Wittenborg University will celebrate its 25th Anniversary with a Gala to be held on November 9th 2012 in Apeldoorn.

The Gala will be the final event during a week in which students, staff, and partners from business, education and the professional field will be invited to take part in a number of special events, seminars and workshops.

Wittenborg was opened by Mayor of Deventer, C.J.D Waal on 21st September 1987 at its then location on the Pikeursbaan in Deventer. It was first called Wittenborg InterCollege, however soon dropped the 'Inter' part of the name, keeping just Wittenborg College. From 1996, once it received its state appointment as a University of Applied Sciences it was officially called Hogeschool Wittenborg, and since 2007 the University has gradually been changing its name in all publications to Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences.

Since 1987 Wittenborg has offered its programmes at 4 different locations, and each time its logo changed, until that of the present day. During the past 25 years, Wittenborg has offered programmes in many fields, including business, finance, real estate, banking, international management, languages, communication, ICT and life sciences.

In the early years the Wittenborg offered short courses and business to business programmes, in areas such as Marketing, ICT, and Communication. It also offred language courses in English. Wittenborg started to offer short degree courses in the 1990's and full Bachelor programmes since 1996, when it received its University of Applied Sciences status. Although Wittenborg has been offering full English taught degree programmes only since 2002, Wittenborg International was already offering courses in 1999 in cooperation with partners in Poland.

The 25th Anniversary celebrations come after a time during which Wittenborg University has become an institute with a strong international profile while having significantly changed its appearance, location, and expanded its Bachelor and Master programmes through a long term partnership with the University of Brighton. It is intended that the festivities will reflect the current student body and the institute's partnerships, whilst looking back at the past acheivements and its students and forward to developing programmes and future growth.

During the 25 Year celebration week, an important event to be organized will be an employment and career market that aims to introduce employers to the benefits of involving dutch and international students in their companies and organisations.

Info: The name Wittenborg was taken from the name of a German tradesman and Mayor of the Hansiatic City Lubeck, Johann Wittenborg (1321-1363). As a successful international businessman, trader and entrepreneur, Johann continued his father Hermann's international business, trading from the Baltics states to the Netherlands, Belgium and England.

WUP 11/05/2012

Tags: Wittenborg University25 Years

Wittenborg University continues its drive for more affordable student housing in the city of Apeldoorn. Currently a number of longer term projects are being discussed, including the development of empty office space in the heart of the city centre. The key to successful student housing is a balance between the commercial interests of the owners and developers and the non-commercial interests of students and education institutions. (International) student housing is a complicated and sensitive branch, however forms the key for economic growth in a town such as Apeldoorn that is on the one hand looking for higher educated youth in the town, and on the other is currently financially in need of dedicated and sustainable economic growth.

Students coming from abroad to Apeldoorn see the town as the new centre of their world, and each student brings with them an economic growth of at least 20,000 euro (per year) for the region. In some cases even more. The math’s is not difficult; a group of 200 students, the yearly input into the direct local economy is 4 million euro per year, year in year out. For towns such as Deventer or Enschede, where the number of international students reaches well over 3000, the figures reach a staggering 60 million euro per year.

Notwithstanding the basic economic impact of international students on an economy, other factors could bring the total value much higher, such as attracting highly educated personnel, researchers, entrepreneurs and ambassadors for the national economy. In Apeldoorn, even every Dutch student attracted to the town to study counts in the equation also, as the municipality is not a traditional student town as such, so therefore students are attracted to programmes because of their content, the international atmosphere, the quality and professionalism, and they invariably come from outside the region, cities in the west, such as Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Breda and the Hague.

WUP 11/5/2012

Tags: ApeldoornWittenborgStudentshousing

In preparation for the launch of the International Master programmes , (MSc International Event Management and MSc International Tourism Management), to start on the 3rd September 2012, University of Brighton coordinator Chris Dutton visited Wittenborg University today, and together with colleague Joyce Webber, a learning technologist from the University. The aim of the School of Service Management’s visit was to introduce Wittenborg staff to Student Central, the University of Brighton’s Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) which is based on Blackboard. Wittenborg University has been using the alternative, Open Source VLE Moodle, since its early days of 2004, and staff in Apeldoorn will have to learn how to recognise the similarities and differences between the systems before the new academic year starts in September.

The aim of the Wittenborg University IT department will be to provide students with as much user interface integration as possible, between the Moodle experience and its Blackboard comparison. Web programmers at Wittenborg are looking at various options that will be able to present students on the joint programme with a unified ‘look’.

Staff at Wittenborg has also been introduced to the substantial online resources provided by the University of Brighton’s online library, and students on the Master programmes at the School of Service Sector Management’s International Event Management and International Tourism Management will enjoy the benefit of a state-of-the-art online resource facility.

WUP 10/5/2012

Did you know that Wittenborg is looking for an international student graduate who would be interested in working at Wittenborg? Can you programme in PHP, and do you have knowledge of MYSQL and Apache? Contact us here…Application form for Working @ Wittenborg

A friend of mine told me he as a guest lecturer recently taught students on topics in the area of information management. He felt the session was not as successful as he wished it was. He thought to explain this by the fact that he is used to talk to an academic audience interested in well-considered elucidations on the pros and cons of certain conceptual models that professionals use when executing their job. The previous class, however, wanted to hear what should be done in concrete terms; no confusing reservations, please. 

