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Fewer international students plan to stay in the Netherlands after graduation

Emily Burger
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Fewer international students plan to stay in the Netherlands after graduation

A significant amount of students from outside the EU are choosing to return to their home countries after graduation thanks to the impact of corona on the Dutch job market.

A recent study by Nuffic interviewed 608 international students on their plans after graduation in the Netherlands. The number of EU students intending to stay has not changed much, dropping from 57.3% to 53.5%. The impact on non-EU students, however, has been more severe.

Before the corona crisis, 72% of non-EU students said they intended to stay in the Netherlands. That figure has dropped to 56%. This is largely because non-EU students must apply either for work permits or the orientation year visa to remain in the Netherlands after graduation. This means finding a job, and as of now, job opportunities for internationals are looking slim.

Before the pandemic, 28% of international students were pessimistic about finding a job in the Netherlands. Thanks to corona, this has risen to 44%.

Impact on the Dutch economy

International students are of great value to the Dutch economy, shown in a 2019 study by the Central Planning Bureau (CPB). Every university student from outside of the EU has a net contribution of €96,300 to the Dutch treasury, while college students contribute €68,500.

EU international students also bring profit to the Netherlands, specifically €5,000 for each HBO student (university of applied sciences) and €16,900 for each WO student (academic university).

International students are also highly valuable for the Dutch labour market. This exodus of non-EU students could thus have a negative impact on the Dutch economy, reports Nuffic.

Do you know any recent international graduates affected by the corona crisis? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature Image: Wes Hicks/Unsplash

Elderly man dies after being assaulted by five youths in Arnhem

Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
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Elderly man dies after being assaulted by five youths in Arnhem

Police are searching for five youths after an incident last night during which an elderly man (73) was beaten to the point that he would later pass away. The incident took place on the Spijkerstraat in Arnhem, near Prins Hendrikstraat.

It is unknown what caused the altercation, but it is believed five youths were involved in the assault. At approximately 9:15 PM, the group seriously injured the man before running in the direction of Arnhem Velperpoort station.

The man was beaten so badly that he had to be resuscitated on scene once an ambulance arrived. He was transferred to hospital but later died from his injuries.

Tips needed

The area in which the man was assaulted was cordoned off, but it is not known if the police found anything. A bike was supposedly left at the scene but it is speculated that this belonged to the victim.

Police released a description of the perpetrators last night over Burgernet. They are described as all wearing black, except for one who wore a white hoodie. However, as of this morning, the perpetrators have not been found.

Police are appealing to anyone who may have seen anything in the area last night. According to Burgernet Gelderland’s Twitter, almost 6,000 people have reached out so far.

Follow DutchReview on Facebook for the latest news and updates.

Feature Image: DutchReview/Canva

CoronaMelder app notifies 10,000 per day, but it’s not always accurate

Sarah O'Leary 🇮🇪
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0
CoronaMelder app notifies 10,000 per day, but it’s not always accurate

Since its launch, the CoronaMelder app has been downloaded by 3.7 million people in the Netherlands. Approximately 10,000 people per day are being notified of exposure. Of this number, a small percentage were more than 1.5 meters away from the infected person. 

This is all according to the Chief Information Officer at the Ministry of Health, Ron Roozendaal. He admits to the NOS that “In the vast majority of cases, the app recognizes the distance correctly. But in a small number of cases you were further away.”

It is estimated that about 70% of people who receive a report from the App were within 1.5 meters of the infected person for more than 15 minutes, meaning the app is accurate in the majority of cases.

However, about 20% of people who receive a notification may have actually been a safe distance away from the infected person.

During the testing of the app, 80 subjects were told to stand at a great distance (between three and ten meters) from the “infected” person. It was found that a handful of these subjects still received a notification.

Dozens of people a day

Roozendaal explains that if we are to apply this margin of error to the everyday use of the app, a small amount of people who receive a notification were actually within a safe distance from an infected person, “out of 10,000 reports per day, there are still dozens.”

However, in all cases where someone is notified, they were in proximity to the infected person for at least 15 minutes.

Maximum 10 meters

The CoronaMelder app works via bluetooth. This means that those who do receive an incorrect notification were at least 10 meters from another infected person. However, Roozendaal explains that the chance of a notification being sent if someone is 10 meters away is extremely small.

The app measures the strength of a nearby bluetooth signal and then estimates how close a person was to another app user. Meaning that where you place your phone — in your pocket or on the table, for example — is going to affect the estimate.

“If you have two telephones on a table 2.5 meters apart, and one of the two is from someone who has tested positive and also uses the corona app, you could well receive a notification. If you have it in your pocket, the chance is much smaller,” Roozendaal explains.

