Dutch universities doing well in THES ranking

British academic newspaper Times Higher Education Supplement (THES) has been releasing a ranking of the best universities in the world for years. Despite the Netherlands being a small country with just 16 million inhabitants, it is always well represented on this list and the 2008 edition is no exception.

The universities of Amsterdam, Leiden, Utrecht and TU Delft are all in the top 200. Maastricht University, Erasmus University, Eindhoven University of Technology, Wageningen University, the University of Groningen and VU University Amsterdam all sit between 100th and 200th place.

The University of Amsterdam took 53rd place in a list topped by Harvard, Yale, Oxford and Cambridge.

1	1	Harvard University	US	100	100	96	100	87	81	100
2	2=	Yale University	US	100	100	100	98	89	71	99.8
3	2=	University of Cambridge	UK	100	100	99	89	98	95	99.5
4	2=	University of Oxford	UK	100	100	100	85	96	96	98.9
5	7=	California Institute of Technology	US	100	74	98	100	100	93	98.6
6	5	Imperial College London	UK	99	100	100	83	98	100	98.4
7	9	University College London	UK	96	99	100	89	96	100	98.1
8	7=	University of Chicago	US	100	99	98	91	78	83	98.0
9	10	Massachusetts Institute of Technology	US	100	100	90	100	33	94	96.7
10	11	Columbia University	US	100	99	98	94	29	89	96.3
11	14	University of Pennsylvania	US	97	98	88	99	83	79	96.1
12	6	Princeton University	US	100	98	75	100	91	82	95.7
13=	13	Duke University	US	97	98	100	94	30	66	94.4
13=	15	Johns Hopkins University	US	99	78	100	100	30	68	94.4
15	20=	Cornell University	US	100	99	90	96	28	76	94.3
16	16	Australian National University	Australia	100	93	82	74	99	91	92.0
17	19	Stanford University	US	100	100	67	100	26	87	91.2
18	38=	University of Michigan	US	99	99	85	84	59	51	91.0
19	17	University of Tokyo	Japan	100	94	98	78	27	40	90.0
20	12	McGill University	Canada	100	97	99	51	62	95	89.7.
21	20=	Carnegie Mellon University	US	95	97	82	79	50	97	89.6
22	24	King's College London	UK	93	98	89	70	91	85	89.5
23	23	University of Edinburgh	UK	96	99	82	70	91	82	89.3
24	42	ETH Zurich (Swiss Federal Institute of Technology)	Switzerland	95	82	56	99	100	94	89.1
25	25	Kyoto University	Japan	99	87	80	91	30	26	87.4
26	18	University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong	94	90	86	59	100	92	87.1
27	32	Brown University	US	92	83	64	99	56	58	85.2
28	26	Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris	France	93	72	68	99	29	69	84.8
29	30	University of Manchester	UK	91	100	82	56	91	84	84.4
30=	41	University of California, Los Angeles	US	100	98	48	100	23	36	84.3
30=	33=	National University of Singapore	Singapore	100	98	39	75	100	100	84.3
32	37	University of Bristol	UK	83	99	82	74	85	74	84.1
33	29	Northwestern University	US	88	97	78	82	30	61	83.3
34=	33=	University of British Columbia	Canada	100	93	69	67	33	61	83.0
34=	28	Ecole Polytechnique	France	80	96	100	58	62	93	83.0
36	22	University of California, Berkeley	US	100	100	24	100	88	36	82.9
37	31	University of Sydney	Australia	99	97	55	54	97	93	82.4
38	27	University of Melbourne	Australia	100	100	59	56	54	96	82.3
39	53=	Hong Kong University of Science and Technology	Hong Kong	86	90	60	72	100	97	81.4
40	49	New York University	US	96	96	83	54	28	56	81.3
41	45	University of Toronto	Canada	100	94	18	100	80	46	81.1
42	38	Chinese University of Hong Kong	Hong Kong	85	84	80	57	98	86	81.0
43	33=	University of Queensland	Australia	95	97	49	63	100	78	80.7
44	46	Osaka University	Japan	90	69	93	70	25	28	80.1
45	44	University of New South Wales	Australia	97	99	35	68	83	91	79.8
46	47	Boston University	US	91	85	66	73	26	59	79.1
47	43	Monash University	Australia	98	99	52	37	99	99	78.7
48	93=	University of Copenhagen	Denmark	88	59	100	45	67	69	78.5
49	53	Trinity College Dublin	Ireland	90	96	68	42	99	76	78.2
50=	117=	Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne	Switzerland	63	71	93	77	100	100	78.1
50=	36	Peking University	China	100	97	84	34	27	36	78.1
50=	51	Seoul National University	South Korea	97	65	87	54	23	37	78.1
53	48	University of Amsterdam	Netherlands	88	77	80	61	73	32	78.0
54	48	Dartmouth College	US	64	93	88	95	28	57	77.8
55	55=	University of Wisconsin-Madison	US	93	79	48	89	31	36	77.7
56	40	Tsinghua University	China	97	90	94	31	23	24	77.0
57	60	Heidelberg University	Germany	87	59	81	58	54	81	76.9
58	58	University of California, San Diego	US	98	58	35	100	20	29	76.3
59	55=	University of Washington	US	84	54	62	99	25	36	75.8
60	161=	Washington University in St Louis	US	64	55	100	95	24	54	75.7
61	90=	Tokyo Institute of Technology	Japan	77	76	70	87	25	45	75.3
62	74=	Emory University	US	62	67	96	91	43	47	75.0
63	71=	Uppsala University	Sweden	91	60	43	85	70	41	74.9
64	84	Leiden University	Netherlands	87	61	35	97	74	41	74.8
65	50	University of Auckland	New Zealand	95	94	36	42	94	99	74.5
66	59	London School of Economics	UK	88	100	59	26	100	100	74.2
67	89	Utrecht University	Netherlands	89	66	62	72	45	24	74.0
68	105	University of Geneva	Switzerland	69	36	58	98	97	100	73.9
69	57	University of Warwick	UK	83	100	60	38	92	97	73.8
70	51	University of Texas at Austin	US	95	95	26	69	60	43	73.3
71	73	University of Illinois	US	94	67	43	72	37	51	73.2
72	61	Katholieke Universiteit Leuven	Belgium	92	83	34	72	52	51	73.1
73	83	University of Glasgow	UK	72	78	67	69	95	60	73.0
74	97=	University of Alberta	Canada	91	48	56	55	92	64	72.9
75	65=	University of Birmingham	UK	73	94	57	65	82	72	72.3
76	68	University of Sheffield	UK	69	97	68	60	81	72	72.2
77	69	Nanyang Technological University	Singapore	87	87	47	38	100	99	72.1
78=	63	Delft University of Technology	Netherlands	78	87	66	49	80	66	71.8
78=	67	Technical University of Munich	Germany	73	59	86	57	54	77	71.8
78=	92	Rice University	US	62	55	76	95	42	73	71.8
81=	114=	University of Aarhus	Denmark	76	38	72	74	67	58	71.5
81=	74=	University of York	UK	62	93	77	57	95	84	71.5
83=	97=	Georgia Institute of Technology	US	78	83	22	99	39	78	71.3
83=	76	University of St Andrews	UK	59	95	74	62	92	99	71.3
83=	64	University of Western Australia	Australia	72	88	52	65	92	83	71.3
86	70	University of Nottingham	UK	72	98	64	46	90	89	71.0
87	142=	University of Minnesota	US	79	54	38	94	72	33	70.2
88	106	Lund University	Sweden	82	68	45	68	68	52	70.0
89	96	University of California, Davis	US	84	46	42	96	28	26	69.9
90	85=	Case Western Reserve University	US	60	42	95	88	21	51	69.8
91=	100	University of Helsinki	Finland	88	43	55	71	51	21	69.6
91=	93=	Université de Montréal	Canada	89	36	36	70	83	74	69.6
93=	128	Hebrew University of Jerusalem	Israel	89	25	35	89	70	33	69.5
93=	65=	Ludwig-Maximilians University, Munchen (Munich)	Germany	84	45	69	51	51	70	69.5
95	132=	Korea Advanced Inst of Science & Technology	South Korea	76	53	61	79	48	36	69.3
96	110	University of Virginia	US	66	93	61	82	24	38	69.2
97	77=	University of Pittsburgh	US	62	40	95	79	42	34	69.1
98	117=	University of California, Santa Barbara	US	88	50	21	99	39	22	68.8
99=	77=	Purdue University	US	85	82	34	60	60	57	68.6
99=	80=	University of Southampton	UK	63	90	61	61	87	83	68.6
101	82	Vanderbilt University	US	53	84	100	60	57	45	68.5

