English Intensive Course at HAN University

Many foreign students are interested in studying in The Netherlands. Although many students start their studies with motivation and determination, not all of them are able to complete their studies and obtain their diplomas. The English Intensive Course (EICplus!) at HAN University of Professional Education has been redesigned for foreign students who would like to study in the. The course will help students to improve their English considerably (the working language in class), PLUS it will make them familiar with Dutch culture and our study culture. Another PLUS is that students will be prepared for their foundation year by training their study and interpersonal skills. Taking the EIC course will increase students' chances of successfully completing their studies in the ; students will know their way around at school and their new surroundings during the course. Moreover, once in their foundation year, they will have adjusted to a different way of studying. EICplus! will also make it easier to get in touch with Dutch fellow students. The entry requirement for EICplus! is an IELTS score of at least 5.5. At the end of the course, students will take exams developed by HAN University at level C1 of the European framework (comparable to IELTS 6 and higher). The new EIC in a nutshell: Greatly increase your level of English PLUS: become familiar with Dutch (study) culture PLUS: be well prepared for your foundation year PLUS: get in touch with Dutch students and students from across the globe Duration: 5 months The course fee: 2300 euro Start date: 1 September 2007 Arnhem Business School can offer assistance in arranging: Accommodation, Health Insurance, special fast Visa application, residence permit, books/readers and airport transport. For more detailed information please contact: Mr Koen Kuster email: EIC@han.nl//HAN University

Saying goodbye to Tilburg

The semester is coming to an end and exchange students from across the globe are packing up and leaving Tilburg to return to their home countries. What were their most memorable experiences as exchange students? What have they learned during their stay at Tilburg University? Will they miss Tilburg at all? Etienne Duclot from France (22, Law): 'I've learned a lot about other cultures' Why did you decide to come to Tilburg for your exchange programme? "Tilburg University has a master's programme that interested me, and I liked the fact that I could travel from here and see many different places." What was your best experience as an exchange student? "Living with people from different countries is a very good experience. You learn a lot about how other people and other cultures work. And definitely the Orange party organised in the Lamme Goedzak by ESN. Everyone was dressed in orange. I have very good memories of that party." What was your worst experience? "That would have to be returning from the university by bike to Stappegoor where I live in the pouring rain." Orbay Unsay from Turkey (20, Business Administration): 'I have built some strong friendships here' Why did you decide to come to Tilburg for your exchange programme? "Tilburg University has one of the best economics faculties in Europe, and I thought it would be a very different experience from Turkey. Also because of the Netherlands' central location in Europe. I could go visit other countries, and I heard many good things about the Dutch, and I thought that I would be able to adapt well to the Dutch culture." What was your best experience as an exchange student? "Just living with various people from different places. I really built some strong friendships here and I am sure I will meet up with some of the people I met here again." What was your worst experience? "I arrived here on a Sunday and I didn't know that all the supermarkets here were closed on Sunday. I had just arrived and barely had anything to eat. That was a bad beginning." Una Travers from Ireland (21, Business and Economics) 'Student participation is very important here' Why did you decide to come to Tilburg for your exchange programme? "Tilburg is in the European top five for economics, and I wanted an exchange for six months and that was what Tilburg University offered. Also, I like the Netherlands and it is close to home." What was your best experience as an exchange student? "That would have to be the international dinners that ESN organised. Every Tuesday we would eat in a different place. It was great." What was your worst experience? "Having to stand up in class, presenting. Here they require a lot more participation from students than they do back home." Heather Mcclure from Scotland (20, Law): Why did you decide to come to Tilburg for your exchange program? "I wanted to go somewhere in Europe where they speak English and I wanted to study somewhere where the laws are different from ours. In the Netherlands some laws are very different." What was your best experience as an exchange student? "I loved all the Dutch holidays like carnival and Queen's day. For Queen's day we went to Amsterdam. I celebrated carnival in Koln, but I also saw the Tilburg parade." What was your worst experience? "The biking. I have fallen off my bike so many times and have gotten countless bruises, not to mention all the broken locks and the expenses I made with my bike." //Read the full interviews here

