‘Just go for it’
To sabbatical or not to sabbatical?
Door Marit Bonne
By Marit Bonne
Marit Bonne
When Bob de Jonge opened his curtains, he was greeted by a winter wonderland. The associate professor of European languages and cultures was staying in Leyden, a small town in the American state of Massachusetts, for a week. During breakfast, he would have linguistic discussions with his colleagues. After lunch, they’d go out and visit nearby museums.
It was one week of his ‘favourite sabbatical’. De Jonge stayed with colleagues who were part of research groups he worked closely with: first in Buenos Aires, and then in New York. ‘Spending a few months together, you get to know each other in a completely different way. I learned much more about the kind of people they are.’
The University of Groningen defines sabbatical leave as ‘a form of special leave, often for an extended period, during which the employee considers their career development’. But colloquially, the term ‘sabbatical’ can also mean time spent working at a different university, often abroad, without any other obligations such as teaching.
Such was the case for microbiologist Jan Maarten van Dijl. ‘I don’t know if it was officially a sabbatical, but it did feel like it’, he says. The professor of medical microbiology visited his Japanese colleagues at the University of Kobe for an extended period in 2020.
Amazing
During his month there, Van Dijl and a Japanese colleague wrote a review article and worked on a project application. ‘The latter was unfortunately rejected, but it was such an inspiring experience’, he says. ‘And Japanese culture is amazing. There’s so much to see and the food is amazing.’
You leave your own bubble
Van Dijl was hooked. So much so that in 2023, he went on a ‘do-over sabbatical’ to find new ideas for his research. This time, he wasn’t hampered by Covid rules. ‘Because you leave your own bubble, you create room for new insights’, he explains. ‘It’s really refreshing.’
Andrej Zwitter agrees. ‘Colleagues at the technical university of Zürich invited me to spend three months with them after my term as dean of Campus Fryslân was up’, the professor of political theory and governance says. Afterwards, he spent two months in Osaka, Japan.
It’s common for academics to take a step back after a long period of management work, Zwitter explains. This often takes the form of a sabbatical. ‘It gives you some time to figure out what you want with your research, which direction you want to take it in.’
Being a dean was a busy time for him. ‘The faculty was still new and I couldn’t devote as much time to research as I wanted’, he says. ‘I lost touch with various contacts, wasn’t publishing much, and didn’t keep up with what was happening in my field.’ During a sabbatical, Zwitter explains, you have all the time in the world to read, write, and even publish articles.
Popular articles
De Jonge shares this experience. ‘In Buenos Aires, we had debates, discussed linguistics, and worked on our articles for publication.’ He gained quite a few friends and his published articles were very popular in Argentina. ‘I sometimes joke that I’m more famous in Argentina than I am in the Netherlands’, he says. ‘But that’s actually true.’
I’m more famous in Argentina than I am in the Netherlands
His sabbatical netted him a seat on a linguistic board in New York, among other things. ‘I’m almost certain it was because of the connections I made.’
Van Dijl also benefited from his time away. ‘Sometimes you find something and you just know you have to do something with it’, he says. In Japan, his colleague showed him a new type of material that makes growing bacteria more sustainable. Since microbiologist Van Dijl grows quite a few bacteria in his lab, this was useful for him.
Zwitter had a similar experience. ‘All the research ideas I had after my sabbatical I got from my time away.’ During his time in Zürich, he wrote a paper on cybernetic governance.
He also organised workshops, which were attended by colleagues from Delft, among others. With them, Zwitter designed a research project that received funding from the Dutch Research Council. This resulted in a special article in a prestigious journal, Ethics and Information Technology.
Personal bonds
Zwitter was recently invited to set up the same workshops in Zürich again. ‘It was so great to see each other again’, he says. ‘After all, we spent three whole months together.’ During these sabbaticals, academics work closely with a particular research group.
‘In Osaka, we’d often have dinner with the entire group’, says Zwitter. ‘It was so much fun.’ In Zürich, he was invited to a team outing: a boat trip across the Lake of Zürisch. ‘It was a lovely May day, and we were surrounded by mountains as we sailed across the blue water.’
De Jonge says the personal contact with colleagues at other universities was the best thing about his sabbatical. ‘It may sound like an exaggeration, but it isn’t’, he says. ‘The personal bonds I created were so important to me.’
‘When Campus Fryslân was officially opened, three colleagues from Japan even came to visit. I was such a surprise’, Zwitter says, laughing. ‘Even Jouke de Vries was impressed that they’d come all that way just for us.’
After a month there, I realised it could always be worse
Van Dijl also says the interactions with his colleagues were the best part about his sabbatical. ‘It also puts things in perspective’, he says. There is a lot of bureaucracy involved in research in Japan. ‘I can get a bit grumpy about all the paperwork I have to do in the Netherlands, but after a month there, I realised it could always be worse.
Time difference
So are there any drawbacks to taking a sabbatical? All three professors shake their heads. ‘That doesn’t mean it wasn’t intense’, Van Dijl says. The time difference between the Netherlands and Japan is eight hours. That meant he would receive emails from the Netherlands just as his working day in Japan was over. ‘There were days where I was in front of my computer until 2:30 in the morning. It’s almost like leading a double life.’
If you’re an academic and considering a sabbatical, all three advise to just go for it and make sure everything is arranged. Zwitter: ‘It’s important to consider what you want from a sabbatical before you go on one. Once you’re there, time just flies by.’ Van Dijl emphasises the importance of planning. ‘Your absence shouldn’t result in more work for other people.’
De Jonge’s tip is to rent an AirBnB instead of a hotel. ‘During my field work in Mexico I was all alone in a hotel. It was so lonely. Fortunately, Mexicans are hospitable people, and he was quickly invited to stay at his colleagues’ houses. ‘I’ve made friends for life, friends my wife and I still see now and again.’