International Facility Management Student at Hanze University of Applied Sciences
Who I am, what drives me, and my aspirations in Facility Management.
Hi! I'm Emilia Ivon Henriquez Hansen, a 19-year-old from Haugesund, Norway. Growing up in a small coastal town where everyone knows each other taught me the value of community.
My journey to Facility Management has been shaped by diverse work experiences, from flooring installation at Gulvmax AS to caregiving for disabled individuals, kindergarten work, and even modeling for Garnius, Norway's largest online yarn and knitting brand based in my hometown. These experiences taught me the importance of service, attention to detail, and creating environments where people feel comfortable and cared for.
Moving to Groningen together with my boyfriend Samuel to pursue International Facility Management at Hanze University was a big step. I'll be honest: starting this program has been a big challenge for me. Since the beginning, I've been debating whether to continue my studies here or switch to nursing back home. I still haven't made a final decision.
The reason I've been considering this is that it has taken me a while to get settled and get used to the courses. Learning has always come easy for me, but this year it's been harder than usual. I've thought about this a lot, and my conclusion is that I haven't worked hard enough. I've missed lectures, been sick, and gone through significant changes in my life. But I've decided to give it another try and stay in my class for now.
Development through life experiences before and during my FM studies.
My diverse work history has been instrumental in shaping my professional identity:
These experiences combined, from physical facility work to caregiving to brand representation, gave me a holistic understanding of how environments affect people's wellbeing.
Modeling for Garnius 🧶 – Norway's largest yarn brand
Outside of work and studies, I love exploring new places and experiences. Moving to Groningen has opened up a whole new world of social activities and cultural experiences. I enjoy meeting people from different backgrounds, which aligns perfectly with the international nature of my program.
I'm also passionate about fashion and self-expression. My modeling work for Garnius allowed me to combine my interest in aesthetics with professional work. Living in a vibrant student city like Groningen gives me plenty of opportunities to enjoy the local nightlife and build meaningful friendships with fellow students.
Enjoying the vibrant city life of Groningen with friends 🌃
I grew up in Haugesund, a small town on the west coast of Norway. Everyone knows each other there, so you never really feel alone.
Moving to the Netherlands with my boyfriend Samuel was a big step. Being in a new city where I know very few people has been challenging, but also exciting.
Haraldsstøtten in Haugesund 🗡️
I completed my secondary education in Norway, where the education system emphasizes practical skills alongside academic knowledge. The Norwegian approach to learning, which values both individual achievement and group collaboration, prepared me well for the project-based learning at Hanze University.
My various work experiences also served as informal education, teaching me real-world skills in construction (Gulvmax), healthcare (care facility), and business (modeling). These diverse experiences gave me a practical foundation that complements my academic studies in Facility Management.
With my mom at the Norwegian high school graduation 🎓
My growth within the IFM program through projects, courses, and skill development.
International Facility Management Class of 2025-2026 at Hanze University 🎓
Since starting facility management, ive had one main project. The project was about event organisation, and our focus for this project was the Wiebenga building. For this project I did research in different ways: survey, observation, online research, and interviews. This has given me useful research skills that I can use in the future. We found out what was going well, and what could be changed to make Wiebengas event management more efficient. During the project we discovered several bottlenecks and issues that makes the process difficult. We presented our findings in a manual research report, and presented our advice in an advisory report when we had found solutions for the issues we discovered.
My specific contributions: I wrote the Problem Definition, Objective, and Research Questions in the Manual Research Plan. In the Advisory Report, I wrote Section 4.1 about the current event process at Wiebenga and my own Executive Summary. For our presentation, I created the slides for problem definition, main question, and objective.
Our team collaborated well. My role in the group was a passive one, I would say. I did my work in time and did what I was told to do. The first part of the project was difficult for me and for my teammates. I, as others have no experience in this field and felt overwhelmed for a while. This became a problem because I was less motivated than the rest of my teammates. As I said, my work was done but my teammates felt like I didn't work as hard as they did.
Personally, I felt like I gave my all at the moment, but I do understand that my all wasn't living up to their expectations. I got constructive feedback from some of my teammates, which I feel motivated me to engage more. Further in the project, I had more information and felt more secure in what I did. This helped my motivation very much. I asked for more feedback from my teammates, and they agreed that I had improved and that the work ended up being equally distributed. I believe that the teamwork has been good, with some unprofessional encounters on the way. Everyone still has room for improvement, but I think the team is happy with how everything ended, both in a personal and professional manner.
The documents below is our presentations, and reports. I have color-coded my parts in pink:
I have learned a lot about myself during this project. I know that I like to work in groups and find it motivating to share work with others. I have learned how to give feedback in a professional way, and how to receive it without taking it personal. Different opinions have given me new perspectives, and different study methods has motivated me. I also learned that it could be smart to work with different people, and not only those you feel the closest with as different opinions can feel personal.
Next time: I hope I get a team that I haven't worked with before. I want to be more engaged next time, maybe take a more active role, could even be a leader role if I feel secure enough in my own knowledge. I want to improve my communication skills, my research skills and I want to stop procrastinating.
Facility and hospitality thought me very much. The course is business related, and has thought me different strategies, different businesses, models, and given me insights in everything you have to think about when working in business. Interesting lectures with a lot of information. It can be hard, and I failed the exam but I have read the material at home and feel like my understanding of the material is okay.
Self-assessment: 50%
People and organisation has thought me organisational processes, facility processes, market theory and has given me meaningful knowledge. I still have a lot to catch up on in this before the exam February 5th.
