Apeldoorn

Ten years after Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences published a discussion paper on the need to attract more institutions of higher education to Apeldoorn and establish the city as a globally recognised centre of knowledge, the University of Twente – a public technical university ranked in the world's Top 100 when it comes to engineering and technology – has announced it is opening a campus in Apeldoorn next year.

When embarking on a venture, doing project status updates is as important as carrying out the project itself. That was just what the LONKT Project team has done recently. To keep all stakeholders in the loop and aligned on how the project is progressing, an online meeting was conducted on 9th September, 2020. The LONKT (Lokaal Ondernemend Naar een Krachtige Toekomst - Locally Enterprising Towards a Powerful Future) is a project that aims to connect Apeldoorn's ZZPs (the Dutch acronym for self-employed professionals or freelancers) and SMEs, to widen their entrepreneurial networks and other collaboration. Check out our first report on the LONKT project via the link here: https://www.wittenborg.eu/wittenborg-joins-partnership-boost-local-businesses-apeldoorn-lonkt-project.htm

The first real-life project of the new academic year officially started and is in full swing! With cities working towards being more diverse, bachelor's students have been tasked to compile an advisory for the city of Apeldoorn on how to attract international businesses and investors amid fierce competition from other cities in the Netherlands and abroad. They also put together an 8-page brochure on what makes the city such an attractive option for companies.

Apeldoorn, the city where Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences has been located for the past 10 years, believes it has all the necessary ingredients and ambition to attract international investors and businesses without compromising its spot as "the green heart of the Netherlands". Alderman Jeroen Joon of the Apeldoorn City Council spoke to Wittenborg undergraduates about these ambitions as part of the first Project Week of the new academic year, which requires students to draw up an advisory for the city on how to lure international businesses to its shores. Joon was interviewed by Wittenborg CEO Maggie Feng in an online video made accessible to students.

If the COVID-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it is how fundamental our local businesses are. One of the effects of the crisis is that we are increasingly becoming a more closed-off society and, as such, it has never been more crucial to take care of our own local resources and businesses. Local businesses are the backbone of many small cities and villages but the shutting down of borders has led to many businesses closing down and people scrambling to find other alternatives to sustain themselves and stay above water. In these trying times, continuing to support local business owners helps the community financially and socially, and this will in turn help the economy in the long run. This is what the Apeldoorn LONKT Project is all about.

Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences is proud to announce that it will host the prestigious Hospitality and Tourism Educators Conference (EuroCHRIE) in 2021! Hundreds of delegates from around the world are expected to descend on Apeldoorn in the autumn of 2021, the Dutch city where Wittenborg is located.

Putting Apeldoorn’s beautiful, green zoo Apenheul in the spotlight, Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences’ bachelor's students did their Project Week activities entirely online for the first time. Apenheul, which houses 35 different species of primates, welcomes more than 500,000 visitors from all over the world annually, but is currently closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The new mayor of Apeldoorn, Ton Heerts, made a whirlwind visit to Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences on Friday where he took time to chat to international students and meet with the management. Wittenborg's main campus has been located in Apeldoorn since 2010 and maintaining good relations with the city has been one of its priorities over the past decade.

About 60 students from Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences visited the 5-star De Echoput Hotel & Restaurant located in the Het Loo Royal Estate's forest in Apeldoorn as part of the second Project Week company visit of the academic year.