Graduation

Wittenborg's 2020 Summer Graduation Ceremony on Friday was one for the history books – part virtual and part socially distant, but no less celebratory in nature. It was held at Wittenborg's main campus in Apeldoorn and was marked by inspiring stories of perseverance and graduates overcoming many difficulties, including one Chinese student who had to complete her final thesis in locked-down Wuhan, where the coronavirus was first detected.

For the first time in its history Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences will live-stream its Summer Graduation Ceremony on Friday, 10 July, in addition to hosting a small, intimate gathering of graduates and essential staff at its main campus in Apeldoorn. It will also be the first time that a group of students will graduate virtually – mainly those who either find themselves outside the Netherlands or cannot attend the ceremony in person for other reasons.

As Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences' latest graduates stepped off the stage and into the labour market on Friday, degrees conferred, they were given a final moral boost in terms of their employability by Rijn Platteel, regional chair of VNO-NCW, the largest employer organisation in the Netherlands.

There was a wonderful feeling of hope and elation in the air when 8 students from Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences graduated along with about 3,000 others from the University of Brighton, UK, last week. Brighton is Wittenborg's main education partner, offering joint bachelor's and master's degree programmes to Wittenborg students.

Universities are more inclusive than ever, transforming people from all backgrounds, lives and prospects, the vice-chancellor of the University of Brighton, Prof Chris Pole said, in a speech delivered at Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences' 2018 Summer Graduation Ceremony, which saw 44 graduates from 19 different countries receive their diplomas.

It is always a proud moment to hear of the successes of Wittenborg alumni – one of those is Dutch graduate, Raymon Driessen.

Driessen graduated with an IBA in Entrepreneurship & Small Business from Wittenborg in February 2016 and has not looked back since. Currently, he is working as an assistant account manager at Dutch bank ABN AMRO – one of the best performing banks worldwide in terms of sustainability. He has also just graduated from the University of Brighton’s School of Business with an MSc in Management & Entrepreneurship.

At Brighton’s recent 2018 Graduation Ceremony in the UK, Driessen caught up with Wittenborg’s chair of the executive board, Peter Birdsall, who was supporting Wittenborg MSc students as they received their diplomas from Brighton as part of a joint programme between the two institutions.

What are his plans for the future? “I want to get some experience in the financing sector in which I am currently working. I want to understand the financing side of owning a business. At the moment I am an assistant account manager at ABN AMRO and following a programme in the financing sector to become an account manager. My other goal is to gain some managerial experience before setting up my own company.”

On his time as a student in the UK he says: “The culture in the UK is very different than in the Netherlands. More than I expected. The people are extremely friendly and helpful. On campus I stayed with a lot of British students so that was great. It feels good to be a graduate!”

Wittenborg's latest Master of Science graduates received their formal degrees on Friday at the University of Brighton's 2018 Winter Graduation Ceremony in the UK. Wittenborg offers its MSc programmes in conjunction with Brighton.