Self-assessment: 30%
Ive been to all the lectures and I know how to do propper research, do APA, and feel like I understand the material. Through the Wiebenga project I gained experience with surveys, interviews, observations, and online research.
Ive missed a few lectures so I won't be getting a grade, but I have been to some lectures and gone through the material and I understand most of the material.
Missed some lectures but find this course very useful. There is feedback in almost all the lectures, and I think that this course has helped me, and my classmates grow very much.
Training, intercultural awareness, and personal growth experiences.
Planning & Organizing: I haven't been very structured this year, but I am planning to get an agenda where I can write down deadlines and important information to improve my organisation.
Learning & Learning Style: I learn best by being shown material visually. I also learn well by having subject-related conversations with others. When I try to teach others the content, I learn a lot from it myself.
Time Management: I don't have a job currently, but time management between school and social life goes well. We don't have a lot of lectures compared to others that I know, and my social circle in Groningen is not very big.
Work-Life Balance: I wouldn't say there is much of a balance right now, since I'm working on my routine and I am taking new classes next block. When it comes to stress, I don't handle it very well. I sort of shut down and procrastinate to the point where I am too late. I am establishing a new routine to prevent stress and procrastination.
Key Insights: I have learned that people have different boundaries, different ways to speak to each other, and different values. This shows especially during teamwork when you must approach problems and work together.
Self-Positioning: I see myself as more held back, then other cultures. I thought that Norwegians were pretty straight forward, but compared to the Dutch we are not. It has been weird to be approached by unknown people in the hallways and in the street, and being stopped to chat with others I don't know. This would never happen in Norway, but I find it interesting and fun. Personal space is also a key topic here, because I have noticed that my personal space is not being respected by other cultures. I do not think it is intentional, but I experience people I don't know getting very close to me when speaking. This is something I am not used to. I enjoy getting to know other cultures.
Environmental Influences: Being from a small town in Norway called Haugesund, has influenced me a lot. In my hometown, everyone knows each other and it is not possible to go to the store without meeting someone that you know. This has affected me, because you never feel alone in my hometown. There is always someone to hang out with or talk to. In Groningen I know very few people, and it can be hard to socialize with strangers since it is new to me. Haugesund was very comfortable as ive always lived there. In this new city there are new norms, new people and a new culture that I am still learning about.
Future Application: I will use intercultural awareness in my future career. It is useful because you learn to be openminded, learn about other cultures and how it affects other people, and you become more understanding of others background. I find intercultural awareness important and interesting. I will be using it to be less judgemental, more curious and more helpful to others.
Extra Activities: I haven't participated in anything other than coursework yet. I will be starting Spanish this next block, and I am exited to learn.
Peer Connections: My connection with classmates hasn't enriched my learning very much. I only feel a connection with one classmate, which is Roos. I am grateful to have met her, and she has enriched both my learning and my social life. We study together and look out for each other.
Overall Growth: I definitely feel like I have grown a lot since starting my studies. Maybe not so much in a academic way, but very much as a person. I have lived with my loving parents my whole life, and I always came home to clean clothes, dinner on the table and people to talk to. I have had to learn how to stand on my own to feet. I live with my boyfriend, and we have done a lot of growth together. Chores are equally distributed, and we have managed to find a rhythm that works. Financial responsibilities has also made me grow, as I only had to pay for things I wanted before. Now I pay for everything myself, and have to be careful with how I spend money. This goes for my boyfriend aswell.
Learning experiences outside the regular classroom.
Semester 1, 2025
Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the "GESLAAGD" (Passed!) graduation celebration at the Wibenga building myself. However, my classmates who observed the event shared their experiences with me. The atrium was beautifully decorated with colorful balloons and a celebratory setup for graduating students. The observation was part of our group's research project to identify bottlenecks in event management.
Based on what my classmates told me, they identified issues like not enough waste bins, unclear wayfinding, accessibility challenges, and parking problems. Their observations were valuable for our project, showing that these problems are more visible through direct observation than through user feedback alone.
November 19th, 2025
We got a detailed tour of the hospital, useful information about a facility managers job at a hospital, and got to ask all the questions we wanted.
Very useful. We got to experience a part of our potential future careers and visualise it. The facility manager answered questions which helped me understand more about what my job can be.
Starting Next Block
I will be starting Spanish this next block as an extra activity outside of my regular coursework.
I am excited to learn! It will be useful for my future career.
My objectives for the next semester and how I plan to achieve them.
I want to have routines so that my everyday life is more structured and easy-going.
It is important for my development because I need a sufficient amount of sleep, enough food, and activity to perform better. This also contributes to my general happiness and can make it easier for me to go to all my classes.
Go to bed at 23:00 every day unless I have a good reason. Eat whole meals and not just small snacks often (meal prep). Be outside for one hour daily.
I will know I have achieved this when I start to feel tired around 23:00, and my head and body feels healthier because of good food and fresh air.
Be able to study for 6 hours weekly to make sure I am up to date with my lectures.
It is important for my development in school and to improve my concentration.
To reach my goal, I will implement 1 hour of studying, 6 days a week into my routine.
I know I have succeeded when I feel prepared for exams and lectures.
Quit using snus as part of establishing my new healthy routine.
It is very expensive, reduces concentration, and is unhealthy for my body.
They don't sell snus in the Netherlands, so I have to stop bringing it from Norway when I visit home.
I have reached my goal when I am no longer addicted to it.
Supporting documents, certificates, and feedback.