Rob Pauwels helps students grow into next-level positions
Because of my students' work experience, the issues are plentiful.
Rob Pauwels is an alumnus of the HBO Master’s in Risk Management and has worked for the Municipality of The Hague for 26 years. Combining studying with a busy job was sometimes a challenge but has served him well. In fact, Rob was able to advance in his position within the Municipality. He also became a core lecturer himself on the 'Strategic Risk Management' module.
Light falls through the windows of the main foyer of City Hall. Rob walks through the various corridors and warmly greets the colleagues he meets. Here, in the Municipality of The Hague, Rob is a Risk and Process Management Coordinator. Among other things, he identifies all the risks in each service. He then looks at how those risks can be contained. Rob explains: “The special thing about my job is that I get to work for seven services. These all have their own 'flavour' and working culture. As Coordinator, I get to develop, build and implement risk and process management. It is a fantastic job, but also an extensive job that involves a lot.”
Risk by risk
Besides Risk Management, Rob also looks at how a process is controlled and governed within different services. Rob explains: “Think of passport applications, for example. The validity period of passports was changed from 5 to 10 years. That means you have fewer applications and therefore less staff is needed. But a passport is a valuable document, which means it must meet security requirements and be handled with integrity. We advise on that process. For example, what happens if a lot of applications suddenly come in at once? Ultimately, our goal is to improve the process and manage the risks.”
Together with the field
To better meet the challenges within the municipality and to deepen the field of work, Rob decided to go back to studying. Rob explains: “I really enjoyed doing the HBO Master’s in Risk Management. The answers to everything I had queries about were at my fingertips. I could then take that knowledge back to The Hague University of Applied Sciences. For my thesis research, I requested an external supervisor, deliberately to facilitate that combination with the field. It really couldn't have been any better!”
To teach well is to learn
Rob Pauwels has now passed his BKE (Basic Qualification Examination) and is a lecturer for the 'Strategic Risk Management' module, which he was asked to do at that time. He even wrote the Strategic Risk Management curriculum. Rob says: “To teach well is to learn. I learn a lot from my students, who often already have knowledge and skills in risk management but just want to advance to a new or higher position. Sometimes I get questions that I don't know the answer to myself. That then gives me the opportunity to go through it thoroughly, which is very instructive. Students also often come up with topics they can use for their thesis. Because of their work experience, the topics and issues are plentiful!”
Would you like to study alongside working? If so, we would like to welcome you to our information evening for professionals tonight from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM.