international students

She has modelled for international brands like Chanel and Adidas, graced the pages of fashion magazines like Vogue Italia and Harper Bazaar, now Chinese student Yudu Zeng, is doing an MSc in Sport Business Management at Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences.

Stakeholders in the Dutch higher education sector met in The Hague on Wednesday for a seminar on the future of international students in the Netherlands.

There are growing reasons why students choose to study abroad, and the result is, particularly in the Netherlands, that this year has seen an influx of international students enrolling - 10,000 more than usual, according to NUFFIC, the Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education. Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences has itself seen a 50% increase in enrolments from last year. The question is, then, what attracts so many students to Dutch universities?

WITTENBORG has recently established a new collaboration with Fletcher Hotels – one of the biggest hotel chains in the Netherlands – to allow students to complete their internships at their branches.

As the Dutch Minister of Higher Education prepares to introduce a new policy on internationalisation to parliament this summer, the management of Wittenborg University has written her a letter urging against regulating the number of international students in the Netherlands. In its letter, Wittenborg also raises serious concerns about research universities' disregard for the Dutch binary system in higher education, specifically with regard to entrance requirements for non-EU students, for instance from China and Russia.

What does it take to start a business in the Netherlands? We asked Wittenborg's business development advisor, Ben Prins, for a few tips.

From 3 May 2018 international students in the Netherlands will pay considerably less for study permits, as well as post-study permits that grant them one year to look for a job after graduation. In addition, it will also become cheaper for companies to hire highly skilled migrants. The Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) announced the new fees a day after a letter, explaining the reduced amounts, was sent to the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer). The cost for a study permit will be dropped from €321 to €192. To apply for an orientation year permit after graduation (“zoekjaar”) will be reduced from €641 to €285 from 3 May.

Nuffic's latest report on incoming student mobility in the Netherlands has highlighted the benefits of increased diversification in the international student population of the Netherlands.

If you think of popular holiday destinations, Pakistan probably does not spring to mind. However, Wittenborg graduate, Jawaid Waleed, wants to change this. He did research and wrote his graduation assignment on the rise of ethno-tourism in Pakistan - focusing on a small community in the country’s Kalash Valley, who are thought to be direct descendants of Alexander the Great’s army that swept through India around 326 BC.