Holland: Amsterdam to ease expat paperwork

Amsterdam and Amstelveen city councils and the IND immigration service have opened a so-called expatcenter where people coming to the country under the highly-skilled migrant scheme can deal with all the necessary paperwork under one roof. If successful, the project will be extended to other cities.

 

© DutchNews.nl

HAS University Den Bosch looks forward to welcome 60 new international students

HAS University Den Bosch looks forward to welcome approximately 60 new international students from all over the world! by the end of August! Some of them are taking part in an exchange programme with one of our partner universities, and others will study at HAS from1 up to 3 years in order to obtain the Bachelor or Master degree. International Office wishes all new international students an interesting experience and a lot of knowledge preparing them for their future professional carreers! Students of HAS Den Bosch University apply their knowledge and know how during several place-ment periods, both in the Netherlands and abroad. In their first year, students work in the primary industry for 10 weeks. Examples are municipali-ties, horticulturalists, flower shops, garden centres. In the third year students work two times 15 weeks in the supporting industries: research institutes, banks, auctions, importers/exporters, supplying industry, advisory services, branch organisations. As graduates tend to have more and more international orientated jobs, one of these placements must be abroad. Do you want more information about the course content of the different study programmes? See HAS University Den Bosch

Erasmus University: ERIM Master of Philosophy in Business Research (Research Master)

This master is specifically designed for academically talented and motivated students who want to have a researchoriented education in one of the domains of management. Five different specialisations are offered: Logistics and Information Systems, Organisation, Marketing, Finance and Strategy. The programme focuses on recent developments in management and business research methods and techniques.

The Master of Philosophy in Business Research is executed under the auspices of the Erasmus Research Institute of Management (ERIM). With a maximum admission of 30 students enrolled per year, the programme is customised to the needs of each individual and has an optimum teacher/ student ratio.

The MPhil programme is a two-year programme, completely taught in English, and is offered on a full-time basis only. The total programme adds up to 120 ECTS, equivalent to two years of 1600 hours each. The academic year starts early September.

Entry requirements

The minimum entry requirement is a university Bachelor’s degree. The programme is open to top students from Business and Economics schools, but also from such fields as psychology, sociology and engineering. Applicants should show an excellent track record in their studies and a strong motivation. You must also have a high level of English proficiency, and provide two letters of recommendation from academic sources.

Tuition Fee: € 1,565 (EU/EEA)

€ 11,400(Non EU/EEA)

Erasmus University Rotterdam

Holland: Students build rally monster for Dakar 2009

Students of the Hogeschool Arnhem en Nijmegen (HAN) in the East of the Netherlands are building a unique rally car, to take part in the world famous Dakar rally in January 2009. Goal The goal is to construct a vehicle that will run on pure vegetable oil. Eight-times Dutch rally champion Jan de Winkel should cross the finish line with this car, fully CO2 neutral, in January 2009, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The 30th edition of Le Dakar will be held in South America. Cooperation The project is the result of a cooperation between HAN-Automotive and five other initiators, joined together in Go-4 Dakar B.V. In addition, many businesses participate as internship companies, or suppliers of knowledge, techniques or physical parts. The project is also financially supported by a RAAK-funding of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Automotive students, Mechanical Engineering students and Industrial Product Design students work together in teams on sub-projects at specialized companies in the region. Every team is responsible for a part of the construction. Innovative The Dakar vehicle is far from standard. It has to meet extreme requirements and this calls for many adjustments and new solutions. The innovative aspect is what motivates the partner companies to gladly participate in Go-4 Dakar. In the first phase of the project, companies work together to build the car, the second phase of the project focuses entirely on measuring and analysing data to increase knowledge and to encourage cooperation. ‘Green’ The environment and sustainability are at the core of the Go-4 Dakar project. The car will run green on Jatropha oil that is produced from seeds of a plant that grows well on poor soil, where hardly anything else grows. The Jatropha seeds, from which the oil is extracted, are not part of the food chain and can be cultivated locally. Various global initiatives to promote the cultivation of Jatropha offer the population of dry third world countries an opportunity to supply a growing need for green fuel.//Nuffic