Most cases

He has emphasised that in most cases, the app is accurate and a person has been exposed. Even if the app picked up on someone who was a little over 1.5 meter distance, you have been close, he says. “At least fifteen minutes and in any case close by. So that’s why the advice applies: if you have received a report, go to quarantine.”

What do you think of the CoronaMelder app? Let us know in the comments below! 

Feature Image: Canva/DutchReview

The future is here! World’s first flying car born in the Netherlands

Emily Burger
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The future is here! World’s first flying car born in the Netherlands

Turns out the movies about 2020 were right — the world’s first flying car has arrived! And developed right here in the Netherlands, no less.

Dutch company Pal-V has been designing the Liberty since 2012 and the model has finally been cleared for road use by vehicle licensing agency RDW. It’s a significant milestone for Pal-V, as the car can now be officially registered and tested on public roads.

Flying technology

If you’re imaging a hover-craft-like car, that’s not exactly what the creators have gone for. Rather, the car turns into a kind of gyrocopter using a push propeller and rotor on the roof of the vehicle. Two Rotax aircraft engines on the sides drive the flying car forward.

The car can transform from a road-going vehicle to an aircraft in only 5-10 seconds. Even easier, the car runs on Euro 95, so you can fill up to fly at the local gas station.

Short runway needed

The Liberty is different from other Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) vehicles currently being developed because it cannot take-off vertically. The Liberty’s dependence on short runways to take off is, unfortunately, a down-side to this model.

Further, the combustion engines used are not quite the latest technology available, and this has contributed to delays in its development, reports AD.nl. Liberty’s main competitors are drone-like VTOLs powered by electricity.

The first flying car sure isn’t subtle. Image: Pal-V/Supplied

Test flights

The last test flights for the Pal-V Liberty are expected to take place next year, with the hope that it will be granted a flying permit by 2022. Meerkerk in Utrecht has been ear-marked as the flight testing location.

A Pal-V spokesperson explained that the company is in dialogue with Dutch municipalities to build around 300 metres of motorway exits for the future.

“It will soon be the only vehicle that will allow you to fly and drive from door to door. You get in the car at your house and then drive to an airport to take off,” the spokesperson said.

Fancy a flying car for Christmas?

You can purchase and reserve the two-seater Liberty on the Pal-V website, but don’t sell your current car just yet. The company only expects the flying car to be ready for consumers by 2023.

Already Pal-V has 30 orders for the car, coming in at half a million euros each. Wowza!

Will you be lining up to purchase a flying car? Let us know in the comments below!

Feature Image: Pal-V/Supplied

Fifteen-year-old girl missing since Friday found after AMBER Alert; man arrested

Samantha Dixon 🇦🇺
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Fifteen-year-old girl missing since Friday found after AMBER Alert; man arrested

A fifteen-year-old girl who was the subject of an AMBER Alert issued yesterday has been found unharmed. Police have arrested a man in connection with her disappearance. 

Celine had been missing since last Friday when she was spotted getting into a car with an unknown man in Bergem, a village in North Brabant.

Police issued a Missing Child Alert for Celina, an alert that indicates welfare concerns but no danger for life. The AMBER Alert was issued after receiving a tip that Celine got into a car with a strange man. That was five days after her disappearance.

“That fact, in combination with the photo of the man and the car, gave enough extra impetus to take this step,” said a police spokesperson for Politie East Brabant.

The spokesperson explained that an AMBER Alert is “the toughest tool” that police can use. “We don’t just do that.”

Family overjoyed

Celine’s family is on their way to collect their child. “They are very happy, blissfully happy, relieved, everything you can imagine, that Celine has been found safe and in good health and that they can be reunited with her,” said their spokesperson, Jeroen Baardemans.

Police have confirmed that they have arrested one man. However, it is unknown whether the man is the driver of the car that Celine got into.

Follow DutchReview on Facebook to keep up with all the news in the Netherlands. 

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Kiss your winter holiday plans goodbye, says OMT

Brin Andrews
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Kiss your winter holiday plans goodbye, says OMT

Adjust your holiday expectations, the Outbreak Management Team (OMT) says it’s best to stay home this year.

If you were thinking of taking a nice ski trip or going on a beach getaway this year, the OMT wants you to think again. The risk of another wave of coronavirus is too high, according to the team.

In an advisory report to the Ministry of Health, the OMT writes, “During the summer holiday period and the months after that, many hundreds, mainly younger people, returned from a holiday abroad with COVID-19.”

Additional risks

The OMT also suggests that the coronavirus situation in some other countries may present additional risks. “It is expected that the epidemiological situation in the winter holiday period is not yet under control, not even in most countries in Europe and many countries out there.”