Times Higher Education Supplement (THES)

Source: QS Ltd, published October 9 2008.
© QS Quacquarelli Symonds Ltd.

Holland: Boys convicted of Runescape virtual theft

Two boys aged 14 and 15 have been found guilty of stealing virtual items from a classmate during a computer game.

Leeuwarden district court sentenced the boys to community service of 200 and 160 hours for attacking their victim and forcing him to transfer a virtual mask and amulet to them while playing Runescape, the NRC reports.

The paper says it is the first time someone has been convicted for virtual theft in the Netherlands.

In November 2007, police arrested a youth for stealing 4,000 euros-worth of virtual furniture from a room in the Habbo Hotel, a social network site for youngsters, the paper says. For the full nrc article, click here

© DutchNews.nl

10 reasons to study at Wittenborg Language and Business School

Join up for a study in Holland at Wittenborg Business and Language School today. You step into the future of International Business Administration.

In fact, there are a lot of solid reasons for coming to study in Holland for Wittenborg’s IBA programme:

• Gain a Bachelor degree within 3 years on the International Business Administration programme in English, with many possibilities for advanced placement, based on your previous study and credits
  


• Study in Holland at Wittenborg in a truly international environment. Wittenborg is a small and student-centered institute: no more than 250 students, small class sizes, and an intensive, fully packed curriculum
  


• Unique, business-like, curriculum, provided in units of 6 week blocks
  


• Flexible start dates; Start at each block – 6 X per year
  
  
• Partner institutions in the UK, Russia and China where students can study and be guided in work experience
  
  
• Quality control: student satisfaction is measured every blocks
  


• Low tuition fees
  


• Practice makes perfect: this International BBA programme is full of competency and skills based learning: work experience at 2 companies included, arranged by Wittenborg
  


• Finding employment after graduation from the IBA is easy; many case studies available; often immediate employment through work placement company
  
  
  
• Employment in Netherlands possible for non-EU citizens; starting salary from €2.200 p.m;

Study in Holland at Wittenborg

Leiden University: Coffee and Parkinson's

Many models which have formed the basis of novel drug design may be incorrect. This is the sobering and at the same time very important discovery made by two Leiden University researchers from the Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug Research (LACDR).

Prof. Ad IJzerman, head of the Medicinal Chemistry division, and senior researcher Dr Rob Lane worked together with colleagues Dr Ray Stevens and Dr Veli-Pekka Jaakola from the Scripps Institute in La Jolla in the United States on clarifying the crystal structure of a particular protein - the adenosine A2A receptor. This protein is the main target in the human body for caffeine and has also been linked to Parkinson's disease.

The findings of the research, which was part-funded by Topinstituut Pharma, were reported last week in Science Express; the editorial board of Science had decided to bring forward publication of the articl, highlighting its importance.

 

Caffeine

Epidemiological research has shown that coffee-drinkers suffer less frequently from Parkinson's disease; this was associated with a daily intake of caffeine -  in the region of 100 mg - that you might expect in a cup of espresso or cappuccino.  In addition animal tests have shown that caffeine protects against attempts to induce Parkinson's disease.

This suggests that coffee, besides its invigorating effects as a stimulant, may have other beneficial actions.  There are at least two receptors which are blocked by caffeine.  One of these receptors helps us to fall asleep.  Caffeine inhibits the effect of this receptor, resulting in a 'sharper' brain, but this also causes the racing heart which some people suffer after drinking several cups of coffee. In addition to its association in Parkinson's disease, the other receptor, which IJzerman and Lane studied, plays a critical role in inflammation.

Leiden University

 

10 reasons to study at Wittenborg Language and Business School

Join up for a study in Holland at Wittenborg Business and Language School today. You step into the future of International Business Administration.

In fact, there are a lot of solid reasons for coming to study in Holland for Wittenborg’s IBA programme:

• Gain a Bachelor degree within 3 years on the International Business Administration programme in English, with many possibilities for advanced placement, based on your previous study and credits
  


• Study in Holland at Wittenborg in a truly international environment. Wittenborg is a small and student-centered institute: no more than 250 students, small class sizes, and an intensive, fully packed curriculum
  


• Unique, business-like, curriculum, provided in units of 6 week blocks
  


• Flexible start dates; Start at each block – 6 X per year
  
  
• Partner institutions in the UK, Russia and China where students can study and be guided in work experience
  
  
• Quality control: student satisfaction is measured every blocks
  


• Low tuition fees
  


• Practice makes perfect: this International BBA programme is full of competency and skills based learning: work experience at 2 companies included, arranged by Wittenborg
  


• Finding employment after graduation from the IBA is easy; many case studies available; often immediate employment through work placement company
  
  
  
• Employment in Netherlands possible for non-EU citizens; starting salary from €2.200 p.m;

Study in Holland at Wittenborg

Leiden University: Coffee and Parkinson's

Many models which have formed the basis of novel drug design may be incorrect. This is the sobering and at the same time very important discovery made by two Leiden University researchers from the Leiden/Amsterdam Center for Drug Research (LACDR).

Prof. Ad IJzerman, head of the Medicinal Chemistry division, and senior researcher Dr Rob Lane worked together with colleagues Dr Ray Stevens and Dr Veli-Pekka Jaakola from the Scripps Institute in La Jolla in the United States on clarifying the crystal structure of a particular protein - the adenosine A2A receptor. This protein is the main target in the human body for caffeine and has also been linked to Parkinson's disease.

The findings of the research, which was part-funded by Topinstituut Pharma, were reported last week in Science Express; the editorial board of Science had decided to bring forward publication of the articl, highlighting its importance.

