Made in Maastricht: Bettina Klein
Bettina Klein graduated in 2007 from her Master of Arts and Heritage. She now works as an exhibitor Relations Manager at Art Dubai in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Bettina is a very committed alumn and member of the External Advisory Board of her faculty which aims to maintain the quality of the programme and monitor the preparation for the labour market for it's graduates. We asked her a couple of questions about then and now.
How does you career-path look like since then?
I moved to Dubai and began working as gallery manager in a family-run contemporary art gallery, Total Arts Gallery, where I learnt the inside-outs of the contemporary Middle Eastern art scene. After 2 years I moved on to Art Dubai, the contemporary art fair of the MENASA, where I am still working now as Exhibitor Relations Manager and am currently preparing for the 8th edition of the fair taking place in March 2014.
What is the most particular memory you have of your university/ faculty/ professor?
The interdisciplinary approach and enthusiasm of professors, tutors and students of the MA Arts & Heritage program was exceptional and ideal and contributed to an interactive learning environment.
How did you become a member of the External Advisory Board?
As regular external assessments review the quality standards of universities, FASoS decided to establish an External Advisory Board involving alumni in the curriculum improvement process. Joop de Jong, Director of the MA Arts & Heritage, remembered me from his graduation class 2007 and suggested me to join the board to actively give feedback and recommendations on the program.
What is your drive to be actively committed to your Alma Mater?
I very much enjoyed my time at FASoS, am interested to stay in touch with the recent developments in my industry and to feed this experience back to students to best prepare them for their professional career.
How can you in your position contribute to the program of Arts and Culture?
As Exhibitor Relations Manager at Art Dubai, working in an international emerging art market I happily share my experiences made in the industry. As invited lecturer to FASoS in November I very much enjoyed meeting and answering student’s questions from how to enter the art and job market to living in the Middle East and working in an upcoming art scene of great international attention by placing it in the context of a lecture on the globalization of the art world.
How does the External Advisory Board make sure that the recommendations are implemented or followed-up upon?
Consistency in the board (with board members being appointed for 5 years) allows us to review every year if recommendations were implemented successfully. I am very impressed with the dynamic with which our suggestions were taken into account and am proud to see that within only a year not only the idea of meeting professionals has been implemented but also a mentorship program has been established to improve the study program and better prepare students for the challenges awaiting them on the job market.
Charlotte Groven, Communications Officer
December 2013