VU Amsterdam and the University of Twente intend to offer the existing Twente bachelor's study programme Creative Technology in Amsterdam too. If all the signs are right, this will be the second technical bachelor's programme that pre-university education students in the Amsterdam region can choose. In 2019 the two universities started the study programme Mechanical Engineering, from which the first batch of students will graduate this June.
It is now up to the Committee for Macro-efficiency in Higher Education to assess whether a Creative Technology study programme in the Randstad conurbation adds value to the national range of higher education.
Why Creative Technology in Amsterdam?
The Netherlands has a considerable shortage of highly-qualified technical professionals. A lot of technical talent remains unutilised, especially among women. Moreover, in regions with a technical university around 21% of pre-university education students opt for a technical bachelor's study programme. In the Amsterdam region, the figure is only 14%. By offering UT’s Creative Technology study programme in Amsterdam we expect to generate more enthusiasm among pre-university education students in the region for a technical bachelor's study programme. VU Amsterdam and UT also hope that this will as well provide a solution for the structural shortage of technical professionals with a knowledge of electrical engineering, computer sciences and design. Furthermore, it is a study programme that does well in attracting female students, a group that is currently under-represented in the Engineering sector. At the University of Twente, 40% of CreaTe students are women.
Prestigious ECA Certificate for Quality in Internationalisation for CreaTe
Creative Technology has been offered at the University of Twente since 2010 and is available to all pre-university education students. CreaTe is a unique multidisciplinary combination of electrical engineering, computer sciences and design, oriented to people and to socially complex issues. This programme is the only one that offers an international learning environment in which intercultural, creative, technical and professional skills are developed on the basis of courses and projects. It has been validated by the award of the prestigious ECA Certificate for Quality in Internationalisation.
Two universities. One ambition. More social impact’
VU Amsterdam and UT aspire to provide the best possible service to society. Society is facing increasingly complex challenges. UT and VU Amsterdam want jointly to ensure that these special social issues become the main driver in developing their education and research programmes. The two universities will then be able to educate the right talent and develop relevant educational programmes and research projects. The focus is on current issues such as climate change and social inequality, which require an integrated, multidisciplinary approach from the alpha, beta and gamma sciences.