 

Caffeine

Epidemiological research has shown that coffee-drinkers suffer less frequently from Parkinson's disease; this was associated with a daily intake of caffeine -  in the region of 100 mg - that you might expect in a cup of espresso or cappuccino.  In addition animal tests have shown that caffeine protects against attempts to induce Parkinson's disease.

This suggests that coffee, besides its invigorating effects as a stimulant, may have other beneficial actions.  There are at least two receptors which are blocked by caffeine.  One of these receptors helps us to fall asleep.  Caffeine inhibits the effect of this receptor, resulting in a 'sharper' brain, but this also causes the racing heart which some people suffer after drinking several cups of coffee. In addition to its association in Parkinson's disease, the other receptor, which IJzerman and Lane studied, plays a critical role in inflammation.

Leiden University

 

Study in INHOLLAND University in English

At INHolland University, our Bachelor courses are taught in English, so there's no language barrier to your learning. And in the Netherlands, English is our second language so you'll have no problems communicating outside the classroom.

In English everywhere

In English everywhere

One in every three people in the major cities speaks English, making integration into society relatively easy for you. And in your international classroom you are taught by (native) English speaking lecturers. Also the multi-langual events, excursions and parties with Dutch and international students will help you to feel more at home.

At INHolland, you can study the following 10 English bachelor courses: English bachelors programmes

INHolland University

INHolland is based across several campuses in the Netherlands, where you can take advantage of our modern, dynamic facilities with:

• Education focused on learning in real-life projects
• Internships to prepare you for your future career
• Many different nationalities and a tolerant society
• Reasonable tuition fees
• In easy reach of the rest of Europe

InHOlland

HAN University: Dutch scholarships

Han University of applied sciences suggest to prospective students the following scholarships which a student can receive from Dutch organizations or the government organizations:

 

1. Dutch scholarships

The Dutch organizations and/or the government supply scholarships in special cases. You can find these on the Grantfinder website.

• The best-known scholarship is the Huygens scholarship
  
• Also ECHO offers scholarships.

You can find the most recent information concerning scholarships on the Nuffic website.

 2. Scholarships for EU-students

EU students can obtain a scholarship within the framework of the Erasmus programme.   You can find the most recent information concerning scholarships on the Nuffic-website

Students who wish to receive more information on this, are requested to get in touch with the international office of HAN University in Arnhem or Nijmegen.

 3. Scholarships provided by HAN University

Yearly HAN University of Applied Sciences determines if scholarships are granted. Recently it has been concluded that First year Life Sciences students can qualify for a Life Sciences scholarship for the study year 2008-2009. Below the conditions.

Scholarship Institute of Applied Sciences 2008-2009

The objective of this scholarship program is to stimulate young good students from the target countries: China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, South Africa, Russia and Mexico to study Life Sciences. Students from each target country will be invited to apply for this scholarship program.

Selection criteria

• the programme for the senior High School had to be finalized with good marks for: biology, chemistry, physics and mathematics. Top 20% year group.
• score for TOEFL or IELTS test at least 550 or 6.0 
• students must be involved in extra curricular activities (sports, social or school). 
• two letters of recommendation, one must be from the director of the High School (ranking High School, profile student) 
• positive interview: English communication skills and motivation.

The scholarship will amount to 2,500 Euro paid during the end of the academic year 2008/2009. At the end of the first year a special board will decide which 33% best students from the target countries in the first year will receive the scholarship. Selection requirements
will be:

• marks foundation year 
• extra curricular activities

Students must apply for this scholarship program before the first of June 2008.

4. Study through an exchange programme

Students from partner-universities of Life Sciences can study Life Sciences for a half year by means of the exchange programme. They do not have to pay tuition fee. With the partner institutions we made the agreements of exchange students. Life Sciences students can study for a semester at the partner university. Students from our partner universities can come to HAN University.

HAN University

HAN University: Life Science Programme

he statuary university fee for EU students is set by the Dutch government each year.

 

Fees

The annual fee for foreign students for 2008-2009 is:
• € 1.538,- (for Dutch students) 
• € 3.500,- (for non EU students)
For more information about this topic, please visit  the website of the IB-Group (Informatie Beheer Groep).

Full package programme

Students can choose for a full package programme. The costs are € 9.390,-
If you choose for a full package programme you can expect the following:
1. You will be picked up from the airport and taken to your room in Nijmegen.
2. Books and other study material will be ready for you as soon as you begin with your study. 
3. You will get your own living accommodation (room) during your foundation year. The room is furnished and has Internet facilities. 
4. All formal transactions will be arranged by HAN University (IND, visa, applications). 
5. Full Package students can count on support of a tutor if there might be any problems. 
6. In the full package programme all costs are included, so also the tuition fees. 
7. Full Package students will be offered an acculturation programme. This implies that excursions are organized, organized, a barbecue will be organized and there will be a Sinterklaas celebration. There are no further charges for this.
A full package programme costs € 9.390,- for 1 year (1 September until 30 June). For students it is easy that everything has been taken care of for them. 

Specification Full Package costs

Full Package fee Life Sciences (LS): starting the first of September 2008
University fee (1) €  3,500
Health insurance €     450
Visa + residence permit €     450  
Accomodation €  3,600
Deposit Accommodation (2)   €     250
Administration Costs €     550
Books and readers   €     550
Pickup Service Airport €       40
TOTAL  €  9,390
* HAN University has an agreement with the Dutch government to arrange the visa within four weeks. Most students don't need to take action to apply for a visa. The package fee will be: € 8,300 Euro.

Additional costs

Remark: Additional costs will be:
Sport year card  * € 65.50
Food, clothing, travel   € 200 / € 250 per month
* The sport year card offers you free admission to swimming pools, squash and tennis centers. In addition you will be eligible for special courses such as aerobics, basket ball, soccer, cricket, judo, horseback riding, climbing, basketball ….

Proof of sufficient funding

The IND (Immigration and Naturalization Department of the Ministry of Justice) forced us to prove that the student will have sufficient funding for a whole year: at least 9,000 Euro
The parents can make a choice:
• pay the increased amount of fees: € 9,000,- immediately after arrival in the arrangement of the bank account the student will get a refund of 700 Euro. For parents this will be a convenient way to transfer money from Asia to their child.
• The parents pay € 8,300 and fill in a statement for the € 700 (guarantee that they will support the student for this amount of money).
There are several programs to get (partial) refund of the fees: see scholarships.

HAN University

Bachelor programmes taught in English at INHOLLAND University of Applied Science

Currently our university offers twelve four-year bachelor's courses to Dutch and foreign students which are entirely taught in English. These courses are accredited and prepare students for graduation with a bachelor's degree (B).

