In October last year, my colleague Eline Terneusen forwarded me an email from the Young Expert Programmes (YEP Programmes) Bureau saying that our application for Batch 25 had been approved. I couldn’t have been happier. The YEP Programmes’ mission is to create a young, renewed, inspiring international network and build expertise in the field of Water, Agrofood and Renewable Energy through Dutch organizations, operating in developing countries and emerging markets. This is a great opportunity for me and I was already feeling honored. The entire application process consisted of filling out a comprehensive application form, creating and adjusting a budget, writing letters, signing agreements, and a lot of communication with the YEP bureau in The Hague. My team helped me a lot in this process… They are a bunch of angels.

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During the prep call, Eline who is a former YEPPER herself, did a great job playing the interviewer and I the interviewee of course. We had an early morning call and I was desperate for a coffee and breakfast. However, I remember having one big question during the call: “Why is the Dutch government funding a program that provides career and personal development opportunities for local and international professionals… especially local professionals… How does this benefit the Dutch government?”

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Eline said that she could think of a few reasons which included equipping Dutch organizations with highly skilled young professionals, building a Dutch network internationally, and the most important of all, Knowledge Exchange — creating an environment that promotes the transfer of knowledge between both local and international young professionals. She believes that YEP and its partners see this as their contributions towards achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Her response then created another question in my head: “What is Knowledge Exchange?”

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Knowledge exchange as defined by the ESRC, is a two-way exchange between researchers and research users, to share ideas, research evidence, experiences and skills. It refers to any process through which academic ideas and insights are shared, and external perspectives and experiences brought into academia. 

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I am from a hierarchical culture in which the elders choose not to teach the young ones everything they know in an effort to always remain superior. In university we would sometimes joke about it saying that our instructors did this because they are afraid we will take their jobs… and yes, we were right. Now you must understand, the lengths at which the Dutch government and other partners of the YEP Programmes are going to promote knowledge exchange was at the time somewhat unconventional to me. This made my anxiety grow and I couldn’t wait for the training to begin so I could get my portion of the shared knowledge and experience.

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The training began in January 2022 and was held online due to the rise of Covid cases in the Netherlands during winter. I would say the program was everything I expected plus more, but the truth is I didn’t know what to expect. There were a lot of educational and fun training sessions. Some of these included the Intercultural Training, where we learned about the Dutch and other cultures – this was fun and I was excited to learn about different cultures and understand my own culture a little more; the Pitch Training, which I must admit was really fun and embarrassing for some — in one session we had to pitch using cartoon characters' voice effects… man that was crazy; and most notably the Nexus Carousel Masterclass Training where we learned about the interlinkage between the Water, Energy and Food sectors. The Nexus approach moves beyond traditional sectoral thinking in order to achieve resource security and overall sustainability.

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Although I did not get to enjoy the physical experience and the virtual meetings became a little overwhelming at some point, I did meet a lot of amazing people and I had a wonderful experience. I hope this was the same for every other member of YEP Batch 25. Thanks to that experience, I now understand the importance of knowledge exchange and the potential advances the human race could make towards achieving not just the Sustainable Development Goals, but every other goal if only every government, private institution, and individual could fully invest in the sharing of ideas, experiences and skills with one another. If only…

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Thank you to my Emergi team and the YEP Bureau for allowing me the opportunity to become a YEPPER. It is a privilege and I look forward to my return training with hopes of enjoying a physical experience.

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