Here, we touch on an issue that is particularly relevant to business and management education. Considering the turbulent times we are in today, students must learn to both absorb incessant flows of information and interpret them based on grounded concepts and theories.  However, information can be incomplete and biased. Theories (at best) have the features of an on-going process of thinking and discovery. You cannot take them on board as an always reliable compass.

This together requires modes of thinking and mental flexibility which are helpful (they do not question only but also give support), intriguing (so that the student is triggered to know more about them) and manageable (they can be applied without being a genius). Voila, a true challenge to higher education.

Dr Teun Wolters

WUP 09/05/2012

Tags: Mental flexibility

At Wittenborg University, programmes are weighted through the ECTS system of Credits.

According to Wikipedia, the European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System (ECTS) is a standard for comparing the study attainment and performance of students of higher education across the European Union and other collaborating European countries. For successfully completed studies, ECTS credits are awarded. One academic year corresponds to 60 ECTS-credits that are equivalent to 1500–1800 hours of study in all countries irrespective of standard or qualification type and is used to facilitate transfer and progression throughout the Union.  The ECTS will be complemented by the European credit transfer system for vocational education and training (ECVET) which the ministers responsible for vocational training in 32 European countries agreed to develop in the Maastricht Communiqué of 14 December 2004. ECTS also includes a standard ECTS grading scale, intended to be shown in addition to local (i.e. national) standard grades: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Credit_Transfer_and_Accumulation_System

In the Netherlands, the act of higher education allocates 28 student hours to 1 EC Credit and 60 CECTS Credits to one normal year of study. This means that students should expect to study for 1680 hours in an academic year, and even 2240 hours in a year if following an intensive 80 Credit year pathway.

A Bachelor degree at a Netherlands University of Applied Sciences, such as Wittenborg, is weighted at a total of 240 Credits. Academic Bachelor programmes, such as the BA in European Hospitality Management, to be launched next year with the University of Brighton, are 180 Credit rated. A Master’s degree is often weighted at between 60 and 90 ECTS.

For instance, Wittenborg University’s Bachelor in International Business Administration programme (IBA) is a 240 ECTS credit, therefore 4 year Bachelor programme, with the credits divided evenly over the 4 years (60 credits per year). However, the programme is spread over 3 phases. Each phase is naturally programmed into 1 year, allowing top students to raise their study tempo. As a broad business administration programme, the IBA allows students to choose 8 specialisations; Economics & Management, Financial Services Management, Hospitality Business Administration, Real Estate Management, Logistics & International Trade, Marketing & Communication, Information Management, and Entrepreneurship.

The Master of Science (MSc) in International Event Management is a broad Master programme that is open to all students with an business or economy based first degree. It looks at the role of an Event Project Manager from an international perspective, taking into account a broad role of innovation and implementation. For instance, the programme allows direct entry to students with a University of Applied Sciences (HBO) Bachelor degree in a related field. As the programme offers a wide range of modules from Project Management to Innovation and Globalisation to Fund Raising, it is suitable for a wide range of direct entry graduates. Although the programme offers a higher degree perspective to students from service sector education backgrounds, such as those with a degree in Tourism, Event Management, or Hospitality  Management, it is also a good alternative specialisation for International Business Administration graduates who are looking to diversify their qualifications and so enhance their career opportunities.

Graduates from the MSc programme in International Event Management will be a valuable asset to companies and organisations in many sectors not just the Events and Entertainment sector, although this is an ever growing and currently booming industry worldwide. In the past years, event management has become one of the most important factors in a company's marketing and branding strategy with recent research showing that many organisations spend up to 7% of their annual marketing and branding budget on organising and attending corporate events and exhibitions.

Event managers are seen as all-round, pro active members of a project team, often involved in projects from the pre-conception through fundraising to eventual execution. A project and event manager will be pivotal within the company, working with different levels of staff and management from different areas in the organisation. The Event Project Manager will be required to understand the developing project from the perspective of finance and human resource management, and from local and international social responsibility, taking into account the views and wishes of all stakeholders.

For more information about the Master of Science programme in International Event Management please see the Event and Project Management Pages.

The Master programme can be followed in 1 or 2 years depending on a student's choice of full time or part time study combined with work and students are registered at both Wittenborg University and the University of Brighton, in order to give students the maximum access to facilities and services.

WUP 08/05/2012

Tags: International Event Management MSc ProgrammeEvent Project Manager

Wittenborg will retain its current yearly tuition fees for the academic year 2012-2013, with its Bachelor fee remaining 6,300.- euro, whilst many Dutch Universities raise their fees significantly.

According to the Nuffic's Transfer magazine, the Universities of Leiden and Groningen have dramatically raised their tuition fees for international students (non EU) from coming September (2012) intake. http://www.transfermagazine.nl/nieuws/onderwijs/forse-collegegeldverhogingen-in-leiden-en-groningen

From September 2012 many Dutch research Universities will charge in excess of 7,500.- euro for a Bachelor degree in business and with many charging over 10 thousand euro per year for their undergraduate degrees these prices are comparable to UK Universities fees for EU students.