Tilburg University: Babylon gets own master's track

Babylon, the multidisciplinary expertise centre for Studies of the Multicultural Society, will get its own master's track next academic year. The track, Organisation of Cultural Diversity, will be offered at the department of Organisation Studies. The study programme, which is mainly, and specially, designed for this track, will focus on dealing with different cultures and backgrounds in organisations and society. Students will learn about cultural diversity within companies and how a person's identity is formed. Lecturers from various Tilburg University disciplines, such as cross-cultural psychology, linguistics, cultural studies, and organisation sciences, will take part in the master's programme. Although the multidisciplinary centre would have preferred to have a special Babylon master's programme, the newly developed master's track will give Babylon its own study programme.//Tilburg University

Tilburg University: 'Please show up in suit for exam'

Students should be immaculately dressed for business or professional occasions, in the opinion of Floris van Laanen, lecturer at the faculty of Law. His fourth-year students received an e-mail from him saying he would appreciate it if they also complied with this dress code during oral exams. Instead of tops or Bermuda shorts, Van Laanen prefers to receive his students at oral exams wearing a tenue the ville (which means suit) or, at least, a pair of neat trousers. Van Laanen's dress code for the ladies: a skirt with a shirt or neat blouse. Several students were surprised by Van Laanen's e-mail request. Some think it is inappropriate, especially when even jeans are not allowed. Others say that they will comply with the request by 'appearing very neatly dressed'. "The e-mail was not meant to put the students under an obligation", explains Van Laanen. "But I do want to point out to students that they should dress properly for professional occasions. That is simply the desired standard. When I spend the day doing research I wear jeans, but when I have an appointment, I wear a suit. It is an uncomfortable situation for me to give an exam to a scantily dressed student, all dolled up."//Tilburg University

Twente University: New residential units on campus

ACASA studenten huisvesting corporation, the organization responsible for managing all residential rooms and apartments on the UT campus is overseeing the construction of two new and huge apartment complexes. Marcel Kuipers, Manager of ACASA and Henk Jan Kamerbeek from the communications department of ACASA had a chat with the UT Nieuws about these initiatives. ACASA currently possesses 1900 rooms with shared facilities such as bathroom and kitchen, 180 rooms comprising all facilities, and 120 apartments meant for two or more persons and including all facilities. The rent for all rooms and apartments includes charges for all services including high speed internet, electricity, gas, water, garbage removal, taxes, cleaning of area outside apartments and maintenance. Thus, the tenant pays nothing besides the rent. Units may come furnished (by ACASA) or unfurnished, and are offered only to students and UT employees. Kuipers reiterated that applications from all nationalities are welcome and are given equal priority, dismissing the notion that Dutch nationals are given priority for some units.//UT nieuws

Service sector innovation – new Nyenrode focus

Nyenrode Business Universiteit is setting up a Professional Services Institute. As a service economy, the professional services sector is of huge importance to the Netherlands, yet the scientific focus on the management of, for example, consultancy companies, financial service providers, lawyer firms and service providers in ICT, communications, technical design, HR or market research is limited to date. The university in Breukelen plans to perform research into the operation of professional service providers and the demands imposed on the sector by economic developments. Themes will include the fragmentation of the sector as a result of the increasing number of stand-alone professionals, the lack of innovative capacity in many companies, and the War for Talent. In the Nyenrode Professional Services Institute, the sector will be scrutinized using various areas of expertise. In addition to research, the institute will also be organizing teaching and network meetings. The Professional Services Institute is led by Professor Dr Renй Tissen who, in addition to an academic career, has been an associate of various professional service companies for some time. As co-initiator, Professor Dr Frank Kwakman will also be closely involved. At the end of 2005, he was inaugurated as the first Professor of Professional Service Provision Management in the Netherlands. The initiators are looking expressly to involve international colleagues in their research, education and network activities. Professor Dr Bert de Groot, Rector Magnificus and Dean: "Professional service providers account for some 10 per cent of GNP; in the Netherlands alone, there are between 500,000 and 750,000 people in the sector. As a business university, you therefore have to develop an interdisciplinary vision for such a prominent sector with which the entrepreneurial strength of the sector can be reinforced. This is all the more the case when we consider the Dutch knowledge economy ambitions and the large number of knowledge-intensive service providers in the Netherlands."// Nyenrode Business Universiteit

