle was helpful and forthcoming with her replies.
While I always knew that Visa issues are usually tough to intervene with, I would have definitely expected much more support from Eurec, the people that I wired my money to.
This episode was something that cant be helping Eurecs reputation in my books… I consider my feedback a very valuable use of my time and intellect and I’d rather invest it in something else.
Maybe the key lies in being associated with one university that has real professors and teachers and relationships because evidently, that is what make the difference. I am guessing the people over at Eurec have good intentions too – but sometimes that is not enough.
Good luck with your task and I can truly say that if I had such a blog to read before I came to Europe, it would have made my life much easier.
- Ankur
Just for clarity, Ankur signed up to do the EUREC masters (core in Oldenburg, specialisation in Newcastle). Near the end of his core module he applied for a UK visa (being an Indian citizen). The British embassy in Germany were less than helpful. EUREC weren’t interested in intervening on his behalf. In the end he was allowed to switch to the PPRE masters in Oldenburg.
Something to remember about those (figurative) brick walls and some more, Roy. Advice from Randy Pausch’s “The Last Lecture” I’m sure there is something here for everyone; the students, instructors and administrators. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BODHsU3hDo4
Brick walls let us show our dedication–they are there to separate us from those who really don’t really want to achieve their childhood dreams. (I REALLY NEEDED THIS ONE when I was immersed at my studies at Loughborough.)
Don’t bail, the best of the gold is at the bottom of the barrels of crap.
Get a feedback loop, and listen to it.
Show gratitude.
Don’t complain, work harder.
You can’t get there alone–tell the truth; be earnest; apologize when you screw up; focus on others, not yourself.
Be good at something, it makes you valuable.
Find the best in everybody—keep waiting, no matter how long it takes for people to show their good side.
Be prepared. Luck is where preparation meets opporunity.
Lead your life the right way, the dreams will come to you.
Features not bugs.
Find your passion and follow it. You will not find that passion in things. It’s grounded in people and in those relationships you have with those people.
Talent does what it can. Genius does what it must.
Hello Roy ,
I’ve been an ardent follower of your blog ever since I stumbled upon it while researching EUREC degree. I was hoping you could spare a couple minutes to read through my pre- applications thoughts and questions and would be good enough to chime in with your perspectives and experiences.
My background, in short:
- BSc. from DePaul University, Chicago, IL with a double major in Computer Science, International Studies with dual minors in History and Theater
- 3 years working with AT&T, Chicago as a Project Manager on Project U-Verse
- 2 years as a Movie Producer with the Indian Film Industry’s leading entity, UTV Motion Pictures (Crazy career change, I know, but the opportunity was once in the lifetime )
A few years ago, while on a visit to Bombay, India, I was shocked at the lack of attention to the reliable electrification of 3rd world rural areas. I decided to teach myself about alternative, non polluting sources of energy. Initially, I experimented on a farmhouse, where I designed a solar/ wind hybrid powerplant. In 2006, finding ready suppliers for micro generators in India was not easy. I started with the installation of a 1KW Southwest micro turbine @ 40ft. Then, we added 200 Watts of PV cells, charge controllers and a local inverter & battery pack.
This pilot system depended too heavily on wind, which is not constant inland. My next attempt was at a secondary village school, approximately an hour’s drive outside Bombay. This system used a 50/50 wind & solar power generation ratio, for a total system output of 1KW. The results were far better and the school became the first in the region to sport a computer and science lab that runs entirely on RE. Enrollment at the school rose 300% in the subsequent year.
I guess thats what I like about the profession. At the risk of sounding like a peachy idealist, I like the concept of clean energy and the positive impact it can have.
Which leads me to the following questions about the program:
1) I know, from you blog, that you weren’t too happy about the program offered in Kassel. Its clear that you really recommend Oldenburg but could you elaborate what exactly makes it a better experience than Loughborough, or the other cores offered?
2) What sort of job profile does Eurec prepare you for?
3) From your blog, there doesn’t seem to be a very aggressive recruitment drive for Eurec students. How does one find employment upon graduation?
4) There isn’t much information about coursework on there website. Is the structure more classroom biased or do you learn outside the classroom as well? If it varies then I guess I’d be most interested in which core/specialization doesn’t rely on just textbooks?
5) Is English a problem at any of the institutes?
6) I guess Ankur would be better poised to answer this, but are the campuses helpful with Visa issues?
Thats it for now. Looking forward to your reply!
-Aviv
Roy, what I understand reading your blog is mainly that you are openly threatening a non profit organisation in order to get some money from them and publicly insulting people who are taking time to get your feedback and giving you answers… Is it really the message you want to express ?