Although price increases amongst Universities of Applied Science have increased to a lesser extent, those institutes who traditionally gave all students a 3,500- scholarship will cease to do so as of September. According to a spokesperson of the Hanze University (Groningen), this year all student was awarded an automatic scholarship. As of September only students who manage to motivate their scholarship claim will receive the fund, which will mean that for some students the fee increase will be higher, ranging from 5,000.- euro to 9,000.- euro for 1 year Bachelor degree fee.

In recent years, criticism has been levelled at the marketing strategies of some Universities of Applied Science who raised their fees to over 7 thousand euro but kept the peace with agents by guaranteeing and initial scholarship that halved the fee to be paid, and that there was no affective criteria in determining a scholarship. The accusations was that this practice was not transparent, and therefore not in the spirit of the Code of Conduct for International Students in the Netherlands, that all institutes have signed.

A comparison table of fees for Bachelor and Master programmes at Dutch Research Universities and Universities of Applied Science, based on that compiled by Nuffic's Transfer magazine is to be found here. The original table (here) shows a comparison of international student fees (non-EU) for Bachelor and Master degrees in the Netherlands between 2011-12 and 2012-13, at the institutes researched by Transfer.

WUP 5.5.2012

File Upload:  fee comparison nl universities 2012 2013.pdf

The group, consisting of five boys and nineteen girls aged between twelve and sixteen, were accompanied by two leaders from KAS Education Centre, Thailand and have spent 4 days visiting Apeldoorn, Epe and Amsterdam.

During their stay in Apeldoorn, they spent a day in classes with Wittenborg Preparation Year students following IELTS English classes, and last night entertained their hosts with a splendid show of traditional Thai dancing. The group was welcomed on Wednesday to Apeldoorn by Alderman Johan Kruithof, from the local Apeldoorn government (Gemeente Apeldoorn) and were given a tour of the City Hall complex.

On Thursday the students spent the morning at a secondary school in Epe, the RSG N.O.-Veluwe, following classes together with their Dutch counterparts.

The following article and file was published in the regional newspaper De Stentor: http://www.destentor.nl/regio/epevaassen/10934635/Thaise-scholieren-gek-op-stroopwafels-.ece

The students have been in England for the past two weeks, living with British host families in the small town of Seaford, on the Sussex coast, attending English lessons every day and following a programme of activities and visits to local towns, Windsor Castle and London.

The Thai school students come from the following schools in Bangkok:

• Saint Joseph Convent School Bangkok
• Mater Dei School Thailand
• Chulaongkorn University Demonstration Secondary School Bangkok
• Srinakarinwirot University School
• Kasetsart University Laboratory School International Program
• Chitralada School Thailand

WUP 27/04/2012

Experienced lecturers in business administration – without excluding others – are proficient in both unfolding the full content of their subject and recapitulating it succinctly. Also, many blog writers and the like appear to be masters in outlining fields of knowledge in an insightful way while enticing their audience into wanting to know more.

An interesting website article written by Dr Paul J.H. Schoemaker on strategic thinkers (INC.com) exemplifies the art of summarizing.  He writes that every leader’s temptation is to deal with what’s directly in front, because it always seems more urgent and concrete. However, if you do that - the writer poses - you put your company at risk. Companies need leaders who can see beyond their nose; but, can you recognize such strategic leaders?  According to the writer, adaptive strategic leaders – the kind who thrive in today’s uncertain world – do six things well. They anticipate, think critically, interpret, decide, align and learn. 

This intriguing summary, however, makes one wonder what this is all about.  Every citizen does that in order to make it to the next day and beyond. Obviously, it is the special business environment that makes the difference.  Experience and gut feeling may be important, but when you have to lead and manage a large organization, using your brains and acting upon it seems to be indispensible. Organizations do not have much that keep them going on their own accord.

The intellectual side of management is of course what business education is good at. There are more dimensions (which the school pays attention to), but using your brains based on good evidence-based concepts must not be forgotten or played down.  That’s for sure.

Dr Teun Wolters

WUP 26/04/2012

Tags: Teun WoltersWittenborg UniversityBusinessAdministration

Part-time degree programmes in Holland will no longer be directly funded by government.

Specially targeted programmes, for instance in technology and health will be stimulated by making scholarships available to students to pay their fees. This means that institutions will no longer receive funding for part time degree programmes, however funding will be given to students themselves, allowing them to choose the best programme, at the institute of their choice.

According to Ria van’t Klooster, director of the Netherlands Association of Training and Education (NRTO), the changes in the law will herald the beginning of the development towards a level playing field in Higher Education in the Netherlands, where there is often an imbalance in funding of part time programmes. “NRTO will speedily hold further discussions with the State Secretary, employers, students and the Dutch Higher Education institutes, to further develop the plans.”

NRTO had earlier announced its support for the State Secretary’s plans, which are based on research into the area of part time degree studies, financing and student populations.