Qualification B - duration: 4 years

Amsterdam/Diemen:

- International Business & Management Studies;
- Information Technology;
- Leisure Management;
- Communication;

Haarlem:

- International Music Management (specialisation of Media & Entertainment Management);
- International Business & Management Studies;
- Business Economics;
- Logistics Management;
- Small Business & Retail Management;
- Tourism & Recreation Management;

Rotterdam: 

- Communication;
- International Business & Management Studies;

Delft:  

- Horticulture;

The Hague: 

- Communication;
- Marketing Management;

InHolland University

Han University Bachelor programmes

The HAN University of Applied Sciences offers English-language bachelor programmes in a number of disciplines:

• Business Logistics and Management
• Communication Studies
• Human Resources and Quality Management
• International Business and Management Studies
• International Finance and Control
• Life Sciences

• Advanced Programming
• Behind the Screens
• Exchange Erasmus Programme (Education)
• Exchange Erasmus Programme (Health)
• Exchange Erasmus Programme (Social Studies)
• International Business and Management Studies
• International Course on Public Health
• International Course on Wellbeing and Health
• International Course Social Studies
• Tomorrow's Education Today

• Business Logistics Management (18 - 24 months)

• Doing Business in Europe

TU Delft: International Student Barometer’

Are you a satisfied international student? TU Delft wants to know, and therefore once again participated in the ‘International Student Barometer’ survey.




Source: I-graduate and  Delta.

International Student Barometer (ISB) of the UK-based International Graduate Insight Group (I-graduate)

A Wikipedia entry for ‘international students’ might read something like: “Students from every country in the world and from every social, cultural and economic background who leave home to pursue and pay for courses of academic study at foreign universities’. 

Satisfying such a disparate group of higher education ‘customers’ is a tough job for any institution anywhere in the world, never mind for one in Holland, a country mired in a severe nationwide student-housing crisis. To help monitor satisfaction levels among international students (i-students), TU Delft and hundreds of other universities worldwide employ the services of the UK-based International Graduate Insight Group (I-graduate), an independent benchmarking and research service for the educational sector.

I-graduate - whose marketing slogan is ‘Your finger on the pulse of international student opinion’ - offers universities the opportunity to gather information through a comprehensive survey called the International Student Barometer (ISB), which asks i-students to grade their satisfaction levels in three main areas: Learning (academics-related), Living (accommodation, social life, etc), and Support (university support services). The ISB survey feedback allows TU Delft to not only gauge its own i-students satisfaction levels, but also to compare its results with those from other universities in Holland and abroad.

ISB’s Summer Wave 2008

ISB’s Summer Wave 2008 surveyed 122 universities (66 in the UK; 56 from ‘non-UK’ EU countries). The majority of those 56 non-UK EU universities were in Scandinavia. The Dutch universities included TU Delft and the universities of Amsterdam, Wageningen, Maastricht, Leiden, Groningen and Erasmus Rotterdam.

From these 122 universities, 35,771 UK-based i-students, and 8,608 i-students from non-UK EU countries, answered the survey. Of those 8,608 i-student respondents, 374 were from TU Delft, with the respondents grouped in three main categories: Post Graduate (PGT) MSc students; Undergraduate (UG) BSc students; and Study Abroad students.

TU Delft repsonders

Post Graduates accounted for 75% of TU Delft’s total survey respondents (or 260 of the 374 total respondents). Under Graduates  for 19% of the total (68 of the 374 respondents); and Study Abroad for 3% (10 respondents). Of the TU’s 374 respondents, 65% were male, 35% female. The top three TU faculties in terms of survey respondents were: EEMCS (22%); Aerospace (19%); and Architecture (16%), with China (62 respondents), Belgium (31) and Indonesia (25) having the most respondents per country.

Besides i-students satisfaction levels, the survey offered a few other interesting insights, such as how i-students fund their studies: 51% of TU Delft’s PGT/MSc students said ‘Family’ paid their tuition fees and costs, while 29% said they paid with ‘Own funds’, which helps explain some of the survey’s other findings, such as MSc i-student (dis)satisfaction levels with high living and housing costs, and their inability to work more than 10 hours per week.

Progress
By now, nearly a decade into the TU’s internationalization process, many of the ISB survey’s findings – both positive and negative – are fairly common knowledge within the university’s international community and administrative departments. The ISB’s ‘Learning’ section simply confirmed that TU Delft is strong in education, research, academic expertise...that is, in providing good, value-for-money higher technological education.

Where international student's satisfaction levels drop is in the ‘Living’ area. The TU’s i-students remain less satisfied with the usual suspects: living costs, accommodation costs and housing, with, it should be noted, some of these problem areas being not only TU Delft issues, but rather national (housing shortages) and EU (a strong euro, higher living costs in northern EU countries) issues.

The ‘Learning’ section focused on 18 areas, ranging from expert teachers, course content, technology, research, and learning support, to career advice, employability, work experience and language support. Answers were given on a scale of ‘1: Very Dissatisfied’ to ‘4: Very Satisfied’. Anything above 2.8 on this scale is considered good.

For technology, expert teachers and research, the TU had highs of 3.2 to 3.3, while receiving lower marks of 2.5 and 2.6 for careers advice and work experience respectively.
Summer Wave 2008 was also compared with past waves (Spring Wave 07, Summer ‘07, Autumn ‘07), allowing TU Delft to track its historical progress. TU Delft showed improvement in all areas when compared with Summer Wave 2007, as reflected in the survey’s ‘comments’ section.

“The learning experience at TU Delft implies not only gathering knowledge, but, moreover, developing skills. However, my greatest achievement here is that I’ve learned how to learn!” exclaimed ‘PG from Romania’. While ‘PG from Ecuador’ commented that the “level of education is very good and sometimes quite difficult, especially at the beginning, but that is just part of the process.”

Living

The survey’s second section focused on ‘Living’, which included areas like quality of accommodation, cost of living, safety, having host country friends (i.e. Dutch students), sports activities, transport, etc.  In terms of overall ‘Living’ satisfaction, TU Delft’s i-students weren’t wholly satisfied in all areas: accommodation quality, accommodation cost, living costs, host friends and the ability to earn money while studying all showed room for improvement. For ‘Living’ generally, TU Delft scored lower (81% satisfied) than the average for all Dutch universities combined (84% satisfied), which was also reflected in respondent comments.

“I’d really value the opportunity to be able to integrate with Dutch students more on every level - especially as far as housing is concerned,” said ‘PG from South Africa’. While ‘PG from Colombia’ remarked: “I lived six months in the ‘space boxes’ and although at the beginning it can be quite a normal accommodation facility, it’s not a natural place for people...people get stressed and lonely easily.”

The next ISB survey – Autumn Wave 2008 – will be offered in late October. The various TU departments involved with internationalization will hope that more i-students take part in this survey. And watch this space: the English Page will run a follow-up article detailing the TU’s response to the results of the Summer Wave 2008 survey.

Delta.TU Delft

Leiden University:GSM Walk

Since this Summer, newly arrived international students can also explore Leiden city centre with a digital guide on their mobile phones.

This guide includes a city tour, an interactive map with a list of Leiden University buildings, International Student organisations, tips for cultural recreation and a few helpful numbers. The purpose of this guide is to serve international students with a handy digital guide to orientate themselves after arrival and give helpful information in English. Students can receive this mobile digital guide for free. The guide is also available as pdf flyer. 

The Discover Leiden GSM guide is a joint initiative of SLS (Accommodate), ICS and International Office.

Leiden University

 

TU Delft: International Student Barometer’

Are you a satisfied international student? TU Delft wants to know, and therefore once again participated in the ‘International Student Barometer’ survey.




Source: I-graduate and  Delta.

