Interview with Dr. Enrique Gomez llata
By Shaadiya Mohammed
During a recent conversation with Dr. Enrique Gomez Ilata, Researcher and SSMS Senior Lecturer in Governance & Policy, Globalisation, Safety & Sustainability, Conflict Studies & Peacebuilding, and Human Security, his journey towards his professional and personal life was discussed. In this article, we will explore his childhood in Mexico, his school years, his moves between Mexico and the Netherlands, his research projects, and, finally, his time as a lecturer.
Early Life
Reflecting on his childhood, Dr. Gomez Ilata recalled growing up in Mexico City and attending El Colegio de Mexico. As a young boy, he was highly interested in and attracted to art and history. At the time, Dr. Gomez Ilata did not have an interest in safety or security as he felt it was not up his alley professionally. Furthermore, Dr. Gomez Ilata participated in various sports activities during his teenage years. “A lot of important things in my life were not necessarily school, but activities outside of school”, he recalled. Rowing was one of the external activities that Dr. Gomez Ilata was particularly interested and involved in. Although he enjoyed the sport, he ultimately stopped due to a variety of reasons.
After completing High school, Dr. Gomez Ilata went on to study veterinary [medicine] at La Unam University in Mexico (The National Autonomous University of Mexico). There, he studied veterinary [medicine] for three years, but realised it was not what he wanted to dedicate all his time to, so he switched courses to history, his true passion. When asked about his switch of courses, he said, “I did not feel comfortable in veterinary [medicine]. I felt more at home and better in history”. This experience illustrates how Dr. Gomez Ilata is a perfect example of the value in studying what he was interested in, as his career in history (and relevant subjects) is flourishing. When asked about his time and experience at La Unam University, he stated, “It was an extraordinary time. I was in my early twenties and had a job that I loved. It was also great that I sorted out the difficult transition from veterinary to humanities”. Dr. Gomez Ilata graduated from the university with a bachelor’s degree in history.
Departure to Europe
After obtaining his degree, Dr. Gomez Ilata moved to Europe to pursue a master’s degree in social sciences at the University of Amsterdam. “After I finished my bachelor’s in Humanities, I had this idea that I did not want to be a mouse in the library … It was a shift studying social sciences at the University of Amsterdam from studying humanities, but the studies complemented each other,” Dr. Gomez Ilata said. This study was an interesting coupling of his true interests, like theory, humanity, history, art, but in a more practical/applied way. “In this course, the social science practices were more interview-based, observations, field work, proactive work in society- more applied work.”
Resilience in Projects
After completing his master’s degree, Dr. Gomez Ilata decided to do a PhD at the University of Amsterdam. While involved with his PhD, Dr. Gomez Ilata was working on a project involving power relations and complications. “I did not apply for a position, but worked and completed my own project. I submitted it to many places, but was constantly rejected,” he said. As a result of the constant rejections, Dr. Gomez Ilata was unable to prioritise the PhD, as he was rather discouraged. Despite these struggles, Dr. Gomez Ilata made a final correction to the document and submitted it to the Department of Communication Science at the University of Amsterdam in the office to be distributed to professors to see if they wanted to work with him. He then returned to Mexico.
A Renewed Opportunity
“Upon my arrival in Mexico, I worked for the Government for one or two years. During my time, I was not really thinking of the PhD, but then one day, I received an email from the University of Amsterdam. A prominent academic who is also a professor was interested in my topic and was willing to work with me as a PhD student,” he said. The decision to return was relatively easy for Dr. Gomez Ilata, as he was not satisfied with his job in the Mexican government, and there was the opportunity to pursue a PhD in a field he was passionate about. This PhD subject was the analysis/study of the development of the telecommunication sectors in Mexico under its neoliberal regime. When asked about his experience during this PhD, Dr. Gomez Ilata stated, “I felt comfortable, but it was not really a regular PhD because usually it takes 4 to 5 years, but this one took 10 years, as I was not hired by the university”. Dr. Gomez Ilata received income from the Centre of Science and Technology in Mexico while the University of Amsterdam hosted him to work with the professor. “After two or three years of the PhD, I started working at the University of Amsterdam, teaching courses on Latin America, Methodology, and Political Science.
After completing his PhD, Dr. Gomez Ilata decided he wanted to become a historian, so he returned to Mexico in 2017. Upon his arrival, Dr. Gomez Ilata began working in academia, a position he left shortly before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Teaching Experiences
Upon being asked about his first teaching experience, Dr. Gomez Ilata stated, “My first lecture[ing] job was at high school year 11 when I was 24. I taught at primary schools, high schools, universities, master’s level, and PhD level”. His first university-level teaching was at his alma mater, the University of Amsterdam. “I always taught history, sociology, politics, and humanities in high school. However, my first course that I taught in university was methodology, and I was not very good at teaching methods, but I learned a lot from that experience”, Dr. Gomez Ilata said. He was then offered more courses to teach, such as Latin American History.
