110 years of Grotius: Ibo is making his dreams come true

Text: Loes Vader

In 2015, Ibo fled from Syria to the Netherlands. The Netherlands was a conscious choice because he has family here, who have lived here for a long time. In Syria he studied Civil Engineering. "Everything went wrong when I was in the second year. I could no longer go to university and had to leave my country," he says. In the Netherlands, Ibo wanted to study as soon as possible to follow his dreams step by step."

Learning Words

Ibo had to wait a year for his residence permit. In that year he started to learn Dutch. "Every day I learnt about ten new Dutch words. The hardest thing was that I had to stop speaking English," he says in fluent Dutch. Ibo took Dutch language courses at the Language Centre of the University of Groningen and passed the state exam NT2, B2 level. "I think Dutch is an interesting language which helps because you learn faster that way."

Grotius

His teacher at the Language Centre tipped him off about Grotius, a preparatory programme for status holders who want to study higher education. Ibo thought it was a very useful year. "The focus is on competencies such as communication and collaboration. Cooperation here is really different than in Syria. They are two very different cultures. At Grotius, I strengthened those skills."

Dreaming in Dutch

Ibo learnt a lot from organising an event during his Grotius year. "That has had a very positive influence on my personality. I have learnt to dare to take initiative, to talk to new people, to meet, to consult. Because of the language barrier, you often don't dare to give your opinion, but I had to when organising the Grotius event. As a result, I have become much more confident. Really learning to express myself in a language that is not my mother tongue, I wanted to reach that level. I wanted to dream in Dutch. Becoming aware of the language is the key to everything. Grotius contributed greatly to this. After that, I was a guest lecturer at Grotius for another year."

Studying Architecture

After Grotius, Ibo did a preparatory year at Alfa College and then he went on to study Architecture at Hanze. He passed his propaedeutic year in good time and did three minors in his third year. First Architectural Design, then Architectural Design & Urban planning in Valencia, Spain. There he became interested in building information modelling, better known as BIM. Back in the Netherlands, he did his third minor at Hanze: Built Digital, which was the minor that shaped his career.

"BIM is about combining all relevant information about a construction project into one digital model, automating processes and digitising the built environment. I consider BIM to be an effective communication tool within construction projects."

Plenty of growth opportunities

Since September 2024, Ibo has been working at 1BIM, a company in Groningen that is building a future-proof built environment through data-driven services in the construction and real estate sector. "On a professional level, I would like to develop myself even further in the field of BIM and I want to do another master's, but I don't know which one yet. I want to invest my time in the right choice. Fortunately, I have plenty of growth opportunities at 1BIM. It's going very well."

Conscious of sustainability

Ibo was 20 when he came to the Netherlands. "Of course, I have a different mindset now and I have grown. The Netherlands gives you the opportunity to develop and establish yourself. You will have the opportunity to choose. You can try things and change young mind. That affects your personality. In the Netherlands, we do a lot of research into innovative issues. In the construction sector, we are working on digitisation, bio-based construction and circular construction. You don't see that in many other countries. The Netherlands has made me aware of sustainability, not just in construction but in general."

Learn to fish

Finally, Ibo has a number of recommendations for status holders who are considering pursuing an education in the Netherlands. "You have a lot of opportunities here, even if you don't speak Dutch. But you get extra points if you do. The Netherlands is an international country. You can work and live here and interact with anyone in English. But if you want to study, Dutch is important. My advice is: learn the language well. Seize opportunities, dare to take initiative and do internships, because you learn a lot from that. In short, learning Dutch is the key if you want to get an education here. And try to find a part-time job in your industry. So if you study Architecture, try to find a job in construction. In the Netherlands you must learn to fish, no one will give you a fish."

Ten years of Grotius

On 16 April, Hanze Grotius celebrates its 10th anniversary. Chairman of the day is writer and columnist Özcan Akyol. Keynote speaker human rights activist Mardjan Seighali.