Further, the OMT says that only 27% of travellers have actually followed the government’s recommendations to quarantine after travel to “orange zones.” 

The OMT’s Advice

The OMT’s full list of advice for the cabinet regarding the winter holiday includes:

  • The government should continue to assess the risk of other countries for travel;
  • Holidays outside of one’s own household is advised against/the group size should be kept to a minimum;
  • Family visits should be kept to a minimum and within the immediate family, respecting social distancing advice;
  • Intensive risk group-oriented measures should be set and aimed at the elderly, with specific attention to wintering abroad;
  • The EU should have coordination on the closure of catering establishments, the banning of parties and events, and the enforcement of measures.

At this stage, the advice is only for the cabinet to consider, and decisions have yet to be made. 

What do you make of the OMT’s advice? Does it affect your holiday plans?

Feature Image: Freestocks.org/Pexels

Nearly 500 Dutch troll accounts caught spreading fake news about US elections

Brin Andrews
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1
Nearly 500 Dutch troll accounts caught spreading fake news about US elections

At least 476 Dutch troll accounts have been uncovered, spreading disinformation and conspiracy theories on Twitter regarding the upcoming US presidential elections.

In research conducted by Pointer, Dutch-speaking trolls using anonymous Twitter accounts have been trying to influence and mislead their fellow Dutchies regarding the US elections. The trolls share links to images, websites, and videos that present an inaccurate portrayal of the presidential candidates.

Pointer has been collecting and analyzing data since August. Out of the 15,000 Dutch-language Twitter accounts they investigated, 476 were run by trolls.

Using verbal intimidation, stoking conspiracy theories, and derailing online conversations, these trolls purposely provoke in order to create confusion and polarisation. They aim to deceive and bully the Dutch into believing that Donald Trump will win the election. 

Why do they bother?

But the Dutch can’t vote in the US elections, so why all the effort? The answer isn’t entirely overt, but it’s about changing the way people think in general.

University of Amsterdam political communication lecturer Michael Hameleers says the trolls sow confusion because it changes the way people form their opinions. “And if that happens more and more, you can see in elections that people may no longer base themselves on the facts,” he explains. “People may disagree, but those disagreements must be based on the same understanding of the factual truths. And if not, then you have a problem.”

With disinformation flying around right and left, and the internet connecting people in conversation from all over the world, opinions make a difference — apparently, even from nearly 5,000 miles away.

What are they saying?

A favourite mode of miscommunication amongst the trolls is the sharing of YouTube videos. These are conspiracy theories or interviews, often from legitimate news sources, that show a negative outcome for the trolls’ disfavoured candidate.

The trolls twist the message of the news report and often attack the news outlet directly for sharing the message. Among the most widespread links are NOS, AD, and De Telegraaf. 

Of course, trolls also share content from popular misinformation sites as well, such as Frontniews, NineForNews, CommonSenseTV, and Bitchute. 

But it’s conspiracy theories that are a troll’s brood and boter. Conspiracy thinking regarding the presidential elections tends to tie in closely with coronavirus conspiracy theories. Even a simple, seemingly innocent hashtag like #mondkapjes refers to conspiracy thinking regarding the reality and severity of coronavirus.

But not all of the focus is abroad for these shifty characters. Another troll go-to is the long-time conspiracy theory regarding Dutch civil servant Joris Demmink as a supposed child abuser.

Does it have an impact?

A recent survey conducted by Ipsos shows that 61% of Dutch people are in favour of Joe Biden for US president. This is not to say that the remaining 39% prefer Trump. Rather, only 11% favour Trump, while the remaining 28% don’t know or prefer not to say. Whether or not the Dutch trolls have had any impact on these margins can’t be known. 

Interestingly, the same survey showed that Dutch people are not very concerned about fake news meddling with their own elections at home. The majority do, however, expect the spread of misinformation to be an issue for the US elections. 

Well, if trolls are showing up as far as the Netherlands to tamper with US elections they may very well be proven right with the latter idea. 

We must starve them

It’s not currently a punishable offence to spread misinformation unless it’s considered defamation or slander, so Hameleers says that the best solution is to stop feeding the trolls. “For example, if you come across someone on a platform who says that your opinion is incorrect and also expresses hateful sentiment there, I think you shouldn’t go into that. It’s best to just ignore it so that the impact can be limited.”

Are you surprised by the discovery of the Dutch trolls? Let us know what you make of this in the comments!

Feature Image: Cottonbro/Pexels

Whoops! Voting mistake in Dutch parliament over increased salary for healthcare workers

Emily Burger
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Whoops! Voting mistake in Dutch parliament over increased salary for healthcare workers

A motion put forward in parliament to increase the salaries of healthcare workers marginally won 69 votes to 67 — all thanks to a mistake vote.