Hello Bertrand,
Thanks for taking the time to comment on my blog. What you surmise is not at all what I am attempting to express.
Firstly, the only threat I can really deliver is to state my point of view in a public forum such as this and let others, namely prospective students, decide for themselves. If EUREC is feeling threatened, and they have nothing to hide, then the facts that I ask them to provide, as answers to my questions, should speak for themselves. As yet I have had many promises of extensive answers to my questions but to date nothing that would constitute anything of the sort. In other words, give me proper answers to my questions and then I will go away. I just want the truth to be told. It’s as simple as that.
Secondly, about insulting. It really is a matter of perspective. I have made many sacrifices to get to where I am today. I feel insulted because the EUREC course cost me an awful lot of money and I expected the standard of education, as well as a number of other aspects, to be of a much higher standard. I therefore feel the EUREC course, and the promises of excellence, are not a true representation of what is implemented on the ground. Therefore, being generally disappointed, I have set out to give my side of the story for those who wish to find it. It’s just my point of view but I think I am at least entitled to one and to be able to freely express it?
Thirdly, about the money. I have no legal claim to the money. The request for a refund was merely my way of saying to EUREC that I don’t think what students are getting is worth the price tag, especially for those originating outside Europe. That’s all. Although if they did offer me a refund as requested, I certainly wouldn’t turn it down
Fourthly, about feedback. This is something that should be taken on board and reacted upon. EUREC is in possession of sufficient feedback from other students in batches before mine which point in a very similar direction to my (public) letter of complaint. It is a pity these alumni have chosen to keep their complaints/suggestions private. What is clear, however, is that nothing has been done in response. It is my impression that this unfortunate lack of response by EUREC has to be highlighted in a public forum.
Fifthly, about time. If the EUREC administrators had taken the time to adequately respond to my request for information in the first place then it wouldn’t have come to this point. By beating around the bush for more than a year, I get the impression they do not respect the views of students and I suspect they have something to hide, hoping that after a time I will just go away and leave them in peace. They are in possession of a list of questions that I seek answers to, as well as how I expect them to be answered (i.e. the level of information I require, especially concerning finances). All I ask is for my questions to be answered.
I sincerely hope this will clarify my standpoint and that you are able to appreciate my point of view?
Once again I thank you for being bold enough to openly question what I am doing and I encourage you to continue this debate with me here.
Regards
Roy
Err, I am sorry to be the one to tell that the king is naked but this website looks to me more like something made to scare wannabe students rather than a website looking to express someone’s point of view.
When I look at this letter I don’t even see one single real question… It is only a list of “I want this, give me that, I know better than you”. And actually having worked in the past with European intercultural exchanges programmes, a lot of things asked would just lead to a total failure if applied to a European experience. There is a reason why the European Union motto is “United in diversity” and that the principle of subsidiarity is such an important thing. There is also a large part which I find totally irrelevant and feels like they have been added only to fill some space (launching a personal crusade because of a spam received in a mail box…REALLY ?) and as you already said the comments which were right on the target were already known since two years meaning that actions were already on the way as Paola told you…
If I may give an advice, I know it’s really easy to think that everything is linked to a global conspiracy theory but if people don’t react the way you want sometimes it may just be because the idea is not so clever, or that it is so obvious that people had already thought about it and are already acting. And BTW if people don’t want you to quote them, it can also be because they simply don’t agree with you and not because they don’t agree with your methods. Isn’t it easy to understand that there is a huge line between telling people they can do even better and telling them that they suck ?
Finally regarding the content taught in the master class, if I need to make a selection of profiles, someone with a Eurec master will pass my first selection based on the technical skills because of his training and the second based on his social skills because of the european experience. I can tell you that this will not be the case of every Renewable Energy study programmes because I have seen a share of people who went out of a university (even ones from the top20 of the Shanghai ranking) with a degree in “renewable energy” and still won’t trust them to do anything other than a powerpoint presentation…
You can’t of course be perfect on a field that changes as fast as RE but I find encouraging the will of Eurec to take into account the advice they can get from the field… Also I find particulary convenient the reactivity in creating new specialisations immediately when a new need from the RE industry arise and the easy access you get to the european scientific community working on RE.
Of course the truly European experience will not suit everyone and can be a cause of a cultural shock and of course that means that people should prepare this experience (none Alumni that I know has ever turned down a request to explain what are the differences between the core providers though) but I think it is what you should expect facing everything that lays “outside of the box”…
[Bertrand]
this website looks to me more like something made to scare wannabe students…
[Roy]
Well, just like me, you are also entitled to your opinions Bertrand. So if you think this site is a scare tactic then so be it. I believe it is an attempt to make prospective students aware that everything isn’t as it may seem and that they should really make sure the EUREC course is worth it for them.