 

Currently there is a discussion in the Netherlands regarding the funding of EU students from neighbour countries, such as Germany, Belgium and the UK! There has recently been too much hype regarding the so-called ‘’hordes’’ of British students crossing the North Sea to Study in Holland, according to the Nuffic’s Transfermagazine, based on an article by Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of Universities UK,  in the Times Higher Education. She highlights the cleaver marketing being employed by some Dutch universities in the Netherlands towards prospective UK students, and criticises the unbalanced approach of the information provided, especially from a socio political perspective with regard to the comparison of the costs of providing and buying-in higher education.   The article points out that there is currently more than double the number of Dutch students studying in the UK than British students in the Netherlands. It states that although the cost to the individual is lower than that in the UK the Dutch taxpayer has to foot the bill in terms of public funding towards each student.    Dandridge points out that “while some British students will inevitably be tempted by the prospect of not having to make contributions towards the cost of their degrees after graduating, caution is needed when describing degrees in other countries as "free" or "cheaper". What is not being communicated properly here are the full costs involved in funding undergraduate courses and how this requires long-term, sustainable provision. Interestingly, the issue of who covers the bill for higher education has been thrust into the limelight recently in the Netherlands. It has been reported that the Dutch education secretary, Halbe Zijlstra, is considering the possibility of requesting financial reimbursement from Germany for the many German students who study in the Netherlands.”   From the perspective of the Dutch government, Halbe Zijlstra is currently looking at different possibilities in changes to the funding of higher education in Holland, and proposals include the removal of direct funding for all part-time students from 2017 and possibilities of other changes in the funding structures for certain areas, such as the limitation of certain types of programme to certain Universities, more stringent 'selection-at-the-gate' and more emphasis on market stimulated education.    In recent years Dutch higher education has already seen the removal of state funding for students following a second Bachelor or Master programme, the removal of funding for international students, and a rule that any student who delays graduation for more than one year of the official programme time will have to pay the full fees for the remaining year(s). All these categorised students have to pay the full fee of between five and twelve thousand euros. (At Wittenborg for instance, there is no funding and the fee is currently 6300 euro for undergraduate and 12600 euro for postgraduate students). Student housing all inclusive for less than 80 pounds a week? There are some great benefits of study in Holland however, despite the sometimes lower fees, great experience of study abroad, pretty decent infrastructure in one of the richest countries of Europe, but also for instance the very affordable and high quality student housing. As an example, Wittenborg students get an all-inclusive furnished room, including high speed internet, cable TV, gas water and electricity for between 420 and 480 euro per month! Also, if you have a part-time job you are entitled to study finance grants up to 3000 euro a year plus a free travel card for all public transport in the Netherlands.  At least taking the bus and train to that cheap Easy Jet flight home won’t cost much!   WUP 19/04/12  

Op 10 mei bieden we je de mogelijkheid om vragen te komen stellen over de inhoud van de opleiding International Event Management (MSc), de samenstelling van de docenten, het studiemateriaal en andere praktische zaken. Tijdens deze informatiebijeenkomst zullen Annette Kappert-White, opleidingscoordinator Wittenborg en Chris Dutton, opleidingscoordinator Brighton aanwezig zijn om al je vragen te beantwoorden.

Je kunt je hier aanmelden voor de bijeenkomst.

Naam * Emailadres * Telefoonnummer * Vooropleiding * Heb je een parkeerplaats nodig? * ja nee

Ons adres is: Laan van de Mensenrechten 500 in Apeldoorn. Een routebeschrijving vind je hier.

http://www.wittenborg.eu/sites/default/files/imce/documents/pdf/Routebeschrijving%20Wittenborg_2011.pdf

Tot donderdag 10 mei om 13.15 uur!

Young well-educated people who enter the labour market during an economic depression have to face difficulties whose effects may linger for years. It takes longer before a job is found; wages are lower than in better times. The most popular employers seem to prefer experienced employees so that people without experience will be dependent on less popular employers. This means that young graduates have to be very critical when deciding on accepting a job, even when jobs are scarce.

Here, business students might benefit from their knowledge of superior business behaviour. Modules such as strategic management and strategic marketing not only tell students what effective companies do, they also inform students of the fact that many companies fail to take the taught ‘best-practices’ on board. This can be seen by observing shortcomings such as: insufficient awareness of what the present network economy requires, no adequate information systems, no longer term strategies, no integrated policies etc. 

Not being initially employed by the perfect company is no problem as such. This may imply that there is room for improvement to which the young graduate is challenged to contribute. However, this asks for employers who wants that improvement. The well-trained business student should be motivated by his/her superiors by being given work that preludes a brighter future. The question remains whether indeed the business student is capable of benefiting from his/her insights when searching for his/her first job.

Dr Teun Wolters

WUP 13/04/12

Doing International Business? Need international relations support? Want to launch a new product in China, in India, in Brazil or in Africa?

Of course, not all students get the chance to help organise a royal event, as Wittenborg student Kingthong Pensuriya did last year, however International Bachelor students, in their final year of study can work in a company for a period between 3 and 12 months!

