After Vincentius Rumawas has defended his doctorate in marine technology, he will do what many other foreign students at NTNU do: Pack his bags and leave Norway, taking his expertise with him.
... as part of his agreement with the Surabaya Institute of Technology in Indonesia, Rumawas must return and work in Indonesia after he has finished his doctorate.
Challenges. - Bureaucracy and slow processing times for visas and residence permits may be part of the explanation for why many disappear after their disputation.
Difficult. – And once one has left Norway and gone home, it may be difficult for many to return again.
Still attractive. He believes, however, these problems have not weakened NTNU's attractiveness. “I have several friends who have chosen to stay. And the three I know who have gone, left because they were offered very good, well-paid jobs.”
As part of his agreement with the Surabaya Institute of Technology in Indonesia, Vincentius Rumawas must return to his home country to work after he has finished his doctorate.
“Most of the PhD candidates who come to NTNU are probably free to pick and choose where they want to work after their disputation, but formally, I am still a part of the staff at the university at home,” says Rumawas, who works with security and reliability analysis at NTNU’s Department of Marine Technology.
Challenges abound
UA has previously written about the increasing number of foreign students at NTNU. That the proportion is large is not a problem in itself. The big challenge is that many do as Rumawas will do: They go home after their disputation. The university department heads that UA has talked to are concerned. PhD candidate positions are recruiting positions, but instead of recruiting the best brains for Norway, Norway is essentially producing scientists for abroad.
Rumawas came to Norway from Indonesia as a master’s student in the autumn of 2006. He is quite open about the long line of challenges that he has had to face, after he brought his family here three years ago.
Long waits for housing
He and his family have been living temporarily in an apartment they rent from SiT Housing. As early as 2008 Rumawas had applied for housing from the NTNU and SINTEF Housing Foundation. He was assigned place number 57 in the queue. The following year he moved up to 56th place. Six months later, the family was number 45 in the housing queue.
At the end of June, ust weeks before his contract with SiT Housing expired, he and his family were number 31 in line. He rattled off an endless list of futile attempts to find housing in Trondheim for family with children who are 7 and 9 years old.
Nearly gave up
“For several months this completely consumed all my time and energy. Finally I gave up and began to investigate the possibility of continuing my research work in Indonesia and checked with a travel agent to book tickets home. I told my supervisor that we will probably have to return to Indonesia, because we could not find a place to live,” he says.
Within 12 hours an apartment appeared in Lohove. Rumawas’s plans to return to Indonesia were cancelled, but he says that he encounters new challenges at every turn. Approximately half of his PhD salary goes to pay his rent of NOK 10 000. That does not leave much to meet the needs of a family of four. It might be cheaper to own a home, but they can’t get a mortgage either. His wife has no income, they are foreigners, and a PhD position is not considered by the banks to be a permanent job.
Like a labyrinth
Rumawas’s wife, who has a bachelor's degree in psychology and a master's degree in human resources, has not yet succeeded in finding employment. Much of the reason for this lies in the fact that she does not speak Norwegian. To get a job, she must learn Norwegian. But Norwegian courses have a limited number of places, and some courses cost money.
“The whole situation is like a labyrinth. You solve one problem and immediately run into a new one. You feel like you are stuck,” says the PhD candidate.
Another challenge that many foreign employees must struggle with is the long waiting time for a visa. It may take 6-7 months to be offered a residence permit, during which the applicant’s visa may expire. Rumawas has a visa for three years, while a PhD contract is typically for four years. And the family must renew their permits annually.
This summer, however, the family enjoyed a much shorter processing time than in previous years.
“This is another example of how the system in Norway is always changing. Some of the changes are for the better, and some are for the worse,” said Rumawas.
Visa problems a factor
“In practice there are many people here who may have spent half their time in Norway waiting for permission to be here. In countries like the US and the UK, it only takes a few days. It is difficult to understand why it has to be like this,” says Rumawas.
He believes that the challenges posed by visa and residence permits may be part of the explanation for why many PhDs disappear after their disputation. They are given a visa that is good through their PhD period, but once their permit expires, PhDs who do not have a new employment contract have to leave the country.
“And once one has left Norway and gone home, it may be difficult for many to return again,” says the PhD candidate.
NTNU still attractive
He still does not believe these challenges are affecting NTNU's attractiveness or how foreign PhD candidates feel towards Norway. He has many more acquaintances who have chosen to stay in Norway after they are done with their disputation than those who have left.
“And the three I know who have left have gone because they were offered very good, well-paid jobs,” he says.
He adds: “The turbulent economic times have not affected Norway particularly hard. The economy is good, companies are continuing to employ people. It is mainly foreigners who are having problems with the housing market, as we have had. But regardless, it's not as bad in Norway as in London, for example.”
Rumawas said Norway still shows signs of being in a transitional phase. Increasing internationalization thus offers many new challenges.
Good quality of life
“The international community must understand that. The way I see it, people should at least make an honest attempt to get the situation to work. It will be interesting to see how it evolves. And regardless, we have to compare the situation other countries,” he said.
“It's safe here. I can send my children to school alone on the bus. The social welfare system is very good and the ideals of equality are impressive. We can easily go out in the beautiful natural surroundings and breathe clean air. The quality of life is good, especially for families with children. These things also should be highly valued,” says the PhD candidate, who comes from the world's fourth most populous country.
Helps home
Vincentius Rumawas studies the impact of human factors on ship and offshore accidents. Although most incidents are caused by human error, human factors are often not considered when a vessel is constructed.
A cooperation agreement between NTNU and the University of Surabaya made it possible for him to come here. He was enthusiastic about the opportunity, because of the Department of Marine Technology’s good reputation.
“Would you have stayed in Norway after your disputation if you had been free to choose?”
“There are advantages and disadvantages to each option. I will nevertheless return to Indonesia and use my knowledge to help my country.”