[Bertrand]
There is a reason why the European Union motto is “United in diversity” and that the principle of subsidiarity is such an important thing.
[Roy]
Coming from South Africa I have had my fare share of diversity and I believe it is very healthy. But, when diversity is the downfall of truth and honesty, then I am afraid it is the diversity that needs to take second place. In this context I don’t believe EUREC has truly and honestly represented the way the masters has been structured and the way it runs. From the outside it appears to be one homogeneous course run by a consortium of universities. That it most certainly is not. EUREC claims to be putting out students who are of an equal standing. In other words they have more or less gone through the same education process. That is most certainly not true. The differences in education content and quality between the various core universities is stark. So, it is from this philosophical standpoint that I have embarked. Above diversity stands integrity. It’s as simple as that.
[Bertrand]
(launching a personal crusade because of a spam received in a mail box…REALLY ?)
[Roy]
If you can’t be trusted to accomplish small tasks, how can you be trusted with larger ones? Once again it is a simple truth of this world. If EUREC wants to earn the respect of the RE community for being an RE educator of repute, then they had better get things properly organised. It is such a simple concept to grasp Bertrand. Learn to crawl before you try to walk. Learn to walk before you try to run. Learn to accomplish basic organisational skills and marketing (i.e. the EUREC website) to at least give the impression you know what you are doing!
[Bertrand]
and as you already said the comments which were right on the target were already known since two years meaning that actions were already on the way…
[Roy]
Known yes, on the way to being addressed, most certainly NOT! Among the people who have privately indicated their support to me, is an email from somebody who was in the very first batch of students. After reading my letter they were rather surprised that my complaints were so similar to the suggestions that were put forward at the end of the first academic year. And then there was the letter of complaint submitted in 2005 by a group of 15 students which also contained very similar suggestions to mine. And who knows how many individual complaints have been received?
So instead of being known for two years, I would like to say EUREC has known about these issues for at least five years and has probably been aware of from quite a long time before that. To me it is clear, EUREC is in need of a bit of external pressure to keep their clients in sharper focus.
[Bertrand]
Isn’t it easy to understand that there is a huge line between telling people they can do even better and telling them that they suck?
[Roy]
Yes I do understand this. But I believe that plenty of others have already done the former and nothing has happened. Now it is time for the latter. Academia is not known for its client oriented service and I think they should become more so.
Look at it from this perspective. If you go out and buy some or other device for 11000€ and it doesn’t work as advertised, how would you react? Would you write a polite letter telling the company it is okay the device you bought doesn’t work as advertised and they can keep your money. Would you tell them they have done an okay job in manufacturing the device and due to diversity you understand not all devices work properly and wish them well in improving their processes when developing the next model? As for me, not only do I expect the device to work as advertised, but for that kind of money I expect, no I demand, the very highest quality.
[Bertrand]
…won’t trust them to do anything other than a powerpoint presentation.
[Roy]
I fully agree with you. An all round education, which includes the social aspect, is what counts. And that is why it is important for the programme to be truly dynamic in the way it imparts knowledge. There are many ways in which this can be done. One way is for the other cores to learn from the PPRE programme at Oldenburg University how to put on a truly dynamic, educational, hands on laboratory circuit that teaches the students in a way they will never forget the content. I think you may also be aware of the discussion I have started in the EUREC LinkedIn group that proposes other ways of making the masters more dynamic. A lecture series, although necessary, is certainly not a dynamic way to teach and that is what the EUREC masters mainly relies on to impart knowledge. What is innovative about that?
[Bertrand]
Also I find particulary convenient the reactivity in creating new specialisations immediately when a new need from the RE industry arise…
[Roy]
And then they leave a trail of existing specialisations in their wake that lack any form of master plan on how to keep lecture and lab materials updated and relevant. My approach would be to properly care for and nurture what you already have before heading out to create more mediocre stuff you aren’t able to care for.
[Bertrand]
but I think it is what you should expect facing everything that lays “outside of the box”…
[Roy]
Now that is funny. So you call the differences between the core universities “outside the box”? From where I am sitting it is just a case of bad planning and an unwillingness to learn from each other. Just one of the downsides of inter European cultural relations, that most certainly does need attention. And I feel EUREC does attend to these tensions very well by forcing intercultural mingling. In that sense I consider myself ahead of the (European) pack. I am willing to learn from anybody I consider to know more than me or have a better idea than I do. That’s why I am currently living in Europe.
I look forward to your response.