Nyenrode: Institute aims to bridge two worlds

With business in China booming, it’s only natural that the country is linked to one of the world’s top business schools. The Europe China Institute, or ECI, part of Nyenrode University in the Netherlands, has developed leading business talents such as Neelie Kroes, European Union Commissioner for Competition; Hein Verbruggen, chairman of the International Olympics Commission’s coordinating commission for the Beijing Olympics and Robert Polet, chairman and CEO of Gucci. “ECI is a place where science and day-to-day practice meet each other, a place of engagement, knowledge, mutual understanding and advantage,” says Annette Nijs, managing director of the Europe China Institute of Nyenrode University. A former member of the Dutch Parliament and Dutch Cabinet Minister for Education, Culture and Science, she continues: “The combination of a high quality Chinese network with the four activities of the institute (education, research, consultancy and opinion leadership) makes it very unique.” As a founder of China Europe International Business School, Nyenrode has had a long interest in China. Now it aims to be the leading source of knowledge on the development, opportunities and challenges in the economic and political relationship between Europe and China. “Our education and research programs provide future European and Chinese managers and entrepreneurs with a deeper understanding of the business environment, including general management competencies to successfully operate at “the other end of the world.” [Jenny Hammond]//Nyenrode Business Universiteit

The city of Tilburg

With a population of 200,000 inhabitants, Tilburg is the Netherlands’ sixth largest city. Tilburg is situated in the south of the Netherlands and holds a strategic position between major European cities like Amsterdam, Brussels and Cologne. Tilburg is rightly proud of its reputation as acentre of learning. A student population of more than 25,000 makes Tilburg one of the Netherlands’ principal educational centers. Tilburg is one of the fastest growing economic regions in the Netherlands with many multinationals such as Fuji, Sony, CocaCola, IFF, and Iris Ohyama. However, there is more to Tilburg than work and study. The city has a great deal to offer to tourists, too. As well as a rich cultural life, Tilburg provides plenty of opportunity to take part in entertainment and leisure activities including museums, galleries, art stages, Pop Centre 013, a concert hall, etc. Moreover, Tilburg is surrounded by national nature parks, golf courses and theme parks.//Tilburg University

Holland: Spending on healthcare up 4.4 per cent

Spending on healthcare in the Netherlands rose by 4.4 per cent to 65.7bn euro in 2006, according to national statistics office CBS. This is the third consecutive year that the increase has been between 4 and 5 per cent - the average rise between 1998 and 2003 was 9 per cent.//DutchNews.nl

Holland: Unemployment at lowest point in years

VOORBURG – There were about 357,000 unemployed persons in the Netherlands in the February to April period. That is 17,000 less than in the January to March period this year. All age groups saw a decline in unemployment, according to figures published on Tuesday by Statistics Netherlands (CBS). The figures have been corrected for seasonal fluctuations. Unemployment has not been this low since the February to April period in 2003, CBS says. The unemployment rate for this past period was 5 percent. A year earlier this figure was 6 percent. The greatest decline in the number of unemployed was in the 25 to 44 age bracket. In a year's time unemployment in this group has fallen by 55,000 to a total of 161,000 people, bringing the unemployment rate in this age group to 4.1 percent.//Expatica News 2007