NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences Speciality : Education
programme: Education

I am a Canadian student, studying the International Teaching for Secondary Schools program at the NHL Stenden campus in Meppel. Each year, I go abroad for a Teaching Practice where I intern at a school ranging from 3 to 12 weeks, depending on the of study. Nothing compares to the experience you gain from teaching abroad at international schools all over the world! The number of opportunities this course has is unlike anything I have ever seen. However, it is important to note that each time you go abroad, you must finance these internships yourself. This means paying for flights, visas, police clearances and accommodation. A lot of the time, you will be paying double rent as well – rent in the Netherlands and rent in the country of your internship. There are scholarships and certain grants you can apply for; however, there is no guarantee that you receive these.
Being a non-EU student in the Netherlands is a lot trickier than I had anticipated and at times, I wish I had an EU passport! For example, your work hours are limited to 16 hours a week and you need a work visa. This makes finding a job relatively difficult because the employer needs to pay for the visa, and they are not cheap. Through DUO, students can apply for free travel and a grant from the government if they work more than 32 hours a month. I work roughly 50 – 60 hours a month and still do NOT qualify because I do not have an EU passport, or an EU ID. NHL Stenden offers various job opportunities to students such as working on the promo team and completing various tasks that EU students can declare as working hours and get paid for. Non-EU students cannot be paid despite it being the exact same work. Don’t get me wrong, finding a job is not impossible! I was fortunate enough to find a job at the Jumbo grocery store, 200 meters away from my place. My colleagues are amazing. They help teach me Dutch and are always willing to help me when I don’t understand. So as a non-EU student looking for a job, be patient. There is an employer out there willing to help, you just need to find them.