An international student internship fills a skills gap or vacancy at low-cost without the long term commitment and can help create international networks. Students can complete specific one-off specialist projects, while injecting fresh ideas. These enthusiastic and motivated students will help develop mentoring or supervisory skills of current staff. Student internships can test-run talented individuals before offering a permanent position - graduates can be employed without a work permit, and can even be kept permanently without special permits and administration.

A challenge for Wittenborg and its international students is to arrange a period of internship that will give students an insight into the workings, methods and organisation management of a company either in the private or public sector. Often international students can bring an aspect of internationalisation in their internship at a company that is extremely beneficial to the company itself. For instance, many Dutch companies have international business relations with China, India, Russia, to name but a few, and a student who speaks the local language, and understands the culture of the country concerned, can work on projects in areas such as logistics, marketing and branding, international finance - payments and billing,

Wittenborg bachelor students generally have to complete a period of work experience ranging from 3 to 6 during this time the students are available full time for the company concerned and a work placement contract is signed between the student, Wittenborg and the organisation. Non-EU students do not require a work permit for this period of placement. A monthly payment of between 250 and 500 euro is agreed depending on policies at the work placement company, the complexity of the task a student will be carrying out, and the previous work experience a student has had. All students will be almost at Bachelor graduate level by the time they start their work experience.

Students are also stimulated to complete their graduation project on the basis of a consultancy research request from a company, for example, a marketing plan, a business plan, a quality audit preparation or an international branding or launch of a product on an international market. This final project research can also be done in the form of an in company research assignment.

All in all, a company can make use of a graduating international bachelor student for a period between 3 months and a full year, during which time the student can bring a meaningful addition to a company or department, whether within an SME or a corporate organisation.

For more information you are invited to receive more information by contacting Wittenborg through this form: http://www.wittenborg.eu/wittenborg-university-contact.htm

 More information regarding Work Placment / Internship benefits for companies and organisations is to be found at the web pages on internship at www.wittenborg.eu/internship

WUP 07/04/2012

This week saw the graduation of 6 Wittenborg students from the Bachelor in International Business Administration. The awards were presented by director Mrs Maggie Feng at a ceremony on Thursday at the campus of Wittenborg University in Apeldoorn.  The 6 students representing 5 nationalities have specialised in a number of the business administration pathways, including Financial Services Management, Logistics and International Trade, and Marketing and Communication.

The graduation ceremony saw the following students graduate: Mr Ravin Mahrjan, from Nepal, Mr Jiang Jun (Joe), from China, Miss Paola Carrillo, from Colombia, Mr Shillingford Ibrahim, from Nigeria, Mr Pradeep Sthapit, from Nepal and Mr. Carlos Grijalva, from Ecuador. Some students’ parents flew over from across the world to join their sons and daughters at this special event.

A number of notable milestones were achieved with the graduation of this group, Shilingford Ibrahim was Wittenborg’s first Nigerian graduate, and Paola Carrillo and Carlos Grijalva completed the whole Bachelor programme in 2 ½ years by completing  their work placement and graduation assignments during the summer and winter vacations, as well as doubling up on some subjects during the first and second phase.

The degrees were awarded under the Netherlands Act of Higher Education, in accordance with the Netherlands Accrediation Association (NVAO) accredited IBA programme Examination and Education Regulations. These fresh Wittenborg Alumni completed their programmes fully in English and now have the opportunity to further their studies at Master level, return to their home countries and begin their careers or even enter employment in the Netherlands under the Knowledge Migrant scheme. 

WUP 06/04/2012

Introduction

In 2011 Wittenborg University and the University of Brighton decided to develop a Master of Science programme in International Event Management, and launch this at Wittenborg’s campus in Apeldoorn from September 2012, for both fulltime and part time students. Partnered with the University of Brighton, the International Event Management programme will be a strong combination of teaching and curriculum from a large UK University and the diversity and international character of a small Dutch Business School. This will be a real partnership with more than 50% of the curriculum being delivered by lecturers from the University of Brighton, who will be flying into Apeldoorn to teach a diverse and mixed group of Dutch and international participants.

The creation of an international event management Master programme in Apeldoorn required a number of steps to be taken. These included, defining the profile of an event manager, within an international setting, as well as defining the core knowledge and competence capabilities that an internationally orientated event project manager should aspire to achieving. This meant looking at trends and developments from a global perspective. However a consideration is that most graduates would often be in a working situation in which the notion of “think global, act local” would be an important one. Wittenborg essentially works in a global education market, and its students often come from around the world; however its Event Management programme is also geared towards professionals in the Netherlands, and even those directly in the Apeldoorn region. The University of Brighton / Wittenborg MSc in International Event Management is designed to train managers capable of managing an event from its conception to its completion from both marketing and an operational viewpoint.

The profile of an event manager:

According to recent figures, Companies spent 7% of their annual budget in events-based communication. Because of the rapid growth in this field, companies are seeking flexible, well qualified and trained people.