ChristenUnie MP Stieneke van der Graaf accidentally voted in favour of the motion, despite intending to vote against it, reports RTL Nieuws. At first, it seemed the motion would go through despite the mistake. However, it was announced today that cabinet has blocked the motion from going forward.

An empty victory

PVV leader Geert Wilders, who put the motion forward, celebrated the outcome yesterday, saying “this is great news.” However, when the news came out today that the motion will not be actioned upon, he was furious, saying, “Shameful dirty political games on the back of the concern. Carry out that motion or resign.”

SP leader Lilian Marijnissen responded similarly. “This is unacceptable. The cabinet will not get away with this.”

Minister of Medical Care Tamara van Ark expressed that the government is already doing a lot for healthcare workers. Wages have already been increased in the past few years and a care bonus is being prepared for healthcare workers involved in the corona crisis.

What do you think of the motion being blocked? Let us know in the comments below.

Feature Image: ©Geber86/Canva.com

Train station smoking columns to be converted to E-bike charging points

Brin Andrews
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0
Train station smoking columns to be converted to E-bike charging points

Dutch train station “smoke columns” are getting a makeover: new e-bike charging stations.

As of this month, smoking is no longer allowed at train stations in the Netherlands. The now completely smoke-free stations have had their ashtrays, smoking zone signs, and smoke poles removed. 

Seeking a new use for these materials, ProRail came up with the idea to convert them into something more useful for rail-riders, reports RTL. “We want people to travel sustainably from door to door. Not just by train, but, for example, by bicycle to the station. By converting smoking posts into charging points, we can ensure that more people use the electric bicycle,” says Willem van Ewijk from ProRail. 

The prototype for the new design was presented by the company Lightwell during Dutch Design Week. “Not throwing away or recycling, but upcycling: coming up with a new function is better for the environment than melting down,” a spokesperson for the company said. He’s pleased to be able to “turn something unhealthy like smoking into something healthy.”

What do you think of this innovative use of materials? Let us know in the comments!

Feature Image: Skitterphoto/Pexels

Dutch experts argue for forced contraception of unsuitable mothers

Emily Burger
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Dutch experts argue for forced contraception of unsuitable mothers

Women in the Netherlands who are unable to properly care for their children should be forcibly injected with contraceptives or given a contraceptive implant. This is the opinion of the ‘Standing Committee on Compulsory Contraception’ lead by former juvenile judge Cees de Groot.

The group of experts has sent a petition to the Lower House for consideration. They argue that women who struggle with addiction, are infected with Hepatitis B and C or HIV, have a psychiatric illness, an intellectual disability, or proven child abuse or killing should be subject to forced contraception, reports AD.

Controversial proposal

The measure is controversial since every human being has the fundamental right to procreate. But De Groot says that the interests of the child should come first.

“For example, if a baby is born addicted, then the child has to overcome that,” De Groot tells RTL Nieuws.

He further explains that a woman who falls within one of the categories is not automatically going to be forcibly injected. Rather, it will be up to a judge to decide the outcome of each individual case. Should a judge decide that forced contraception is necessary, this would theoretically only be temporarily imposed until the situation improves.

Practical examples

De Groot illustrates his argument with the example of a prostitute with a psychiatric disorder who wants to conceive because her clients prefer pregnant women. Another expert, René Hoksbergen, uses the example of a family with many generations in the disabled institution, yet continue to have children.

The group argues that there are hundreds more examples of women in vulnerable positions across the country, but that exact figures cannot be compiled due to privacy reasons.

They also argue that laws already exist that forbid procreation in certain instances. Siblings cannot marry, for example, as this could result in disabled children, and having sex with children is also forbidden.

Social responsibility

A national project called Now Not Pregnant is currently in place, whereby social workers discuss contraception with vulnerable women. De Groot explained that the pilot project has revealed that not all of these women are willing or able to take contraception.

“You can see that about 70% of the people who are spoken to voluntarily use contraception, but 30% do not. Those are the problem cases,” he says. It is this group that De Groot believes should qualify for forced contraception.

Hoksbergen emphasised our social responsibility for the children. “If women are clearly 100% unfit to raise a child, and there is even a chance that the child will be born damaged, then you should not do this to a child.”

But Carlo Leget, ethicist and chair of the advisory board of the Now Not Pregnant project, disagrees with De Groot. “It is true that people have already opted for contraception in 70% of the cases, but the other 30% are still thinking about whether they are still having discussions.”

He went on to say, “I understand very well that people say: we want to prevent suffering. We try that too. But I am shocked by such a proposal. With such a law you cross a lot of borders. I think that is really a step too far.”

What do you think of this bill? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.

Feature Image: freestocks/Unsplash

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