Come and meet our international recruiters! 

The international recruiters at The Hague University, Joe Morrin en Frank Fox, travel around the world to recruit new students. Globetrotting is part and parcel of the job, but not the main reason why they are so enthusiastic about their work

Joe Morrin

Both Joe Morrin and Frank Fox have experienced The Hague University’s internationalisation from close quarters. Fox, an American, has been working for the university since 1989. His British colleague Morrin arrived in The Hague a couple of years later. In his current position, Morrin combines recruiting foreign students with internationalisation policy in a broader sense while Fox, who for years was course manager of the MBA, is devoted fully to attracting cross-border students. Both work for the Communications & Marketing department.

There are various intrinsic similarities between Morrin and Fox’s work. ‘ In principle Joe and I cover the same territory, albeit with a slightly different focus,’ says Fox. ‘ He concentrates on the bachelor programmes while I address the masters.’ He greatly enjoys his work, especially because it brings him into contact with so many different people and cultures. With the students themselves, but often with their family and employers as well. ‘ People like to have a face representing an organisation, and preferably a happy one. I like being that face.’

Frank Fox

Fox’s personal approach has resulted in a fair number of special, private experiences too. Earlier this year he was ‘best man’ in China at the wedding of Tian Mu, a former student whom he describes as ‘ my prime contact in Beijing’. There’s another wedding coming in January, in Hong Kong. He remembers a dinner during a recent visit to Vietnam particularly fondly. The daughter of his host, who was number two at the Vietnamese embassy in The Hague, is currently following a master’s programme in The Hague.

Morrin’s international network, which is part of his job, also delivers the occasional surprise. ‘ I once interviewed a young man from rural China. He didn’t seem particularly well-to-do and spoke only mediocre English, but there was something about him that I liked. He was admitted and he managed to complete European Studies successfully. Years later he wanted to meet on one of my trips to Shanghai. He collected me at my hotel in a shiny BMW accompanied by a beautiful woman who he introduced as his wife and business partner. They showed me around town and took me out for dinner. He told me that his studies had allowed him to achieve great things and that he could now provide his parents with a good life.’

Of course these sorts of experiences are the icing on the cake. Generally, Morrin and Fox just get on with their jobs. Morrin explains why foreign students are so important for the university. ‘ We can only recruit a limited number of students in the Netherlands, while we have to ensure that we remain profitable as a company. The academic aspect is even more important. Our students have to be able to operate in a globalised world. We give them the chance to get in touch with other cultures at an early stage.’

Interacting in an environment with an international dynamic benefits both the Dutch and foreign students. According to Fox is injects a motivation that is highly appreciated. ‘ Our challenge is that the Netherlands is not necessarily top-of-mind for potential students. They have to be convinced. In most cases that’s all about word-of-mouth advertising. The university’s international environment offers them a soft landing.’ The group balance is also taken into account: ‘Chinese students don’t come to the Netherlands to sit in class with other Chinese.’ According to Morrin, the most important difference between Dutch and foreign students is that those from abroad are not interested in the so-called ‘scrape-by culture’. ‘ They often come to the Netherlands because they are not satisfied with the capacity or quality of the study programmes in their own countries. They work extremely hard and want at least a ‘B’, preferably an ‘A’ grade.’

It’s certainly not the case that most of the foreign students are from China and the Far East. People from over 180 countries have visited the English-language website, www.thehagueuniversity.nl. Morrin explains that the expansion of the European Union coincided perfectly with the university’s attempts to expand its student population. Bulgaria is a special success story and currently tops the list. ‘ A Bulgarian newspaper recently wrote that The Hague University is the best-known foreign school in Bulgaria’ he says proudly.

Fox and Morrin are often on the road for weeks on end. Where they head and how long they’re there is determined by a number of factors. The starting point is the THU’s internationalisation policy, Wereldburger in Wording (Global Citizen in the Make). There is intense contact with Nuffic’s Education Support Offices in cities such as Taipei, Mexico City and Moscow, and the university has specialised agents in many countries. Alumni who have returned to their home countries or have found work elsewhere also have a special task. Fox derives much of his pleasure from these students. ‘ Half of my job is done by alumni.’

Both ‘international recruiters’ do their jobs in consultation with colleagues who are experts in matters such as visas and accommodation. Of the four international masters programmes, the Masters in International Communication Management (MICM) now attracts more students that the MBA. Fox describes his target group as young adults with work experience who often already know what they want to achieve in their careers. Morrin, who recruits for the five English-language bachelors, deals with a different group. He is involved with younger people – and with their parents. ‘ In Islamic Indonesia, for example, the parents have a great say in the decision-making. I give presentations in which I answer their questions on matters such as accommodation and safety. If the parents are satisfied, the students also trust that everything’s going to be okay.’