The overall profile of an event manager has developed in recent years, from a specialist arranging large entertainment or sports events to an all-round general project manager, in companies and organisations of all sizes. Event project managers are not only applying their project management skills to large projects such as trade fairs, conferences and festivals, but companies are also formalising the organisation of meetings, site visits, corporate hospitality events, press conferences, social occasions, marketing events, quality audits, training, the list goes on. Often in smaller organisations, the notion of a specific event manager is not even been defined, however the role is fulfilled by marketing staff, or Pas, or facility managers – all needing the same ability to plan, conceive and resource events. Due to the changing role, and the imbedding of the concept Event Manager, within even smaller SMEs, more and more organisations are formalising the function, and looking to professionalisation of the their even project managers.

In many organisations, event managers have become crucial to the successful branding of an organisation, it products and its strategic marketing strategy. These managers have a clear understanding of the impact that changing socio-economic, political, cultural and ideological environments can have on the creation and innovation of company or organisation events. For instance, the impact of global events such as the Tsunami in Japan, or more local events such as excruciating austerity measures having to be introduced by the Greek, Spanish even the Dutch government.

Traditionally, companies and organisations have employed the services of event management agents or services to help them create, design and implement large scale events, and event managers are also required to market themselves and an their services, by showing their creativity, their ability to provide scaling and cost ability. Many organisations still outsource their larger scale event management to external organisers, and even in the private sector individuals are employing professional event management bureaus to organise weddings, anniversaries, and private occasions such as house openings, for instance. However, nowadays, when it comes to companies and organisations, both in the corporate and SME sector, the daily need for synergy between event planning and organisation on the one hand, and branding and marketing on the other calls for a clear event projected management role internally, even if external bureaus are also employed.

The event manager is a great manager of people, often from different levels and backgrounds within an organisation. Knowing who the stakeholders are and what underlying ambitions a company, an organisation, a city or even a country has can be essential for the positioning and execution of some events, however even the organisation of a simple meeting can have great impact if organised, or not organised in line with the expectations of stakeholders (both in a positive or a negative way). For instance, sustainability is a driving ambition behind many companies aspirations, and even being used in organisational branding, requiring a strategic planning, from a sustainability viewpoint, to the organisation of events both internally and externally.

Event managers will often need a sharp sense of entrepreneurship, or more importantly, “intrapreneurship”. These means that they will be able to use their creativity and innovate whilst at the same time evaluate risk and pitfalls, and deal with crisis from a methodical and measured way. Event managers will need to understand budgets, cash-flows and often be at the forefront of fund raising and sponsorship acquisitions (bootstrapping).

The role of an event manager in an international operating organisation

As we have seen, the role of an event manager, within an organisation, is more than often a combination of different skills and competencies ranging from the communicative to the strategic, and the creative to the financial. From an international perspective, other issues become more important, such as language, cultural awareness, social and political correctness and often an even greater depth of understanding of products, brands and perception on an international, possibly global market.

At a company level, the international event manager is even more of an ambassador for the organisation. Often they will have direct dealings with similar experienced people in companies from abroad, sometimes operating in a different language than English. They will more than often also be the first person that delegations meet when visiting from abroad, and the last person to see them off again!

An organisation’s international event manager will need to have good knowledge of the countries their organisation is doing business with, their cultures and sometimes even their languages.

A simple example; for instance a company that organises an onsite visit for a delegation of business representatives from a particular city or province in China, and plans dinners and social events around the company meetings, must however ensure that the visitors’ aims and objectives are clearly understood, and that any social programme appeals to their cultural tastes and expectations. Similarly, there is no point in planning a field trip to visit factories in China and suggesting that you will “look after yourself” after the meetings, or in the evenings! Often an international event planner who speaks good Chinese is essential for the success of the event, which in turn can bring success to the project or business being supported by the event.

Of course, it is not suggested that every company have international event managers who speak tens of different languages: - an all-round event manager who speaks good English can go a long way, however if the main core of an organisations business is with China, then it might be an excellent idea to make sure that at least one of the team speaks good Manadrin.

Rationale for a Master programme for (International) Event Managers

Companies and organisations that operate within either a local or international / global market are constantly refining and tuning their practices, often following standardised quality systems. The move from ad-hoc event management to organised and carefully planned events has even taken hold in smaller SME organisations, with protocols and procedures being developed by event project managers for meetings, sales pitches and even marketing driven press conferences, at which journalists are pampered, prepared in advance, provided with written agendas, USB-sticks of important, and especially useful, texts and generally made to feel part of an event rather than a plain announcement.

The Master of Science  in International Event management is a programme aimed not only at international students, but also at local professionals in the Netherlands, who can study the programme part-time over a period of 2 years, enabling them to combine their studies with work.

The programme is open to professionals from all industries and organisations who are involved in the planning, organisation and execution of events, from meetings to congresses, from opening events to sporting events and from a business gala to a national concert. Of course the programme is also open to professionals directly from the events industry, who wishes to learn and research more about their profession.

For companies, employees following a professional master in Event Management will develop their knowledge and understanding at a broader, more holistic level, for instance learning more about risk and investment or fundraising and sponsorship. They will look at project management from the perspective of event planning and organisation management. As an individual, a Master of Science degree is an extremely valuable asset to your CV, and the Event Management Master is also open to candidates who have more than 5 years working experience in a related area.

