The Master in International Communications Management at The Hague University has helped Indonesian national Nia Limanto expand her skill set. She has also proved she can earn a living abroad. Before too long she wants to return home to share her experience with the new generation.

Special place

For Nia Limanto (26), who grew up in Surabaya, Indonesia, the Netherlands has always been special, because it was where her Dutch uncles lived. When her mother steered her towards a higher education in the Netherlands, Nia liked the idea from the start. She followed her mother's advice to go for a Bachelor in communication management. "Even as a child, I enjoyed speaking in front of people," she says. "One of my uncles lived close to the university, so I moved in with him."

Draw of digital

In communication, Nia's first love was broadcasting. At 17 she was a finalist in a newsreading contest, and six years later she lent her voice to a radio commercial. After moving to the Netherlands, where she discovered the world of digital communications, she veered away from the microphone. "I wanted to develop my online marketing skills. At the time, the social media were just starting up. As more and more social networks appeared, I reached the conclusion that this was what I wanted to specialize in."

New skills

After she graduated, Nia's residency rights in the Netherlands were restricted, so she decided to get some work experience back home in Indonesia. For two years she worked as sales and marketing manager for an NGO in Aceh and as CSR coordinator for an IT company in Surabaya. Then, with new skills in her toolbox, she started looking for the right Master programme. "At first I couldn't see the wood for the trees. It took time to find out what I wanted. At an education fair I came across the Master in International Communications Management [MICM] at The Hague University. I liked the way the curriculum was composed, and I didn't need a pre-Master."

Writing talent

Nia moved back to the Netherlands and embarked on the one-year, full-time MICM programme. She steadily improved both her Dutch and English, and found she had a talent to write in English. "Not being a native speaker meant that I needed practice and feedback from my teachers. We had to write up a lot of assignments, and my English grammar and style quickly improved. I have always enjoyed writing, but I didn't know if I was any good at it. My teachers and classmates often paid me compliments, which helped build up my confidence.

Real-life cases

The lecturers at THU, Nia found, made the Master programme especially challenging for students who, like her, were prepared to make a special effort: "How hard a Master is depends on the standard you set yourself. I wanted to get top grades, so I was driving myself quite hard." She particularly enjoyed the case studies, which dealt with corporate, internal and marketing communication. "The universities in Indonesia just focus on theory. If I'd stayed there, I wouldn't have the skills I have now. The cases reflected the real world, which made them very helpful indeed." Two case assignments she remembers with particular fondness are the communication strategy she formulated for Weleda, a manufacturer of natural skincare and healing products, and her online strategy for a children's club for Unilever. Her grade for the Unilever case was the best of her class.

Digital natives

Young people were also the focus of the thesis Nia submitted at the end of the MICM programme. "I presented a marketing strategy for ‘digital natives', for whom new media have been part of life since their childhood. I analysed how music influences their choice of higher education and what their other selection criteria are. I also made a case for them to come and study in the Netherlands."

Dual passion

Although she has stayed on course as a communication professional in the digital media, Nia was never one to just communicate through the screen - far from it. "Online media are my passion, but I also enjoy face to face contact. I like helping friends and colleagues to use the internet. I don't just talk to computers, but to people as well."

Like family

During the MICM graduation ceremony, Nia proved she has no problems with public speaking. "It's one of my strengths, and it's something I want to continue to do. At the graduation I spoke about the special bond between the international students in my class. We were like family and encouraged each other. We all knew each other really well, even though there were about 50 students in our class." Like her, many of the students came from Indonesia, but Nia realized she'd benefit more from contact with international classmates. She sought out friends from Italy, Croatia and Nigeria. "We studied, socialized and cooked together - but we didn't exclude the other students."

Track record

At Nuffic, an organization that supports international students, Nia did two internships, and she also worked as an MC for the Indonesian embassy. In 2010 the embassy gave her responsibility for the online marketing and media contact of its Pasar Malam cultural fair. Given this track record, it comes as a surprise that the job she is now doing is in private industry: she works as a communications assistant for Automotive & Aerospace Coatings at AkzoNobel. "I was actually applying for jobs in education and the non-profit field," she explains. "But then one of my lecturers told me about a vacancy in digital communications at AkzoNobel."

New-found affinity

Nia's main task at AkzoNobel is to update her colleagues on recent news and activities and assist them with issues relating to the intranet and internet. She is also standardizing the websites for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Her manager, she says, encourages her ‘to go for it': "He gives me the freedom to experiment with social media, so that my ideas can later be implemented by the department." Since starting the job, she has developed an affinity with coatings. "Initially, I had no interest in them. But AkzoNobel gave me a tour of the factory and I even got to paint a car door. They also sent me to the Geneva Motor Show, where I helped set up their stand and organized the online communication."

Satisfaction

Nia has every intention of finishing her contract with AkzoNobel. She is proud of the fact that she's proved she can survive outside her comfort zone and earn a living abroad. But her real ambitions lie elsewhere. "In a few years' time I'm going back to Indonesia. Not just to be with my family and my boyfriend, but because I want to be a lecturer and teach Indonesian students about the real world. I want to share my experience with the new generation. Talking to people and teaching themthings gives me a special satisfaction."

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Terri J. Kester is a  freelance writer specialising in higher education.