Chapter 4 Purposeful engagement
The spirit of collaboration
Reading time: 7 minutes
Russell Gilbert
August 2021
As professor of Innovation Management at RSM’s Department of Technology and Operations Management, Daan Stam’s professional interests focus on the dynamics of leadership and communications, particularly in innovation and operational settings. His expertise in these areas makes him the perfect choice to take on the role as RSM’s first dean of engagement and partnerships.
What does engagement mean to you?
“Engagement means collaborating and linking with external parties and people. And that means making connections not just outside of the school, but also outside of academia.
“And it’s not just about connecting with businesses. Engagement also involves institutions, NGOs, municipalities and individuals. And among those individuals are of course our alumni. In turn, alumni are typically part of the business and organisational sphere.
“Engagement highlights the importance of relationships and the notion that we need to collaborate. It is usually by working together that any problem of importance is resolved. It’s inherent in who we are – it’s what we do.”
“It is usually by working together that any problem of importance is resolved.”
The role of dean of engagement and partnerships is a new one for RSM. Where do you start?
“There are a number of areas where we already have engagement that we can build on. One of them is teaching, through which we bring the world to our students and take our students to the world. Guest lecturers, for example, come to RSM and talk about the latest developments and thinking in their organisation, sector, or in their particular area of expertise. Students get involved in consultancy projects and observational projects where they go out and participate in the world. We develop programmes, courses and materials that we co-build with others. In executive education, we create programmes for professionals, and develop massive open online courses. These are all elements of engaged teaching.
“Similarly, engaged research has a multitude of elements to it like translating research findings for non-academic audiences and spreading research through various media. Yet some of it also relates to developing research where, rather than just reaching out to peers, academics involve other stakeholders to collaborate in determining mutually interesting research topics and relevant research questions at the very start of the project.
“Research centres are a good example. Their centre of gravity can be inside RSM or external to it. The point is that a community is created – consisting of academics as well as non-academics – around a certain topic or field of knowledge. Knowledge is created and disseminated together, from which an informed narrative develops.
“This type of community building is integral to successful engagement. Expanding our collaborative efforts will specifically benefit our research centres, as they drive the creation of communities around topics that people can rally around, and through which engagement and impact efforts can be co-ordinated.”
Alumni – where do they fit in with your engagement strategy?
“Anything involving RSM and the outside world naturally includes our alumni. Alumni are a very specific and special audience when it comes to engagement. They are closely connected to the school and so invariably have an interest in what we do and what we’re striving to achieve. They are a natural first point of contact for engagement."
How does engagement create value?
“One of the main ways in which we add value – and it’s where we have the greatest impact – is through our students and through our research. We already create a lot of impact in this way, but by increasing our engagement we broaden that impact and benefit a wider range of people who are not necessarily stakeholders. Ultimately, engagement creates value by bringing people together in a spirit of collaboration.”
“Ultimately, engagement creates value by bringing people together in a spirit of collaboration.”
Are there specific areas of engagement you intend to focus on?
“To begin with I want to focus on monitoring engagement. The BSIS Report conducted by EFMB Global gave us, for the first time, insights into our impact and embeddedness in the Randstad region. We need to build on this to develop a complete picture of where, how and with whom we engage.
“Second, we need to co-ordinate and empower people: let them decide what they do, when they do it and how they do it and support them in the process. Faculty members, for example, should have the stimulus to want to do research in a way that is engaged. Likewise, if a new course or programme is under development, those involved should be encouraged to embed within it links to the outside world in ways they think best.
“Also, we need to better understand and differentiate between the types of engagement we can and want to do as a school, and those we cannot or do not want to do. We need to maximise the engagement and impact value – for us, for our stakeholders and for society.”
“We need to maximise the engagement and impact value – for us, for our stakeholders and for society.”
Professor Daam Stam:
Daan Stam is Professor of Innovation Management and Dean of Engagement and Partnerships. He is a member of the department of Technology and Operations Management, Rotterdam School of Management at Erasmus University Rotterdam.
How will you identify what engagement and impact actions offer the greatest value?
“Because Engagement and impact revolve around collaboration, so we must involve stakeholders to identify the biggest opportunities. An advisory board comprising stakeholders internally, will provide us with the input from them. This will enable us to bounce ideas around and understand whether they have merit.
“I’m also talking extensively with the School’s external advisory board, which comprises senior business leaders. With their unique perspectives of what the outside world is thinking about, we can leverage their insights to understand the ways of working and collaborating we should embrace to achieve the greatest value."
Will there be a focus on local and regional engagement?
“As the BSIS Report made very clear, the role of the school is very important for regional impact. And in this respect, we need to look not just to corporate business but also to entrepreneurs – the start-ups and the scale-ups. It’s important for us to have impact in the development of new and growing businesses because it’s through entrepreneurial boldness that new ideas and innovations are created that contribute to the betterment and well-being of society.”
“…it’s through entrepreneurial boldness that new ideas and innovations are created that contribute to the betterment and well-being of society.”
HousingAnywhere
Niels van Duren, RSM alumnus (BSc International Business Administration 2009 & CEMS International Management 2012), is an advisor for start-ups and scale-ups after founding his own company, HousingAnywhere, in 2009 and as CEO, scaling it up to 100 employees in 12 countries. With necessity classically being the mother of invention, the idea for the company came when Niels was a student; he wanted to study abroad but couldn’t find anyone to rent his room.
Trying to find information about incoming exchange students who might be interested proved difficult. It occurred to him that an online platform, where students could easily find housing or rent out their room when going abroad for an internship or on exchange, might be the solution. “When I returned from my semester in Singapore, I pursued the idea further, and HousingAnywhere.com was born,” he says, and considers that RSM offers “an entrepreneurial spirit that embraces us all, and encourages innovation among students.”
His ambition to provide a much-needed service and expand the company succeeded: with more than 60,000 properties available to rent in 32 cities, HousingAnywhere is now Europe's largest rental accommodation marketplace for students and young professionals.

RSM MentorMe
The benefits of alumni engagement are typified by RSM’s MentorMe platform. Providing an opportunity to make a positive change with support from people who’ve been there, the platform connects current students and recent graduates with RSM alumni to help them prepare for their future through mentoring.
Led since August 2017 by corporate alumni relations manager Juan Maldonado Alcázar, an alumnus of the school himself (MBA 2017), the platform provides career conversations, résumé critiques, mock interviews and a host of other services in which alumni have the opportunity to not only engage with the School, but to also share their knowledge and experience with those who can most benefit.
Says former mentee Roberto Flores Meregote (MSc Master in Management): “A large part of who I am now is thanks to the support of people who have believed in my potential. I am now a mentor because I believe in giving back and sharing what I have learned with others.”
Alumni of the school can change a life by contributing to scholarship funds and ensuring the best students can study at RSM regardless of financial status. Donations ensure the continuation of unique research projects or the creation of new inspiring projects that address the big challenges of our time and enable positive change.