International Student Barometer (ISB) of the UK-based International Graduate Insight Group (I-graduate)

A Wikipedia entry for ‘international students’ might read something like: “Students from every country in the world and from every social, cultural and economic background who leave home to pursue and pay for courses of academic study at foreign universities’. 

Satisfying such a disparate group of higher education ‘customers’ is a tough job for any institution anywhere in the world, never mind for one in Holland, a country mired in a severe nationwide student-housing crisis. To help monitor satisfaction levels among international students (i-students), TU Delft and hundreds of other universities worldwide employ the services of the UK-based International Graduate Insight Group (I-graduate), an independent benchmarking and research service for the educational sector.

I-graduate - whose marketing slogan is ‘Your finger on the pulse of international student opinion’ - offers universities the opportunity to gather information through a comprehensive survey called the International Student Barometer (ISB), which asks i-students to grade their satisfaction levels in three main areas: Learning (academics-related), Living (accommodation, social life, etc), and Support (university support services). The ISB survey feedback allows TU Delft to not only gauge its own i-students satisfaction levels, but also to compare its results with those from other universities in Holland and abroad.

ISB’s Summer Wave 2008

ISB’s Summer Wave 2008 surveyed 122 universities (66 in the UK; 56 from ‘non-UK’ EU countries). The majority of those 56 non-UK EU universities were in Scandinavia. The Dutch universities included TU Delft and the universities of Amsterdam, Wageningen, Maastricht, Leiden, Groningen and Erasmus Rotterdam.

From these 122 universities, 35,771 UK-based i-students, and 8,608 i-students from non-UK EU countries, answered the survey. Of those 8,608 i-student respondents, 374 were from TU Delft, with the respondents grouped in three main categories: Post Graduate (PGT) MSc students; Undergraduate (UG) BSc students; and Study Abroad students.

TU Delft repsonders

Post Graduates accounted for 75% of TU Delft’s total survey respondents (or 260 of the 374 total respondents). Under Graduates  for 19% of the total (68 of the 374 respondents); and Study Abroad for 3% (10 respondents). Of the TU’s 374 respondents, 65% were male, 35% female. The top three TU faculties in terms of survey respondents were: EEMCS (22%); Aerospace (19%); and Architecture (16%), with China (62 respondents), Belgium (31) and Indonesia (25) having the most respondents per country.

Besides i-students satisfaction levels, the survey offered a few other interesting insights, such as how i-students fund their studies: 51% of TU Delft’s PGT/MSc students said ‘Family’ paid their tuition fees and costs, while 29% said they paid with ‘Own funds’, which helps explain some of the survey’s other findings, such as MSc i-student (dis)satisfaction levels with high living and housing costs, and their inability to work more than 10 hours per week.

Progress
By now, nearly a decade into the TU’s internationalization process, many of the ISB survey’s findings – both positive and negative – are fairly common knowledge within the university’s international community and administrative departments. The ISB’s ‘Learning’ section simply confirmed that TU Delft is strong in education, research, academic expertise...that is, in providing good, value-for-money higher technological education.

Where international student's satisfaction levels drop is in the ‘Living’ area. The TU’s i-students remain less satisfied with the usual suspects: living costs, accommodation costs and housing, with, it should be noted, some of these problem areas being not only TU Delft issues, but rather national (housing shortages) and EU (a strong euro, higher living costs in northern EU countries) issues.

The ‘Learning’ section focused on 18 areas, ranging from expert teachers, course content, technology, research, and learning support, to career advice, employability, work experience and language support. Answers were given on a scale of ‘1: Very Dissatisfied’ to ‘4: Very Satisfied’. Anything above 2.8 on this scale is considered good.

For technology, expert teachers and research, the TU had highs of 3.2 to 3.3, while receiving lower marks of 2.5 and 2.6 for careers advice and work experience respectively.
Summer Wave 2008 was also compared with past waves (Spring Wave 07, Summer ‘07, Autumn ‘07), allowing TU Delft to track its historical progress. TU Delft showed improvement in all areas when compared with Summer Wave 2007, as reflected in the survey’s ‘comments’ section.

“The learning experience at TU Delft implies not only gathering knowledge, but, moreover, developing skills. However, my greatest achievement here is that I’ve learned how to learn!” exclaimed ‘PG from Romania’. While ‘PG from Ecuador’ commented that the “level of education is very good and sometimes quite difficult, especially at the beginning, but that is just part of the process.”

Living

The survey’s second section focused on ‘Living’, which included areas like quality of accommodation, cost of living, safety, having host country friends (i.e. Dutch students), sports activities, transport, etc.  In terms of overall ‘Living’ satisfaction, TU Delft’s i-students weren’t wholly satisfied in all areas: accommodation quality, accommodation cost, living costs, host friends and the ability to earn money while studying all showed room for improvement. For ‘Living’ generally, TU Delft scored lower (81% satisfied) than the average for all Dutch universities combined (84% satisfied), which was also reflected in respondent comments.

“I’d really value the opportunity to be able to integrate with Dutch students more on every level - especially as far as housing is concerned,” said ‘PG from South Africa’. While ‘PG from Colombia’ remarked: “I lived six months in the ‘space boxes’ and although at the beginning it can be quite a normal accommodation facility, it’s not a natural place for people...people get stressed and lonely easily.”

The next ISB survey – Autumn Wave 2008 – will be offered in late October. The various TU departments involved with internationalization will hope that more i-students take part in this survey. And watch this space: the English Page will run a follow-up article detailing the TU’s response to the results of the Summer Wave 2008 survey.

Delta.TU Delft

Leiden University:GSM Walk

Since this Summer, newly arrived international students can also explore Leiden city centre with a digital guide on their mobile phones.

This guide includes a city tour, an interactive map with a list of Leiden University buildings, International Student organisations, tips for cultural recreation and a few helpful numbers. The purpose of this guide is to serve international students with a handy digital guide to orientate themselves after arrival and give helpful information in English. Students can receive this mobile digital guide for free. The guide is also available as pdf flyer. 

The Discover Leiden GSM guide is a joint initiative of SLS (Accommodate), ICS and International Office.

Leiden University

 

Language admission requirements at Dutch universities

The most essential requirement for foreign students wishing to enter a Dutch University is that they are able to understand, speak, read and write English at a good level. If you are not from an English speaking country such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, you need an IELTS certificate with an overall score of 6 for writing, reading, listening and speaking.

This score is required in order to enroll for a Bachelor programme. The IELTS certificate is compulsory for Chinese students. For more information on IELTS, please visit www.IELTS.org

You can also enter Dutch higher education with a TOEFL certificate. This TOEFL certificate is preferably a TOEFL iBt 80 (Internet Based Test) with an overall score of 80 on reading, writing, listening and speaking.

Because it is not yet possible to take this type of test in every country of the world, we also accept a TOEFL550 (Paper Based Test with an overall score of 550), TOEFL213 (Computer Based Test with an overall score of 213) in 2006.

For more information on TOEFL, please visit www.ETS.org Or you can enter with a Cambridge Certificate. Either the Cambridge Certificate of Advanced English (CAE) or the Cambridge Certificate of Proficiency in English (CPE) is accepted. Please check the Cambridge website www.cambridgeesol.org

Chinese students are allowed to use TOEFL® iBT scores

Starting from September 1, 2008, Chinese students would be allowed to use TOEFL® iBT scores to apply for the Neso certificate as part of application procedures to study in the Netherlands.

