Windesheim University of Applied Sciences and University of Twente (UT) intend to sign a cooperation agreement in spring 2023. This covenant wants to offer students in higher education in the eastern Netherlands easier and faster access to the educational place, which best suits their needs and talents.
Currently, there are too many hurdles in higher education that prevent, or make it difficult, for students to get to the place that suits them best. This leads to study delays, unnecessary dropouts and wasted talent. This insight, also addressed in the 2010 Veerman Commission report, is why both educational institutions are working together more intensively.
Windesheim and UT have been cooperating for some time at the institute level and in more specific education and research projects. These often also involve other (educational) partners from the region. For instance, thanks to agreements, students from some of Windesheim's economics study programmes can take a pre-master's degree while still studying and thus more easily move on to a master's degree at UT. There is also collaboration in network cooperation, such as TechYourFuture. The covenant will strengthen and significantly expand the partnership between Windesheim and UT.
Exchange, transfer and better education
Good guidance, flexible intake moments and better alignment of educational programmes should enable students, especially in the first year, to switch more easily between Windesheim and the University of Twente and vice versa (referred to as wisselstroom in Dutch). Now, changing still often leads to unnecessary loss of time. In addition, progression from Windesheim to university Master at the University of Twente should become much more accessible.
Both educational institutions want to focus on better communication and study information for secondary education. Students need to know better what they are getting into when they enter higher education. This also represents a significant step forward in terms of equity and inclusiveness.
Stronger connections within the region
The covenant is in line with the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science's desire for higher education institutions to have a more robust regional profile. Better cooperation between different types of education leads to a better connection with the regional labour market. And we can thus better facilitate and encourage 'lifelong learning'. An example of such cooperation is the intention to join forces with five other institutes of higher professional education that have a teacher training programme, to respond much more specifically to the problem of the shortage of teachers in the region.
Signing of covenant
The plan is to sign the cooperation in the form of the covenant next spring, the board chairs of Windesheim and the University of Twente.