The choice to work at the university he attended was based on the opportunity and the need for income at the time. When asked about his experience, Dr. Gomez Ilata stated, “It was an excellent time; I really liked it because it was good for me … I learned various lessons from this opportunity, especially the experience of building up my own style to communicate in a classroom and my lessons from other colleagues, more experienced lecturers, and the students”.
Becoming a lecturer at The Hague University of Applied Sciences
Shortly after leaving his university teaching job in Mexico, Dr. Gomez Ilata wrote to a colleague in SSMS and asked if there was a position remotely available. “I knew of the program before because I was invited for a guest lecture when I was living in the Netherlands”, he said. However, there were no remote positions available, limiting his options as Dr. Gomez Ilata resided in Mexico at the time. “COVID then happened, and I wrote again, but this time, there were courses available on methodology and other subjects to be taught. I started working in the SSMS program remotely from Mexico”, he said. After teaching online for a full semester, the head of the program made Dr. Gomez Ilata an offer for a full-time position his teaching was effective, and there was a need for lecturers. “Shortly after, I had a conversation with my wife because we were settled in Mexico and knew how the Netherlands was, especially its brutal winter. Ultimately, we decided to take the opportunity and move back to the Netherlands because we had a lot of social and professional networks”, he said. The couple initially planned to stay for a few years, and have now been here for five years.
Dr. Gomez Ilata first became interested in teaching during his twenties. He teaches Governance & Policy, Globalisation, Safety & Sustainability, Conflict Studies & Peacebuilding, the Human Security minor, and oversees the consultancy project and the thesis. His favourite subject that he teaches is Conflict Studies & Peacebuilding, and he believes it is a very important topic to complement the program. When asked about his experience as a lecturer here at THUAS, he stated, “It is very good and interesting. I always taught at research universities, and this is my first time teaching at an applied science university. I was told by others that I would not like it much because it was more practical than theory-driven; however, I found it very interesting because the exercise is very valuable and I like the teaching”. Dr. Gomez Ilata also said, “It was slightly different from what I was teaching before, but I strongly appreciate the applied dimension, as I notice now the research universities are a little bit far in certain important issues. It was great to see the differences and learn to comply with the requirements of an applied bachelor’s. Additionally, the students consume fewer theoretical frameworks, and the applied dimension is strong, which is good”. When asked if this was as he expected, Dr. Gomez Ilata states, “Yeah, people were saying it’s different, but I don’t find it that different”.
Research Interests and Contributions.
Dr. Gomez Ilata has conducted multiple research projects based on his interests. Upon being asked about his first research project, he mentioned his master’s thesis, which was based on ‘The Political Use of the Internet in Mexico’. It contained three areas: Politics, Communication and New Technology. When the internet was relatively new, Dr. Gomez Ilata did some investigations on communications and new technology. Furthermore, he researched the political use of the internet in the US elections in the early 2000s with a professor at the University of Amsterdam. Some of the research was published, while some was presented at conferences. “I also did research for my PhD, which was about Communications, Political Science, Politics, and Mass Media like the TV, radio, satellites, internet, etc,” he said. Dr. Gomez Ilata researched various subjects depending on the opportunities. When asked about research that he finds difficult, he stated, “Any research that is already settled, too narrow, or too specific is not for me”. Dr. Gomez Ilata is currently not working on any research, but he may later do some research in the Humanities.
Research and Advocacy on Indigenous Rights
Between 2012 and 2015, Dr. Gomez Ilata was involved in movements and studies of indigenous rights. He started to collaborate with others, including a close colleague of his, to work on projects relating to the topic. “One of the important things we did was present certain outputs of the activities in the expert mechanism on the rights of indigenous people in the United Nations in Geneva”, Dr. Gomez Ilata recalled. This meeting was held every year, and Dr. Gomez Ilata and his colleagues had the opportunity to be there three or four times. “During these meetings, we presented different issues about free prior informed consent in the case of Mexico, and last year or two years ago, we presented a legal case about territorial autonomy on some Mayan territories in the Peninsucatan in Mexico,” he said. Whilst working in international development studies at the University of Amsterdam, Dr. Gomez Ilata supervised several theses, and many were about indigenous issues/indigenous rights.
When asked if there was any favourite research he had done, his response was, “The most interesting was the indigenous issues/rights, and luckily it is becoming easy to connect with my job in safety and security. I like it in general because the indigenous population [is] quite vulnerable. They are natural objects for safety and security issues. Their land and territories are subjected to securitisation, and the indigenous leadership and international indigenous leadership are extraordinarily well organized and advanced in political claims, political mobilization, and political structure”. Dr. Gomez Ilata’s first interest was communication technology, but later shifted to indigenous issues/rights. Dr. Gomez Ilata gave some lectures in the SSMS program about indigenous rights, as they pose a strong case study within safety and security.
Advice to SSMS Students
When asked if there was any advice you would like to give to SSMS students, Dr. Gomez Ilata said, “Keep an open mind full of optimism. It would take you places,” and “Be open to change, you can change! You can change course and track, you can change your way of thinking, ideas, and it is fine. Be open to change”. Dr. Gomez Ilata’s path reflects curiosity, adaptability, and an openness to change- qualities he now encourages his students to have.
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