Tilburg University: Bachelor in Law start in 2010

The faculty of Law has submitted a request to the Executive Board to carry out a feasibility study into starting an English-language bachelor's programme. By offering an English language bachelor's programme for both Dutch and foreign students, the Law faculty hopes to enlarge and to make the intake of students to existing English-language master's programmes more flexible. "There is a demand among Dutch students for more knowledge about legal English. This bachelor's programme could provide some habituation", says Hein Coppes, secretary of the Faculty council. "Also, during information days at secondary schools, we notice that high school students are quite interested in an English-language bachelor's programme." The study programme aims to attract about fifty foreign students and another thirty to fifty Dutch students. If the plan is approved, the first lecture could start in 2010. A group of Law scientists will research the exact outline. The request for the feasibility study will be discussed during the university council meeting on the budget distribution plan (TMP). [SB/transl.YV] Read more news about Tilburg University //Univers. Tilburg University

TU Twente: Serving up a taste of home

Food for free, cooking workshops, dance and music transformed the area outside the Bastille on Wednesday, the 4th of June. The occasion was the annual International Food Festival, which was held as a part of the `Let's Go!' event supported by PITS (Platform Internationalisation Twente Student organization). The University campus is home for students from many different nationalities. The International Food Festival is only one of the many platforms from which international students are provided with a chance to spotlight their culture. With 30 countries participating from all over the world, it was diversity on the plate. There were stalls representing different countries like Pakistan, Columbia, Ethiopia, Turkey, Spain, Holland, Indonesia and the Congo, leaving guests spoilt for choices of which foods to sample first. Some of the home-cooked food included: Shammi Kabas, Rostbratwurst, Satay Ayam, Gado Gado, Shrimp Dumplings, Sticky Rice in Bamboo Leaves, Ertensoep, Gulab Jamun, Tandoori Chicken and mouth-watering delicacies with tongue-twister names like Fasolka Po Bretonsku and Teff with Misir and Doro Wot. Some stalls like the one from Ethiopia actually gave out handouts with all the nutritional information about the food. An Erasmus exchange student from the Congo was the sole representative of her country, yet her enthusiasm in sharing her country's cuisine was praiseworthy. Another big draw for visitors was the cooking workshop conducted by a chef from Kook and Co, who created culinary delights like Sushi, Pesto and Tapenade, on the makeshift stage. `This is so much fun and yet so informative. No textbook can provide as much information on different cultures as events such as these,' said one student, while happily biting into his satay. “There should be more such events” was the suggestion from another student. The fact that the entry to the event was free was also appreciated by the student community. Mrs Thérèse ter Heide-Noll from the international office, one of the organizers of the event, admitted to the enormous amount of work that went into the making of the event. `However,' she said, `the enthusiasm of the participants makes it all worthwhile.' [Anindita Ganguly]//TU Twente

TU Delft: robot Flame walks like a human

Researcher Daan Hobbelen of TU Delft has developed a new, highly-advanced walking robot: Flame. This type of research, for which Hobbelen will receive his PhD on Friday 30 May, is important as it provides insight into how people walk. This can in turn help people with walking difficulties through improved diagnoses, training and rehabilitation equipment. If you try to teach a robot to walk, you will discover just how complex an activity it is. Walking robots have been around since the seventies. The applied strategies can roughly be divided into two types. The first derives from the world of industrial robots, in which everything is fixed in routines, as is the case with factory robots. This approach can, where sufficient time and money are invested, produce excellent results, but there are major restrictions with regard to cost, energy consumption and flexibility. Human TU Delft is a pioneer of the other method used for constructing walking robots, which examines the way humans walk. This is really very similar to falling forward in a controlled fashion. Adopting this method replaces the cautious, rigid way in which robots walk with the more fluid, energy-efficient movement used by humans.PhD student Daan Hobbelen has demonstrated for the first time that a robot can be both energy-efficient and highly stable. His breakthrough came in inventing a suitable method for measuring the stability of the way people walk for the first time. This is remarkable, as ‘falling forward’ is traditionally viewed as an unstable movement. Next he built a new robot with which he was able to demonstrate the improved performance: Flame (for films, see www.dbl.tudelft.nl > Biped robots). Flame contains seven motors, an organ of balance and various algorithms which ensure its high level of stability.For instance, the robot can apply the information provided by its organ of balance to place its feet slightly further apart in order to prevent a potential fall. According to Hobbelen, Flame is the most advanced walking robot in the world, at least in the category of robots which apply the human method of walking as a starting principle. Rehabilitation Modelling the walking process allows researchers to construct two-legged robots which walk more naturally. More insight into the walking process can in turn help people with walking difficulties, for example through improved diagnoses, training and rehabilitation equipment. TU Delft is working on this together with motion scientists at VU University Amsterdam.Hobbelen cites ankles as an example. These joints are a type of spring which can be used to define the best level of elasticity. Research conducted by Hobbelen into Flame’s ankles has provided motion scientists with more insight into this topic. Football-playing robots Over the next few years, TU Delft intends to take major steps forward in research into walking robots. These include developing walking robots which can 'learn', see and run.One very special part of the robot research concerns football-playing robots. On Thursday 29 May, together with the University of Twente, TU Eindhoven and Philips, TU Delft will present the Dutch RoboCup team which is to participate in the 2008 RoboCup Soccer in China this summer.This presentation will take place at TU Delft during the international Dynamic Walking 2008conference held from 26-29 May. Biomechanics experts, motion scientists and robot experts will come together at this event to exchange expertise on the walking process.