Students in China who plan to study in the Netherlands are required to apply for the Neso certificate from Netherlands Education Support Office China (Neso China) for a Study Visa.

Students who apply to Dutch universities with TOEFL iBT scores can now use TOEFL iBT scores to apply for the Neso certificate as part of the visa application process, and are no longer required to take further English proficiency tests.

Students can now apply for the Neso certificate at the same time they begin the application process to Dutch universities. Students should submit application materials at least four months before the beginning of the semester.// Source: ETC.org

More information about admission requirements at Dutch Universities.

Source: InHolland University of applied sciences

International Professor Exchange

International Professor Exchange (IPE) is a unique and simple web-based program. And it's for free. IPE was developed by the Office of International Programs and the Information Technology Systems Division of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

IPE offers an easy way for college and university faculty or staff to make known their interest in an international exchange. IPE provides a website where individuals can list their professional areas of competence and indicate the kind of international exchange they desire: teaching and/or research, for example, short or long from say ten days to a year, preferred dates, location etc.

These listings, coming from around the world, allow academic professionals to find interested counterparts in other countries, and to initiate an exchange. The site has over 800 listings now, but this number is rising quickly.  It is easy to post a listing with IPE, and there is no cost.

• Go to International Professor Exchange

International Professor Exchange

International Professor Exchange (IPE) is a unique and simple web-based program. And it's for free. IPE was developed by the Office of International Programs and the Information Technology Systems Division of the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

IPE offers an easy way for college and university faculty or staff to make known their interest in an international exchange. IPE provides a website where individuals can list their professional areas of competence and indicate the kind of international exchange they desire: teaching and/or research, for example, short or long from say ten days to a year, preferred dates, location etc.

These listings, coming from around the world, allow academic professionals to find interested counterparts in other countries, and to initiate an exchange. The site has over 800 listings now, but this number is rising quickly.  It is easy to post a listing with IPE, and there is no cost.

• Go to International Professor Exchange

Tilburg University: Tuition fees - Smart marketing trick?

Students outside the European Economic Area (EEA) have to cough up large tuition fees to study at Tilburg University. This is because these students also cost a lot more, the university claims. Besides, if the tuition fees were lower, nobody would show up.

'Universities make a lot of money on students from poor countries'. This is what Joanneke Krämer, vice-chairman of student union LSVb, said in early April. According to Krämer, many institutions ask cost-effective tuition fees for non-EEA students (from outside the European Union and several other countries), while they also receive money from the ministry for these students.

At Tilburg University, EEA students pay 1565 euros in tuition fees, while non-EEA students have to fork out tuition fees ranging from 2212 euros up to 9918 euros. The level is based on whether a student is a part-timer or a full-timer and whether he or she is following a bachelor's or a master's; it is also related to the course of studies.

An unreasonably high amount? Folkert Kootstra of Economic and Administrative Affairs doesn't think so. "Students coming from non-EEA countries also cost more. The marketing costs are higher, there are scholarship programmes, plus they need residence permits. Starting from next year, the university will also pay their visas."

The entire proceeds of the tuition fees from the non-EEA students amount to 2.4 million euros per year. Besides this, Tilburg University also receives a government subsidy. From 2009 this will come to the vast amount of 1.1 million euros a year.

This 3.4 million euros is spent on several things. Around 65% of the tuition fees go directly to the faculties where these students are to study. This money is thrown on a 'big pile' and the faculties spend it, for instance, on marketing and education costs. Around 0.9 million euros is spent on the international office, and the Language Centre costs around 1.4 million euros.

Expenses

The international student also pays indirectly for the 'internationalization' of the university. In the budget for 2008, it's calculated that the university will have expenses amounting to 1.6 million euros for internationalization. This includes, for instance, the recruitment of international top chairs and the costs of ensuring everybody on campus speaks English, but also the development of the new Liberal Arts bachelor's. Isn't it strange that international students have to pay for this campus internationalization? "Well, if we only had Dutch students here, we wouldn't have to give lessons in English", Kootstra says.

Xi Liu (21) from China thinks the tuition fees are too high. But, the student of Business studies adds, "The quality of teaching, the classes, facilities, number of computers, et cetera, is far more important than the costs."

Marketing

So the height of the tuition fees is not based on cost-effectiveness: some of the general internationalization costs are also covered. However, that is not the only reason the tuition fees are so high. In order to attract non-EEA students to Tilburg, the university takes into account that marketing and psychology play a great role.

Kootstra: "For many years our tuition fee policy has been based on marketing effects, including psychology, rather than government funding or costs. Many people think that international students choose for the lowest price according to a standard demand-supply model. This is not the case. Students think low tuition fees stand for poor quality. So if our tuition fees were much lower than those of other international universities, it would be a reason for international students not to choose us."

Diederik Stapel of Tiber, the Tilburg Institute for Behavioral Economics Research, is not content with the fact that Tilburg University considers marketing aspects in determining tuition fees.

"When you demand a large amount of money, expectations arise that quality will be delivered. In many cases this is not the fact. I think that basing tuition fees on marketing is a false economical way of thinking. At Harvard, for example, students pay very high tuition fees. But then again, the quality of the education is much higher than in Tilburg. It's OK to show off, telling everybody that you're the best, as Tilburg University does in several publications. But if you can't live up to that, it's unfair to demand a lot of money. This university should ask itself how much our education is really worth." [Perre Achterberg]

 Tilburg University

Unemployment down in the Netherlands

For the first time since 2002, there are less than 300,000 unemployed people in the Netherlands, according to the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis. In the period between July and August, 294,000 people or 3.8 percent of the labour force are unemployed.

In 2007, the figure was 4.4 percent. In the past six months, unemployment has fallen by an average of 3,000 people per month. In the past year, the number of unemployed has fallen by 48,000.

 

 Expatica

INHOLLAND UNIVERSITY: Dutch language transition year

Do you have foreign educational qualifications and would you like to do a bachelor's or master's degree in Dutch at INHOLLAND University of Applied Sciences? We offer the Dutch Language and Transition Year (Taal- en Schakelcursus, TSC) to prepare you for higher education in Dutch. Apart from mastering the Dutch language you will also develop your study skills and knowledge of a subject area of your choice.

Who is it for?

This Dutch Language and Transition Year is aimed at non-Dutch students who have completed pre-university education abroad of at least senior general secondary education level. It has been especially designed for students who would like to do a higher education degree in Dutch and is open to anyone who has a valid residence permit.

The Programme

The Dutch Language and Transition Year prepares you for higher professional education. Apart from granting you formal access after having completed this year, you will also have mastered enough skills to successfully complete the higher education degree of your choice. Not only will you have developed your Dutch language skills and study skills, you will also have increased your knowledge of a field of study of your choice and Dutch society.

Students who have participated in the Dutch Language and Transition Year are statisically more likely to complete a higher professional education degree faster and better compared to foreign students who have merely taken official Dutch state exams (NT2-II). INHOLLAND University of Applied Sciences offers additional Spring and Summer Courses to prepare you for the Dutch Language and Transition Year which runs from September to June.