What we have seen in this short description of the development of the profile of an international project manager, and of what that person can bring to a company or organisation, is that there is an increasing need for staff to be able to think strategically, look at the planning and branding of events and their organisation from a top level, taking into account the aims and aspirations of the highest level stakeholders, such as shareholders, customers, governments, whilst understanding the dilemmas and challenges faces by stakeholders on the work floor, the operational and organisational aspects. Event managers are increasingly being asked to be creative and innovate, whilst balancing risks, they are expected to be part of a company’s overall strategic marketing and branding policies, and in some branches can even be asked to play a driving role in these.

Many organisations employ staff in event management positions that have not studied event management specifically, but have come into the professional from other educational and work experience backgrounds. Organisations are looking to professionalise and heighten their staff knowledge and awareness, and for these event managers a Master programme in International Events Management is an ideal way to increase their value and potential for an organisation!

Wittenborg University was represented with a stand at the Event 1012 Expo in Utrecht, yesterday and today, meeting many aspirant Masters of International Event students and explaining the special and relatively unique programme to be launched in the Netherlands this year.

During the Event 2012 fair, director Peter Birdsall presented the challenges and rewards of learning and teaching International Event Management from a global perspective, which encompasses aspects such as sustainability, ethical event production, or legacy planning and considers strategic responses to forces impacting on events from the global operating environment.

In 2011 Wittenborg University and the University of Brighton decided to develop a Master of Science programme in International Event Management, and launch this at Wittenborg’s campus in Apeldoorn from September 2012, for both fulltime and part time students. Partnered with the University of Brighton, the International Event Management programme will be a strong combination of teaching and curriculum from a large UK University and the diversity and international character of a small Dutch Business School. This will be a real partnership with more than 50% of the curriculum being delivered by lecturers from the University of Brighton, who will be flying into Apeldoorn to teach a diverse and mixed group of Dutch and international participants.

The creation of an international event management Master programme in Apeldoorn required a number of steps to be taken. These included, defining the profile of an event manager, within an international setting, as well as defining the core knowledge and competence capabilities that an internationally orientated event project manager should aspire to achieving. This meant looking at trends and developments from a global perspective. However a consideration is that most graduates would often be in a working situation in which the notion of “think global, act local” would be an important one. Wittenborg essentially works in a global education market, and its students often come from around the world; however its Event Management programme is also geared towards professionals in the Netherlands, and even those directly in the Apeldoorn region. The University of Brighton / Wittenborg MSc in International Event Management is designed to train managers capable of managing an event from its conception to its completion from both marketing and an operational viewpoint.

...read more

Details of the lecture can be found here:www.wittenborg.eu/event-management-2012.htm

WUP 05/04/2012

The Netherlands needs China now more than China needs the Netherlands!

- this according to the Nuffic’s website magazine Transfer, who basis its article on a publication of the Advisory body for Science and technology (Adviesraad voor Wetenschaps- en Technologiebeleid - AWT)

The AWT publication advises that more attention should be paid to the integration of Chinese students into Dutch higher education and that more Dutch students should visit and even study in China. According to the article, only around 300 Dutch students study in Asia, whilst more than 5500 Chinese student study in the Netherlands. According to AWT these Chinese students should be well cared for and brought into Dutch society by integrating them. Having Chinese students live together in one student flat makes it difficult for them to integrate into the Dutch student population. AWT goes on to mention that immigration procedures could at least be carried out with a smile, and that the Netherlands is to China what Tilburg is to the Netherlands. Even that could be an understatement (ed.)

The Transfer article is to be found here: http://www.transfermagazine.nl/nieuws/Achtergrond/awt-chinese-studenten-belangrijk-voor-nederland and the AWT report is to be found here: http://www.awt.nl/?id=790 (for 12 Euro)

Comment

The discussion of integrating Chinese students into Dutch higher education is one that has been held for many years. When Wittenborg University first attracted international students in the 1990s only a small number of Chinese students came to the Netherlands. In that time most Chinese who had heard of Philips and Heineken vaguely thought that these were German products. If you asked a Chinese person where Holland was, they rarely knew. How times have changed – or have they?

5500 student is a lot. In comparison to other small countries it’s a large number of international students from one country. However, in relation to the economic wealth and tolerant open policies of the Netherlands, it’s probably about right. Holland needs to do what it does best, and not what it does worst. It needs to trade and do business with what will could be the strongest 21st century economy on the planet, as it has done with other great economies over the years. It should avoid what it does worst, in historical terms and that is to preach, as China could be less susceptible to being told what is good for it than those going before it.

Therefore, teach and educate Chinese students so that they can make their economy strong in a positive way. Don’t worry about integrating Chinese students. They will do so when and as they will. Give them top notch facilities, good teachers and a sense of value. That is a long term investment in a good national partnership.

JW WUP 04/04/2012

 

Surprising Holland: - University of Maastricht states that International Students at Maastricht University who don’t want to learn Dutch - should go somewhere else to study! They are welcome in Apeldoorn!