TOEFL & IELTS score conversion

In order to enter a university in Holland a non - native speakers need to demonstrate their proficiency in English by a TOEFL or IELTS test score. These English proficiency tests will open more doors to study abroad: The TOEFL® Test - Test of English as a Foreign Language™. The TOEFL® test is the most widely accepted English-language test in the world. No matter where you want to study, the TOEFL test can help get you there. IELTS is the International English Language Testing System. It measures ability to communicate in English across all four language skills – listening, reading, writing and speaking – for people who intend to study or work where English is the language of communication. Here you can see the several equivalence tables for TOEFL and IELTS scores.

Nyerode University: Workshop "Flirt and Laugh in Business"

On 24 April, the marketing team of the full-time MSc program organized a ‘Flirt and Laugh in Business’ day for external students, with the aim of introducing them in a pleasant and informative way to the campus and the full-time MSc program. The day opened with Mirjam Wiersma, a trainer and coach in communication and commercial flirting and author of ‘Commercial Flirting’, providing the students with tips on body language, first impressions, image and ambiance-enhancers. According to Mirjam, the key to a successful business encounter is the smile, attention and open attitude with which you greet your conversation partner. After lunch and a tour of the campus, it was time for the Laugh & Fun part of the day: the cabaret group Boom Chicago from Amsterdam provided hilarity with its stand-up comedy and improvised sketches about typical preconceptions of Nyenrode. The full-time MSc team and its guests can look back on a pleasant and successful day in which infotainment and entertainment went hand in hand! More details: Nyenrode IMBA scholarships and application procedure //Nyenrode Business School

HAN university: Becoming an international financial business professional

The Master of International Business (MIB) at HAN University of Applied Sciences will start a new, part-time programme in finance this September. The new course will be taught alongside the regular full-time and part-time MIB programme. Students with a more profound interest or work experience in finance now have the opportunity to broaden their knowledge through the subjects Analysis of Financial Data and Advanced Corporate Finance - Risk Management. Internationally accredited master’s degree HAN University of Applied Sciences is the first University for Professional Education in the Netherlands to offer an internationally accredited master's degree in economics. This Master of International Business degree has been accredited by the NVAO and the Fibaa.This MIB is therefore recognised both nationally and internationally. Marcia Kuipers, coordinator: 'This is the logical continuation of the bachelor's degree in International Business and Management Studies (IBMS), although we do think it advisable for students to first acquire work experience for a couple of years, before enrolling for the MIB.' Study full-time or part-time The Master of International Business programme is meant for both full-time students from Europe and abroad, and for part-time students who are currently employed in trade or industry. Ms Kuipers: 'It is our goal to train the students in acquiring a helicopter view on business, based on theoretical concepts. This will create true international business professionals.' Course Structure Lecturers from HAN University of Applied Sciences will teach the Master of International Business programme. Moreover, HAN has recruited lecturers from Radboud University in Nijmegen, University of Groningen, and from the Fachhochschule Gelsenkirchen in Germany. The full-time course takes 15 months, the part-time course from 2.5 to 3 years. Subjects taught include 'international marketing', 'management of small and medium-sized enterprises', and 'cross cultural management', among others. //HAN university

Saxion universities: Master of Arts in Management

Saxion Universities offer this MA course in co-operation with the University of Greenwich: successful students obtain an internationally recognized British degree. The course is practical in nature, being case-based and relying on students relating their own experience to the concepts, theory and models. Social resourcefulness and Cultural Awareness will be further pursued via extra-curricular learning, such as cultural events and visits, and one-off workshops and seminars, which students will engage in as part of Professional Update and Development. Creativity is an important aspect of the course. The programme will include several basic creative thinking techniques and this theme will recur in problem-solving mode in Part 2 of the programme, Strategy and Transformation, and Business Consultancy. These three dimensions build together to create the necessary mental framework for leadership. Course duration: 1 year Tuition fee: € 8650 Specific requirements A Bachelor’s degree in a related business field plus at least 1 year working experience Minimum of TOEFL 550, IELTS 6 or similar English Language qualification //Saxion Universities

