“Having a student from the Incluusion program brings diversity into your course.”
Yousra Rahmouni Elidriss is an assistant professor at the Utrecht ľϸӰ School of Governance. She teaches different courses and welcomes Incluusion students in her courses.
“I think part of the mission of the UU is to offer opportunities for education to everyone without exception.”
The value of diversity
“Having a student from the Incluusion program brings more diversity to the student population,” tells Yousra. “This diversity makes the discussions and interactions between students more open to other perspectives, experiences and aspects that might otherwise have been overlooked.”
The course Yousra teaches that involves Incluusion students is an elective, so students come from different disciplinary programs. Since students don't know each other, it is important for Yousra that they get acquainted so they feel more comfortable talking to each other, having discussions, sharing and confronting their ideas, and learning from each other.
“Having a student from the Incluusion program is exactly what we want! We want input of different ideas and insights from various perspectives, and for students to share experiences based on their own background or their own trajectories.”
Own experiences as a migrant
Yousra herself is a migrant from Morocco: she lived in France for over 10 years and studied there. She moved to the Netherlands 1,5 year ago to start her new job at the UU. “I still consider myself new to the Netherlands and new to the Dutch language and culture. I know what it feels like to be in between countries, in between cultures, and in between feelings of belonging. But at the same time, I am also a privileged migrant, a migrant who came here and had the opportunity to find a job and settle down.”
She now teaches courses at the UU on organization studies and research methods. Yousra heard about Incluusion when she started working at the UU. She found it an interesting project and wanted to learn more about it. So, when the Incluusion team contacted Yousra about offering spots in her course for Incluusion students she thankfully never hesitated to say yes!