Alumna Irene Odile de Vries

Irene Odile de Vries had lived on four continents before coming to Erasmus School of Economics. She enrolled in a premaster course and the master’s in international economics because she wanted to understand the countries she had lived in. Gradually she came to realise that connections between economics and other disciplines are often overlooked. It motivated her to surmount several challenges to get to where she is now: an economics teacher with a wide following because of the innovative ideas she presents.

You arrived at Erasmus School of Economics in a roundabout way. Can you tell us how?

I obtained the International Baccalaureate in Malaysia and Australia where my family lived as expats. After graduating High School in Kuala Lumpur, I did not fancy going back to the Netherlands by myself, so I studied Psychology and Business Administration on the Malaysian campus of Monash, an Australian university. After six months, I continued on their Melbourne campus where I completed my studies in Business Administration. Looking for work experience, I moved to the Netherlands and subsequently New York to do jobs in event management. There is always a lot going on in New York City so after two years I left because I was tired and wanted to enjoy some travelling. When I started working in the Netherlands again, I went back to event management, but it soon felt like more of the same. Recently, I was diagnosed with ADHD, which helps me to understand why I dislike repetitiveness, and enjoy moving and changing jobs every couple of years. Knowing I have ADHD does not make it go away, but it does make my life a bit easier. The diagnosis helped me to see what my biggest challenges are, how to tackle them and forgive myself when I get stuck.

'The most surprising outcome of the premaster is probably that I now actually enjoy maths!'

In search of the next step in my career, I was reading a lot of books such as Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth and a Dutch book that shows how market forces have come to determine everything from housing and labour to democracy and even love. When I attended a presentation by its author, Koen Haegens, I met people from a group called Rethinking Economics. This organisation, which is also very active in Rotterdam, is part of an international network of students and recent graduates that aims to build better economics education with the support of academic allies. These conversations, in combination with the books and my travels, inspired me to study economics. With an Australian Bachelor in Business Administration you cannot simply enter a Master’s programme in Economics so I enrolled in the premaster at Erasmus School of Economics. I chose this university because Rotterdam seemed like a nice city (which turned out to be very true). The premaster was certainly necessary for me because I lacked a foundation in mathematics, microeconomics and macroeconomics. The maths was particularly challenging initially, but thanks to other students I mastered concepts such as integrating and differentiating quickly. The most surprising outcome of the premaster is probably that I now actually enjoy maths!

Why did you choose the Master in International Economics?

I had lived an international life and considered doing so in the future as well. The idea was that this degree would help me compare the places where I had lived so far. Why are some countries more developed than others? Why is the inequality in the US so much higher than in the other countries where I have lived? My study in international economics showed me where I have to look to answer these questions, while providing me with tools to analyse such information. What I missed, in my time at Erasmus School of Economics, was a comprehensive approach that takes into account how different disciplines are interwoven and how various economists approached the large issues of their time. Economic theories are the product of human thinking and, to a large extent, they are shaped by the assumptions and hypotheses used to formulate them. I believe it needs to be made very clear that economic theory is thus influenced by politics and idealism, and the broader historical context. Prospective students might be glad to hear that Erasmus School of Economics has recently expanded teaching on the ethics of methodologies and more perspectives are now included in the subject History of Economic Thought. I was happy with the structure of the course, which meant that the study was compartmentalised in several blocks, but writing a thesis was very hard for me. I now know that I need to engage in something new regularly. In-depth research, writing and rereading is very difficult for someone with my form of ADHD. I eventually managed to complete the process with the help of my friends.

'The debate behind every economic policy is a fascinating power struggle'

How has your view on economics influenced your career?

Upon graduating, I had various jobs in event management and journalism until I had a burnout. Looking back, I think this was partly due to a lack of boundaries between work and my private life. When I came back to work, I had a few talks with a career coach. During these sessions it became clear that editing opinion pieces for a newspaper, in which you have to work on long essays and stay on top of the news constantly, was not the right job for me. As a child I wanted to become a music teacher and during my master’s degree I enjoyed the classes so much that I could actually see myself teaching economics at some point in the future. This all came back to me when I was considering a career switch. A friend alerted me to an opening at a school in my neighbourhood and within no time I was standing in front of a class of exam students. I am studying part-time for a qualification as teacher at the highest level. In the Netherlands, you can use the knowledge gained at university to start teaching at this level immediately on the understanding that you will obtain the necessary diploma within three years. Part of my course is professional didactics, which I engage with enthusiastically. As a new teacher you bring your own external ideas and experiences to the field. I am actually surprised that there is no mandatory continuing education for high school teachers, something you see in many other professions.

What would you like to change in secondary education?

One of the reasons economics is interesting is that it can be applied in so many fields. The debate behind every economic policy is a fascinating power struggle. This is a subject that lends itself to examinations in the form of papers or discussions, not maths and multiple-choice questions. Now that I am teaching, I do understand better why it is difficult to offer such a comprehensive approach. Moreover, connecting with colleagues that teach a different subject and offer lessons that show how everything is linked, is proving difficult, even at a school where we are all in the same building.

I am critical of the emphasis on concepts such as GDP and sums in which there is no room for what is lacking in its calculation. There are opportunities to teach students about the boundaries to growth for example, but these remain fairly limited. The teaching methods tend to focus on giving the students enough practice with the mathematical side of the subject.

I would prefer an approach that shows students how economic concepts help us understand the way our world works. The required content of the curriculum is determined every four years, which makes it very difficult to include phenomena that are taking place in today’s society. I try to deal with this by inviting a guest speaker occasionally and following the news with my classes. When I read a newspaper article, I can see clearly the economic concepts that relate to each story and how to use it as an example in lessons. In my enthusiasm, it can be difficult to balance these real-world examples with explaining the theory and solutions to tricky questions. It was very reassuring to hear a student in the exam year say that the class discussion of news items helped them to understand the topic and see the practical use of economics lessons.

When I am not teaching or studying, I am also part of a team called Our New Economy. We advocate for better economics education at all levels and produce teaching materials that pay more attention to such things as sustainability and the balance of power on the labour market. I also publish ideas for economics teaching on LinkedIn and in a professional magazine for teachers, TEO. For example when Silicon Valley Bank collapsed, I created and shared teaching materials, and wrote about the opportunity to use this as an illustration of game theory or the prisoners’ dilemma. Perhaps it is even more important that future generations understand the consequences of their actions during an unfolding bank run than whether or not they are capable of doing their sums correctly.