Where is it offered?

You can do the Dutch Language and Transition Year in Amsterdam/Diemen.

Study costs

The tuition fees for the Dutch Language and Transition Year are equal to the tuition fees for higher education in The Netherlands. These fees are fixed by the Dutch government every year and amounted to EUR 1,565 for the academic year of 2008/2009 for EU/EER students and EUR 6,500 for non-EU/EER students. An additional EUR 400 will be needed for books and other material.
The Summer course tuition fee 2008 is EUR 750.

More information

For more information about the Dutch Language and Transition Year, such as entrance requirements and the admission procedure, please read the Dutch brochure 'Kansrijk studeren in the hbo met de Taal- en Schakelcursus' (Studying successfully in higher professional education with the Dutch Language and Transition Year'). You can either download it on this page or contact us and we will send it to you by post. You are more than welcome to ask us any questions you may have. 

Contact

Taal- en Schakelcursus (Dutch Language and Transition Year)
PO Box 261
1110 AG Diemen
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 20 495 15 46
The Dutch Language and Tansition Year offices are located in Wildenborch 6, room C4-29 in Diemen.

Other Dutch courses

If you have foreign educational qualifications and would like to do a bachelor's a master's degree programme that is taught in English at INHOLLAND University of Applied Sciences you can also take a Dutch course. 'Crash courses' and single semester courses are offered to international (exchange) students to teach you the bare essentials and to become familiar with the Dutch language. Please contact the International Office for more information.

More information about study language in Holland.

 

Tilburg University: the first young inventor

 Five years ago, Yorn Soeteman (22, Business studies) started the website budgetgaming.nl, a price comparison website for video games. This is the first portrait in a series about Young Inventors at Tilburg University. "It all began five years ago with a topic I started on the cost of gaming. I am an enthusiastic gamer and I know that having this hobby can be quite costly. To buy all the toppers is simply unaffordable. Therefore, you have to select. But how? Furthermore, prices aren't the same in all shops. Some overview was needed. That was my idea.

I always liked to collect and complete things. I think I have known this since the age of four. I discovered a topic on a forum about games where this was done. But it was done badly. So, I listed games along with the cheapest places to buy them and the price of the games. The topic became quite popular. That gave me the spirit to transform the small topic into an organised and professional price comparison website.

Our site is a golden opportunity for young, not so rich people who are fond of games. But also for producers and shops. Customers have the opportunity to react. Moreover, in conjuration with the magazine Power Unlimited we publish game reviews.

It was pretty difficult to manage everything. Now we work on the website with thirty people I met through the internet. They are passionate about the whole concept and happy to volunteer. For now, it seems to work. Recently we found a silent investor. I can not tell more about this, but thanks to him we have a really good opportunity to reach our goal: in two years we are going to be the market leader. Yes, we will even beat the Dutch site kieskeurig.nl!

 To all others students I'd say to just go for it when you have a good idea and believe in yourself. The other day I saw a guy during a break in a lecture. He was playing with his portable gaming computer, surrounded by people but totally apart from everyone. That is how I might have been without Budgetgaming: Quiet and shy."

 

Tilburg University

World first: Lasers used in keyhole surgery for brain cancer

French neurosurgeons successfully treated brain tumours through ultra-keyhole surgery, using a tiny fibre-optic laser to destroy cancerous cells.In a ground-breaking advance, French neurosurgeons on Friday said they had successfully treated brain tumours through ultra-keyhole surgery, using a tiny fibre-optic laser to destroy cancerous cells.

In a ground-breaking advance, French neurosurgeons on Friday said they had successfully treated brain tumours through ultra-keyhole surgery, using a tiny fibre-optic laser to destroy cancerous cells.Alexandre Carpentier of the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital in Paris said the exploit was "a world-first" in its use of multiple advanced techniques and of local anaesthesia rather than general sedation.

"So far, eight volunteers have been treated in the pilot programme, launched December 2006", Carpentier told AFP."They were suffering from metastasing brain tumours caused by various cancers, mainly lung and breast cancer that failed to respond to conventional treatment and were otherwise inoperable", he said.

Doctors had given the volunteers only three months left to live, on average.Under the pioneering technique, a minute hole three millimetres (0.12 of an inch) wide was drilled into the skull, allowing the surgeon to introduce a water-cooled fibre-optic laser into the brain.

The device was gently guided towards the tumour area with the help of a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner.Every three seconds, a computer workstation calculated the temperature at the area being burned by the laser to ensure that there was no dangerous overheating and to confirm that only tumorous cells were being destroyed.

The patient received only a local anaesthetic, remaining conscious in order to be able to speak to the medical team to help verify that cerebral functions were not being harmed. "However, the patients feels nothing during the operation and generally can leave hospital 14 hours later, the evening or the morning after the operation", the surgeon said. "The results are conclusive", said Carpentier.

Treating the patients completely requires two or more bouts of surgery, and there had been no cases of cerebral bruising or epilepsy.So far, six of the eight have completed the full programme. Of the six, five have not had a relapse - a return of cancerous cells to the brain - at a nine-month monitoring point.

"This is the first time that laser technology has been used intracranially, meaning inside an enclosed skull, using MRI in real time to avoid collateral damage", said Carpentier.This is the forerunner of future techniques in which MRI will play a core intervention role in neurosurgery.

The pilot trial, reported in the latest issue of the US journal Neurosurgery, was carried out under the supervision of the French Health Products Safety Agency (Afssaps). It drew on advanced technology supplied by the M.D. Anderson Cancer Centre in Houston, and a Texan company, BioTex Inc., which specialises in the use of lasers for medical therapy.

AFP / Expatica

Tilburg University: Tuition fees - Smart marketing trick?

Students outside the European Economic Area (EEA) have to cough up large tuition fees to study at Tilburg University. This is because these students also cost a lot more, the university claims. Besides, if the tuition fees were lower, nobody would show up.

'Universities make a lot of money on students from poor countries'. This is what Joanneke Krämer, vice-chairman of student union LSVb, said in early April. According to Krämer, many institutions ask cost-effective tuition fees for non-EEA students (from outside the European Union and several other countries), while they also receive money from the ministry for these students.

At Tilburg University, EEA students pay 1565 euros in tuition fees, while non-EEA students have to fork out tuition fees ranging from 2212 euros up to 9918 euros. The level is based on whether a student is a part-timer or a full-timer and whether he or she is following a bachelor's or a master's; it is also related to the course of studies.

An unreasonably high amount? Folkert Kootstra of Economic and Administrative Affairs doesn't think so. "Students coming from non-EEA countries also cost more. The marketing costs are higher, there are scholarship programmes, plus they need residence permits. Starting from next year, the university will also pay their visas."

The entire proceeds of the tuition fees from the non-EEA students amount to 2.4 million euros per year. Besides this, Tilburg University also receives a government subsidy. From 2009 this will come to the vast amount of 1.1 million euros a year.

This 3.4 million euros is spent on several things. Around 65% of the tuition fees go directly to the faculties where these students are to study. This money is thrown on a 'big pile' and the faculties spend it, for instance, on marketing and education costs. Around 0.9 million euros is spent on the international office, and the Language Centre costs around 1.4 million euros.