Leiden University: Master of Laws, Advanced Studies in International Tax Law

International Tax Law is an area that is still only slightly covered in graduate and postgraduate law and economics programmes. Its importance in both the public and the private sectors has grown enormously in the past two decades. Within The Netherlands, where since the 1960s tax law has become a prominent area of specialisation in law and economic faculties, Leiden is known for its early specialisation in international tax. In 1986 it created the first chair in the world exclusively for international tax law, and in 2001 the International Tax Center - located since 2003 in a beautifully restored landmark building at the Rapenburg canal - was set up to accommodate the rapidly increasing interest in teaching and research programmes in international tax law. The Programme has been designed to provide in-depth training for lawyers with an economics background and economists with a legal orientation, who are interested in expanding their knowledge of the theory and practice of international tax law, with emphasis on tax treaties, transfer pricing and EC tax law issues. The Master's of Advanced Studies in International Tax Law was offered for the first time in 1998 (previously named LL.M. Programme in International Taxation), and has undergone regular changes in the range and content of (many of) its courses. The currently proposed programme represents a further development of the original set-up. It will include a new course specifically designated to enhance the students’ research skills. This expansion takes advantage of the prominent research profiles of the Leiden University faculty members specialised in international and EC tax law. Programme Duration 1 year Tuition Fees for EU/EEA, Swiss and Surinamese nationals Under 30: € 17,000 p/y (2008-2009) Over 30: € 17,000 p/y (2008-2009) Tuition Fees for International Students who are not from EU/EEA/Switzerland/Surinam € 17,000 p/y (2008-2009)//Leiden University

HAN university: Arnhem winner of best city centre

A professional jury exclaimed Arnhem as the best city centre of the Netherlands! “Arnhem is a cosy city with a friendly atmosphere. The variety in pubs, culture and shops in combination with the historical environment is what makes Arnhem so special”, according to the jury. It is indeed good shopping in Arnhem, the capital city of the province of Gelderland, Arnhem is no. 5 in the top 10 ranking of best shopping cities of the Netherlands, after (much bigger) cities like Amsterdam and Utrecht. Different places to drink and eat The jury is also positive about the different places where you can drink or eat something, like the ‘Korenmarkt’ and the ‘Jansplein’. Especially the ‘Korenmarkt’ – a former market square where all kinds of pubs, bars, café’s and restaurants are situated – is visited a lot by (international) students. Arnhem may call itself ‘best city centre’ until 2009. //HAN University

Stenden (CHN) university: Media and Entertainment Management

The Media and Entertainment Management programme is the ideal course for anyone wishing to develop into an international media manager. The programme is comprehensive and varied and is developed in close consultation with future employers in the field. There is an urgent need for media professionals in the media and entertainment market. Ongoing developments in digital technology and the new media demands future professionals thinking on international management level. Career options in media and entertainment: - Product Manager - Executive Producer - Project Manager - Sponsor Coordinator - Multimedia Manager - Media Planner - Marketing Manager - Web Manager - Magazine Manager - Event Manager Programme duration: 4 years Tuition fee Non-EU students (including administration fee and application fee) 3.500 euro Dutch and EU students 1.565 euro More Master's programmes of Stenden (CHN) university.//Stenden (CHN) university

Holland: Integration tests 'discriminate'

The Dutch policy of forcing certain categories of immigrants to take special citizenship tests before coming to the Netherlands is discriminatory because it only applies to so-called ‘non-western’ newcomers, according to Human Rights Watch. EU residents and people from industrialised countries like the US, Australia and Japan do not have to take the tests, the organisation says. But immigrants from countries like Turkey, Morocco and China have to pass the language and culture knowledge exam, which costs €350, before their arrival, even if they are coming to join family members. ‘It sends the message that certain groups are not welcome,’ said the organisation’s spokeswoman Holly Cartner. ‘And it risks alienating these communities instead of facilitating their integration.’ A government spokeswoman told AP news agency that the policy had been thoroughly debated in parliament before its introduction in 2006. ‘The law is not discriminatory,’ she said. ‘There are indeed exemptions for some countries but that is true of the whole of the immigration law.’