In February 2025, Daniella Boodoo joined Risbo’s team of educational trainers and researchers for an internship of two months. Boodoo, a 27-year-old education professional from Trinidad and Tobago, is doing the international Master's in Research and Innovation of Higher Education (MARIHE) Progam She reflects on 8 weeks of immersing herself in educational development and teacher training at Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam.
Daniella holds a Bachelor’s of Education degree in Primary Education and a Master’s of Education degree with a Concentration in Curriculum. After being a primary education teacher in both private and public schools on Trinidad and Tobago for five years, she applied for the MARIHE Scholarship in Europe.
Why did you apply for the MARIHE Scholarship?
“I love being a teacher, but I came to acknowledge the limitations in the quality of education in my home country. There are many good things about our education system, but it is also quite traditional and sometimes limited in terms of technology and infrastructure. So, when the scholarship opportunity presented itself, I decided to leave my profession and pursue a second Master’s.”
Where does your interest in teacher training stem from?
“I have always been interested in improving teaching quality, and I think part of it has its roots in the COVID-19 period. I was writing my thesis on ‘Exploring Teachers' Experiences of using Online Platforms for the Delivery of Teaching and Learning During Covid-19'. This was very difficult at Trinidad and Tobago, due to both economical constraints and ‘educational resistance’. During my study, I realized that many teachers had no choice but to use the online technology, and this lack of choice caused resistance. I wondered what I could do to contribute at a systemic level to improve the quality of education, for example by addressing the continuous training and development of teachers and help them become more resilient.” Smiling, she adds: “It triggered me to look for ways to innovate in a type of environment where there are limited resources.”
Did you already figure out how?
“Well, I think it's really important to contribute in a larger way to the progress of education. I realized that I wanted to work within higher education and train prospective teachers, and provide them with the tools they need to be exceptional. But I figured that to do so in Trinidad and Tobago, I first needed to get more international exposure and explore other avenues of higher education.”
MARIHE Erasmus Mundus
“This Master's program in research and innovation in higher education is all about experiencing different education systems and learning about these systems. Our group is 22 students, with representatives from 19 different countries, which is super interesting! The curriculum consists of different parts which we follow in different countries, like Austria, Finland and China. After completing those modules, we had to choose our specialization. In my case this is Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, which I am currently pursuing at the Eötvös Loránd University in Hungary."
And how did you end up in Rotterdam??
“I was already determined to look for an internship in the Netherlands, as I had family living there. When I started looking online for teacher training in Rotterdam, Risbo came up pretty fast and it was immediately very interesting. It was almost like a sign from above! The first thing I read online was the Education Manifesto, and some of the things in there stood out to me in a way that I knew that I didn’t want to look further for alternatives: I really wanted to join Risbo! So, I wrote Kris, and before I knew it, I had landed the internship.”
What stood out?
“For example, ‘we want to know the impact of what we do’. I think this is really important, but I rarely meet teachers who look back! It is so important to reflect on what you are doing and if you have reached your educational goals. Another thing was the point about 'learning from and with others’. I never thought of it like that, but I do think there is a big truth in there.”
“I didn't think it would come so full circle to work in a place with so many people involved with teacher training. It really aligns with who I am as a person and what I want to do.”
What did your internship look like?
“Overall, I have participated in as many trainings and sessions as possible, to learn as much as I can. I even got to do a few TA (teaching assistant) training sessions myself, which was great: I felt so trusted! Apart from that, part of my internship assignment was to revise the UTQ (University Teaching Qualification) training manuals and to create a SUTQ (Senior University Teaching Qualification) handout about the 12 Levels of Transfer Effectiveness for teachers. I also helped develop practical examples for using AI-strategies in the classroom; these are already included in the TeachEUR website, which is pretty awesome!”
I also heard you did some camera training?
“The camera training session with Matt was a great experience! I made educational videos before, but never with me in them before. Being a reserved person, speaking on camera does not really come naturally. However, Matt coached me with little steps and challenges. Looking at the video sessions, even though I didn't expect this, I noticed my own progress with each step. The training really made a proper use of scaffolding technique to get to the acquired level. It was a lovely and practical thing to do.”
What’s next?
“The short-term goal is to return to Budapest, complete my thesis and hopefully graduate in September. I will be looking for a job, maybe even in Holland. My husband and I like it here, there are interesting opportunities, and we love the fact that there are a lot of food similarities due to the big Caribbean population in Rotterdam. In the long-term, we want to take our experiences back home to Trinidad and Tobago and affect some level of change. The internship at Risbo was a wonderful step in this adventure of mine, and I’m incredibly grateful for the chance to spend time amongst people with similar goals to mine.”
Fun fact
When Daniella's MARIHE group was learning about moocs and assessments whilst in Hungary, they came across Risbo's Mooc on Assessment. Daniella proudly informed her professor that she was going to do an internship at said Risbo; He became instantaneously excited and very eager to hear everything about what she was going to do there.