The Netherlands is renowned for its internationalization, its tolerance and its integration. Study in the Netherlands, and most international students only need to learn Dutch as a hobby. Nearly all the Dutch speak some English, and many speak fluent English – which makes Holland an ideal place for foreign University students to study. Coupled with a rich economy and many businesses and companies who do business over the border, business students thrive in “Study destination Holland”. International students are a rich asset for the Dutch economy, both now and later when as graduates back home they remember the country and towns they studied in. Dutch language has not proved a decisive factor for choosing the Netherlands.

However, recent discussions in the country about the Anglicising of Dutch Higher Education, have led to the call for more ‘Dutchification’ of Bachelor and Master programmes and a more concerted effort from international students in the Netherlands to learn Dutch, cumulating in a recent comment from the Dutch State Secretary of Education, Mr Halbe Zijlstra, that he was not pleased to receive letters from the University of Maastricht in English. Journalist Fé Toussaint, of the newspaper Trouw  commented that is was of course a small effort on the part of the University to write letters in Dutch, as indeed it was for the State Secretary to read them in English [1]

In a recent reaction, Rector Gerard Mols[2], of the University of Maastricht has stated in the University’s newspaper Observant [3] that “All Employees at the University of Maastricht should speak both English and Dutch, and International Students at Maastricht University who don’t want to learn Dutch should go somewhere else to study!”

When asked to comment, Wittenborg University Director Maggie Feng said “it's Wittenborg’s policy to promote international collaboration and harmony in which English is the Lingua Franca, as it is around the world. Of course for us, as a truly international institute, it’s easy; Wittenborg is under Chinese / British management and 75% of our students are not Dutch.” However, Mrs Feng goes on to say “More than half of our staff are international, but I would say that around 90% of them speak Dutch, some fluently – even though our predominant working language is English. I would say that it’s a good thing if our students can order in a restaurant in Dutch or ask the way, but most international students in Holland are here for a shorted experience and will go elsewhere after graduation. Let’s hope they speak excellent English at least! – and maybe some Chinese” – “she adds with a wink!”

Wittenborg’s international students are offered Dutch classes every week, throughout the three year curriculum as one of the electives of foreign languages – which include French, German, Russian and Chinese. There is no requirement for students to learn Dutch during their stay in Apeldoorn, however many students do, following lessons at the college, or from their fellow Dutch students, – even if they don’t follow classes as part of their degree programme.

JW – WUP 03/04/2012

References

See Transfer Magazine (Nuffic) for Dutch article [4]

[1] http://www.trouw.nl/tr/nl/6853/Fe-Toussaint/article/detail/3231955/2012/03/27/Verplicht-Nederlands-op-universiteit-funest-voor-kwaliteit.dhtml

[2] http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerard_Mols

[3]http://www.observantonline.nl/Artikelen/tabid/69/agentType/View/PropertyID/4385/Default.aspx

[4] http://www.transfermagazine.nl/nieuws/onderwijs/um-taal-leren-2018of-ga-maar-ergens-anders-heen2019

 

The parable states that a beggar had sat by the roadside for 30 years when a stranger passed by. “Spare some change?” mumbled the beggar. “Sorry, I have nothing” replied the stranger, and then asked: “What’s that you’re sitting on?” “Just an old box... one I’ve been sitting on for as long as I can remember” replied the beggar. “Ever looked inside?” asked the stranger. “No, what’s the point?” replied the beggar, and further added: “ There’s nothing in there.” “Have a look inside,” insisted the stranger. The beggar decided to open the box and with astonishment, saw the box was filled with gold. ¹

The moral of this story/parable can be applied to multiple levels. For the purpose of this article, the writer will redirect it toward an understanding of the purpose of PDP as an integral part of life for students in higher education. As in the story, the stranger who has nothing to give, yet prods the beggar to look inside that box, could very well be likened to that of the role played by a PDP facilitator; and furthermore, that box may not be just any box, but “something even closer: inside yourself.”

The Dearing Report (1997) played a major role in the introduction of Personal Development Planning (PDP) into universities. This report strongly recommended that students receive structured opportunities in order to facilitate development in critical areas such as increasing awareness in both the learning process, and in how to improve personal performance. Now, you may well ask: “How does one do that?”

It is the view of this writer that the key words in the above paragraph are “increasing awareness.” In fact, in the above-mentioned Dearing Report, it was stated prior to the other development issues that students should become more aware of themselves. This is logical in the eyes of this writer, though perhaps not emphasised or understood in the wider domain. Nevertheless, in order to answer questions such as: “What do I really want?” and “What can I do now to put myself in charge of my own future?” , there must be a creative and active awareness of one’s own personal inner dealings with life, and these inner dealings are the thoughts and feelings that we either consciously, or unconsciously, put into our daily life.

If the man who had sat on the box for thirty years had but for a moment questioned the illusionary thought that “...it’s just an old box...” , the story would have been very different indeed. We all carry that box.

(PDP = Personal Development Plan)

WUP 02/04/2012

1. (Tolle, Eckhart: Power of Now: Hodder & Stoughton: 1999: page 9)