This is the ambition expressed by Nayim Manik (26). He is the chairman of the Negotiation Project Twente (NPT). 'We qualified for the finals in two preliminary rounds. In both rounds our team performed very well, with places in the top five teams. This means that we are going for the win in Athens.'
Confidential information
Going full for the win in a competition that is all about negotiation. What does that look like? Manik, a Sustainable Energy Technology student, tries to paint a picture. 'The competition presumably takes place in a hall where the teams, consisting of three people, are presented with different cases. Just before the matches they receive confidential information, for which they have to think up a strategy. In addition, they analyze an opponent, have to pay attention to their presentation and also to a good relationship with the opponent. This all plays into the assessment of a jury of top negotiators.'
The president of the only Dutch student negotiating team gives an example of a case. 'Suppose Samsung wants to buy a patent from Apple. Both teams then take on the role of a company and try to make the best possible deal. The best possible deal does not necessarily mean the best price. A case can also be broader and more complex and political in nature, take for example a trade route. And a case does not always have two variables, but sometimes up to ten. Teams have to be able to deal with that.'
DUTCH NEGOTIATION OPEN
In June the Dutch Negotiation Network organizes the Dutch Negotiation Open. It will take place at the UT. Manik: 'The aim is to create more hubs in the Netherlands. We've been around for a few years now, but we don't get many followers in the Netherlands. That is quite strange, even though negotiation is a niche. We heard from several universities that there is interest in the competition at the UT, so that is good news.'
Technical University
The team from Twente already stands out in the field of participants prior to the finals. Not only because it is the only Dutch delegation, but also because almost all participating teams represent a business or law university. 'The fact that we are participating as technical students is remarkable. Our teaching department's way of training makes us strong. On a cultural level, for example, the Dutch directness can help us. The entrepreneurial university totally fits our team. Our strength is the STEM part. The team is focused on facts, figures and dossier knowledge, less on 'talking around it'.
THE UT team
- Noureldin Amr Sayed Ibrahim (23), student Mechanical Engineering
- Tamas Szecsei (20), student Industrial Engineering & Management
- Ronan Oostveen (21), student Computer Science
Teachers of the Twente team selected the above trio because they reinforced and impressed each other in training sessions. 'They are very well matched and know from each other what they are good at. We are all looking forward to it enormously and will go for the highest achievable.'