Expenses

The international student also pays indirectly for the 'internationalization' of the university. In the budget for 2008, it's calculated that the university will have expenses amounting to 1.6 million euros for internationalization. This includes, for instance, the recruitment of international top chairs and the costs of ensuring everybody on campus speaks English, but also the development of the new Liberal Arts bachelor's. Isn't it strange that international students have to pay for this campus internationalization? "Well, if we only had Dutch students here, we wouldn't have to give lessons in English", Kootstra says.

Xi Liu (21) from China thinks the tuition fees are too high. But, the student of Business studies adds, "The quality of teaching, the classes, facilities, number of computers, et cetera, is far more important than the costs."

Marketing

So the height of the tuition fees is not based on cost-effectiveness: some of the general internationalization costs are also covered. However, that is not the only reason the tuition fees are so high. In order to attract non-EEA students to Tilburg, the university takes into account that marketing and psychology play a great role.

Kootstra: "For many years our tuition fee policy has been based on marketing effects, including psychology, rather than government funding or costs. Many people think that international students choose for the lowest price according to a standard demand-supply model. This is not the case. Students think low tuition fees stand for poor quality. So if our tuition fees were much lower than those of other international universities, it would be a reason for international students not to choose us."

Diederik Stapel of Tiber, the Tilburg Institute for Behavioral Economics Research, is not content with the fact that Tilburg University considers marketing aspects in determining tuition fees.

"When you demand a large amount of money, expectations arise that quality will be delivered. In many cases this is not the fact. I think that basing tuition fees on marketing is a false economical way of thinking. At Harvard, for example, students pay very high tuition fees. But then again, the quality of the education is much higher than in Tilburg. It's OK to show off, telling everybody that you're the best, as Tilburg University does in several publications. But if you can't live up to that, it's unfair to demand a lot of money. This university should ask itself how much our education is really worth." [Perre Achterberg]

 Tilburg University

Unemployment down in the Netherlands

For the first time since 2002, there are less than 300,000 unemployed people in the Netherlands, according to the Bureau for Economic Policy Analysis. In the period between July and August, 294,000 people or 3.8 percent of the labour force are unemployed.

In 2007, the figure was 4.4 percent. In the past six months, unemployment has fallen by an average of 3,000 people per month. In the past year, the number of unemployed has fallen by 48,000.

 

 Expatica

INHOLLAND UNIVERSITY: Dutch language transition year

Do you have foreign educational qualifications and would you like to do a bachelor's or master's degree in Dutch at INHOLLAND University of Applied Sciences? We offer the Dutch Language and Transition Year (Taal- en Schakelcursus, TSC) to prepare you for higher education in Dutch. Apart from mastering the Dutch language you will also develop your study skills and knowledge of a subject area of your choice.

Who is it for?

This Dutch Language and Transition Year is aimed at non-Dutch students who have completed pre-university education abroad of at least senior general secondary education level. It has been especially designed for students who would like to do a higher education degree in Dutch and is open to anyone who has a valid residence permit.

The Programme

The Dutch Language and Transition Year prepares you for higher professional education. Apart from granting you formal access after having completed this year, you will also have mastered enough skills to successfully complete the higher education degree of your choice. Not only will you have developed your Dutch language skills and study skills, you will also have increased your knowledge of a field of study of your choice and Dutch society.

Students who have participated in the Dutch Language and Transition Year are statisically more likely to complete a higher professional education degree faster and better compared to foreign students who have merely taken official Dutch state exams (NT2-II). INHOLLAND University of Applied Sciences offers additional Spring and Summer Courses to prepare you for the Dutch Language and Transition Year which runs from September to June.

Where is it offered?

You can do the Dutch Language and Transition Year in Amsterdam/Diemen.

Study costs

The tuition fees for the Dutch Language and Transition Year are equal to the tuition fees for higher education in The Netherlands. These fees are fixed by the Dutch government every year and amounted to EUR 1,565 for the academic year of 2008/2009 for EU/EER students and EUR 6,500 for non-EU/EER students. An additional EUR 400 will be needed for books and other material.
The Summer course tuition fee 2008 is EUR 750.

More information

For more information about the Dutch Language and Transition Year, such as entrance requirements and the admission procedure, please read the Dutch brochure 'Kansrijk studeren in the hbo met de Taal- en Schakelcursus' (Studying successfully in higher professional education with the Dutch Language and Transition Year'). You can either download it on this page or contact us and we will send it to you by post. You are more than welcome to ask us any questions you may have. 

Contact

Taal- en Schakelcursus (Dutch Language and Transition Year)
PO Box 261
1110 AG Diemen
The Netherlands
Tel: +31 20 495 15 46
The Dutch Language and Tansition Year offices are located in Wildenborch 6, room C4-29 in Diemen.

Other Dutch courses

If you have foreign educational qualifications and would like to do a bachelor's a master's degree programme that is taught in English at INHOLLAND University of Applied Sciences you can also take a Dutch course. 'Crash courses' and single semester courses are offered to international (exchange) students to teach you the bare essentials and to become familiar with the Dutch language. Please contact the International Office for more information.

More information about study language in Holland.

 

Tilburg University: the first young inventor

 Five years ago, Yorn Soeteman (22, Business studies) started the website budgetgaming.nl, a price comparison website for video games. This is the first portrait in a series about Young Inventors at Tilburg University. "It all began five years ago with a topic I started on the cost of gaming. I am an enthusiastic gamer and I know that having this hobby can be quite costly. To buy all the toppers is simply unaffordable. Therefore, you have to select. But how? Furthermore, prices aren't the same in all shops. Some overview was needed. That was my idea.

I always liked to collect and complete things. I think I have known this since the age of four. I discovered a topic on a forum about games where this was done. But it was done badly. So, I listed games along with the cheapest places to buy them and the price of the games. The topic became quite popular. That gave me the spirit to transform the small topic into an organised and professional price comparison website.

Our site is a golden opportunity for young, not so rich people who are fond of games. But also for producers and shops. Customers have the opportunity to react. Moreover, in conjuration with the magazine Power Unlimited we publish game reviews.

It was pretty difficult to manage everything. Now we work on the website with thirty people I met through the internet. They are passionate about the whole concept and happy to volunteer. For now, it seems to work. Recently we found a silent investor. I can not tell more about this, but thanks to him we have a really good opportunity to reach our goal: in two years we are going to be the market leader. Yes, we will even beat the Dutch site kieskeurig.nl!

 To all others students I'd say to just go for it when you have a good idea and believe in yourself. The other day I saw a guy during a break in a lecture. He was playing with his portable gaming computer, surrounded by people but totally apart from everyone. That is how I might have been without Budgetgaming: Quiet and shy."

 

Tilburg University

Hyves voted most popular site in Holland

THE NETHERLANDS -- the website Hyves.nl has been named Website of the Year by readers of Emerce, a Dutch magazine and weblog devoted to electronic commerce. The Dutch social networking site was awarded the title during the Emerce e-Day fair in Rotterdam.

The second most popular website was the online auction Markplaats and search engine Google was voted the third most popular site. In 2007, readers gave first place to Google.

[Radio Netherlands / Expatica]