I didn’t know anything about education

I meet Nico van Os on the terrace at Sibelicious, next to the former convent. 
‘So this is your favourite place on campus?’ 
Because that was the deal, as ‘head’ of the campus, Nico got to choose the interview location. 
‘That question was just impossible to answer,’ Nico laughs, ‘I have so many favourite places on campus. I don’t need to look hard – when I am working as usual in Frontier and look out of the window, and see all those students on the grass. Just as it was meant to be. When I walk around with a group of visitors, I always take the route upstairs near the Large Atrium in Horizon. Amazing, isn't it, what you see then? I also like to stand at the very back of the chapel, where you have a good overview of everything that is happening.’ 

That’s your spot? Observing? Keeping an overview?!
‘I oversee all of BUas!’ (laughs) ‘I especially like meeting people, for example at Innovation Square, the place for entrepreneurial BUas, a bit of bustle, I like that.’ 

I just called you ‘head’ of the campus, because you did it! Not alone, but together with the campus development project team. Talk about Creating Meaningful Experiences! Or do you see it differently yourself?
‘The campus was not an end in itself. It was about facilitating crossovers, allowing people to meet, and enabling learning communities. That triangle of students, staff and the business world, I firmly believe in that. And now, with Education+, if we also manage to combine more fields of study, it will truly become meaningful. I mean, logistics play a role in tourism, in events – I’ve always been amazed that they were unable to really find each other. The entire campus design is based on creating those kinds of connections. And you’re right; it’s not just my achievement, but that of all of us. There were many creative sessions leading up to this!’

And everything conveniently in one place; that was not always the case!
‘When I started as a member of the Executive Board in 2005, I was “tucked away” on the fifth floor of the Hero building on the Teteringsedijk. I didn’t know very much about education yet and apparently they wanted to keep it that way! Just kidding of course, there simply wasn’t enough space. What’s more, the lease agreement with Hero stated that no students were allowed inside, so I felt like I was just “shuffling papers” there. It was a poor choice, but also a logical one at the time. You want to keep students and lecturers together, which means that the support staff has to give way.’ 

Something that is inconceivable today?
‘Absolutely! It was literally an Ivory Tower. The question was, of course, how do we solve this? It did end up being the start of serious consideration regarding our accommodation. And then we started moving entire academies, to Archimedesstraat, Claudius Prinsenlaan. First they didn’t want to leave, then they didn’t want to come back! We were lucky enough that we got the opportunity to buy the convent. A lot of tea sessions with the sisters preceded that. Anyway, we are not just going to talk about the campus. The fact is, with that bright prospect, we had everyone back on board.’ 

And how did you actually come on board? 
Where did you come from and why did you make the move to our institute?
‘I was working as a business unit director at Meeùs, a very broad position that was significantly narrowed down following a new organisational structure. I started looking around and someone tipped me off about the vacancy at NHTV (now BUas, ed.). I reported curiously to the headhunter, taking my questions and doubts with me, as I knew nothing about education. That need not be a bad thing if there is balance within an organisation. And there was. Hans (Uijterwijk, ed.) knew everything about education and I knew everything about governance and operations.’ 

Any memories of those early days?
‘That there were an awful lot of solitary individuals walking around and there were quite a few challenges in terms of finances and operations. Spreadsheets were still overwritten monthly, so we didn’t have any comparison resources. And I remember suggesting, it seems like a good idea to change our passwords once every few months. Seriously, there were all those yellow post-its stuck to the PCs. Well, I was practically keelhauled. And when you see where we are now with Power BI and the compliments we get from SURF on our cybersecurity, great strides have definitely been made. The same applies to decision-making; in the beginning, everything went through CvB meetings, then came a time when we delegated authority a lot more, and now the focus is on the autonomy that professionals themselves need and should be given.’ 

What are you most proud of?
‘I think together we can be proud of having the word QUALITY in the strategy with capital letters. I have “worn out” four presidents and I have had discussions about growth with all four. It isn’t blackletter law that you can only achieve things by growing. BUas has proved otherwise. We still have a small-scale learning and working environment where students and staff are not a number. Isn’t that great? That you and I have a chat when we bump into each other at the library downtown?’ 

It may not be written in CAPITAL letters in the strategy, but it is there: failing forward. What are your thoughts on this, when it comes to yourself?
‘Sleepless nights over the collaboration with the campus contractor. We went through pretty much every section in the “handbook of negotiation”. You try to keep everyone in the game, the project manager, the external consultant, but in the end, as head of the campus, as you call it, I just jumped in. And that mainly had to do with how the contractor stood in the game. My goal, of course, was to stay within budget, and I succeeded. I learned a lot from it and am still very happy with the campus team. You don’t just need people who always agree with you, but especially people who dare to challenge you. And that certainly applies to governors.’ 

So it wasn’t all plain sailing then? 
‘That’s all part of the game. And speaking of frustrations, I must say that I still regret that we have not been awarded funding for our scientific research, because formally, we are not a university. That does not feel right, no, it actually isn’t right. It also frustrates me enormously that we just can’t get the on-campus student housing off the ground, literally. But the Game Hub grant did succeed. We have to keep looking on the bright side, haven’t we?’ 

What are you most curious about?
‘How we keep our backs straight in the context of internationalisation. Uncertainty is disastrous. And let’s face it, having so many cultures walking around here is what makes BUas. It’s part of our roots. I would also like to add something to that. We have to keep in mind where we come from. You can only see the future properly if you can learn from the past, but then you have to know that past. It is not without reason that we recently had a session on campus development. The purpose was to share and preserve knowledge about why things are the way they are. I am definitely in favour of change, but you need to make sure it is always grounded in something.’ 

What are you absolutely not going to miss?
‘The discussions about the TER (teaching and examination regulations, ed.). Time and again, five academies failed to manage to align themselves sufficiently. That is peculiar when you consider small scale and quality in the same way. Quite honestly, I’m not going to miss those meetings.’ 

What are you going to miss?
‘The students, the liveliness. Keeping each other sharp and especially by involving students in what you do. Look at our co-decision structure, you don’t see that everywhere. The occasional clash? Absolutely fine. I will miss that too. And working together to achieve something.’ 

And do you have an example of that ‘something’? 
‘Just think of how we worked together as a crisis team during the corona pandemic. That was quite a challenge from a governance perspective, but I think we did well together. And the focus on the well-being of students and staff has remained. Although I do worry whether – after corona – we still know all our students well enough. This is essential if you want to guarantee quality. Our size is such that this should be possible. Creating Meaningful Experiences sounds big, but we have to start small.’ 

That’s how we started this story, with Creating Meaningful Experiences. I’d also like to briefly recall Discover Your World, the pay-off that has travelled with you all these years. What does that look like for you now?
‘Outside BUas, you mean? At least I no longer have to feel responsible for our institute 24/7. Above all, I’m going to rediscover my own schedule, get out and about more often. How about: keep cycling as a beautiful experience? 😊 Furthermore, I am still connected – in a governance capacity – to REWIN, De Rooi Pannen and Chassé Theater. The latter is especially fun because I was once responsible for its completion as a municipal executive councillor in Breda. But that’s quite a different story!’

Interview: Maaike Dukker-’t Hart