New Academic Advisory Panel Members Hail from 5 Countries

https://www.wittenborg.eu/wittenborgs-academic-advisory-panel-has-inaugural-meeting-apeldoorn.htm

Coming from 5 different countries, Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences' new Academic Advisory Panel recently held its inaugural meeting at the university's main campus in Apeldoorn. The meeting was led by Prof. Ronald Tuninga, Wittenborg's Vice President Academic Affairs.

The panel advises Wittenborg on matters related to academic issues, such as programmes at all levels - undergraduate, post-graduate, doctoral programmes and research. The panel consists of 8 distinguished faculty members coming from five countries on three continents. Tuninga said: "Almost all academic advisory panel members are connected to AACSB, international accredited and recognised business schools and good Dutch universities.

"Given the diverse membership of the Academic Advisory Panel, the members will be able to advise WUAS on trends and opportunities in the design of new programmes and research. Good contact with well-recognised business schools and distinguished faculty members will help build the reputation of Wittenborg and help it to prepare for international accreditations such as AACSB and BGA (AMBA)."

On the outcome of the meeting, Tuninga said: "The first AAP meeting was focused on introducing  Wittenborg University and its programmes and research to the panel members. Good suggestions on our AACSB eligibility report, the AACSB process and how WUAS can improve the research output were given by all of the panel members."

Exclusive Lunch with Vice-President of Digital Sales IBM Asia Pacific

https://www.wittenborg.eu/woman-tech-executive-lunch.htm

On 18 October, Wittenborg University welcomed Rianne van Veldhuizen, Vice-President of Digital Sales IBM Asia Pacific, to its Amsterdam campus for an executive luncheon with Wittenborg students, distinguished guests and members of the Women in Tech NL network. Rianne shared her thoughts on successful business leadership, drawing on her 18 years of managerial experience. She described a number of personal factors that contributed to her capacity to lead diverse teams successfully and to help her clients realise their goals.

Members of the audience jumped at the opportunity to engage with the speaker and pose questions related to her personal and professional development. Rianne spoke about the importance of finding mentors in one's professional network and remaining open to new challenges in a professional setting. After her talk, Rianne joined the audience for lunch and some personal interaction with a number of our students.

The response to this event was overwhelmingly positive. Students made the most of the opportunity by networking with audience members including city managers and local entrepreneurs. Wittenborg MBA student Olusegun Adeoye remarked that this was the best event he had attended thus far at the Wittenborg Amsterdam Campus. 

Our thanks to Rianne for an insightful discussion on what it means to be a leader in the tech industry. Hopefully, this marks the first of many future collaborations with Women in Tech.

WUP 25/10/2019
by Anesca Smith (Amy Abdou)
© Wittenborg University Press

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Research Looks at How Indian Companies can Become World Class

https://www.wittenborg.eu/wittenborg-lecturer-wins-award-research-indian-companies.htm

During the recent British Academy of Management 2019 Conference, Wittenborg lecturer Dr André de Waal won the "Best Full Paper Award" for research in the Performance Management track, along with his co-author, Neetu Yadav.  

De Waal, who is academic director of the High Performance Organization (HPO), joined Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences this autumn. He lectures modules in Wittenborg's Master in Business Management programme. De Waal is considered an expert in his field, and over the years has published 25 books and hundreds of articles on the subject of why some organisations outperform others for a sustained period of time.

His and Yadav's paper looks at how well Indian organisations currently perform compared to those in other Asian countries and what Indian companies need to focus on to become truly world class.

"In this article, we investigate the answers on these two questions using the HPO Framework - a scientifically holistic improvement framework - developed on data collected worldwide, that evaluates whether organisations are high-performing, and if not, what they need to focus on to achieve the HPO status," an abstract from the paper reads.

Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences has welcomed over 90 students, representing over 20 different nationalities for Block 2 in the 2019-20 academic year.

https://www.wittenborg.eu/orientation-week-kick-starts-new-students-involvement-life-wittenborg.htm

Wittenborg's multi-entrance system means that another intake of students has started their programme in 2019, at the main campus in Apeldoorn, in Amsterdam and in Munich! Although classes started Monday, 21 October, our new students were already invited for Introduction Week to get them accustomed to the Wittenborg academic programme, alongside orientating them in terms of country, city and campus. 

The new intake comprises both bachelor’s and master’s degree students, most of whom will be studying at our main campus in Apeldoorn. Overall, the most popular undergraduate programmes this intake turn out to be the IBA in Hospitality Management and the IBA in Economics and Management.

Over 20 Nationalities

During an informal lunch, the group was given a warm welcome by the staff. According to Wittenborg staff, the new intake is a group of polite and well-behaved students who hail from places as diverse as Vietnam, Nigeria, UK, Zimbabwe, China, Morocco, India, Thailand, Cameroon, Rwanda, Turkey, Kazakhstan, India, Iran, Pakistan, Nepal, Belgium, Portugal, Ukraine, the Netherlands and Brazil.

Munich

This October, In Munich, Wittenborg's new campus at New European College in Germany, around 25 students were the first to start the bachelor programme in international business, with around 20 students starting a foundation programme there.

Harnessing Positive Psychology in Everyday Life

https://www.wittenborg.eu/student-column-walking-bright-side-life.htm

Notice how the Dutch bus driver greets every boarding passenger and bids farewell to every alighting passenger?  How does that make you feel?  For me, it always makes me smile and happy.  This is the power of positive psychology.

Leading a meaningful and fulfilling life is everyone’s aspiration and desire.  Scientists term this as positive psychology.  Positive psychology has been around for quite some time but not many people are aware of what it actually entails.  In a nutshell, positive psychology deals with human thoughts, feelings and behaviour that focus on strengths rather than on the weak points.  It aims to help the individual build a gratifying life instead of complaining about the bad side.  It not only revitalises a struggling person to lead a normal life, but also uplifts the average person to live a great life.  

Positive psychology does not mean the absence of problems in life.  Also, it does not mean that you push away all your negative emotions.  Rather, it is concerned with eudaimonia, which is Aristotle’s concept of flourishing or “the good life”.  This concept focuses on real contentment instead of Hollywood’s view of happiness in the form of ‘pleasant life’.  

Practise Gratitude

The first step towards positive psychology requires you to identify your character strengths.  One way in which you can do that is to engage in small interventions at home.  These interventions can boost your pleasant feelings and uplift your spirits.   One example is the “gratitude exercises”.  

Students get Lesson on Labour Laws from Multinational Brunel

https://www.wittenborg.eu/students-get-lesson-labour-laws-multinational-brunel.htm

Wittenborg students were treated to an inside look on labour relations the world over, courtesy of Arno Bracco Gartner, manager of strategic client organisation at Dutch multinational Brunel International NV, which provides personnel services in specialist markets such as the oil and gas industry.

Gartner, who has worked at Brunel for 23 years, of which 14 were spent abroad, was a guest speaker on international labour relations at Wittenborg recently. His company has 117 offices in 44 countries around the world and Gartner himself has worked in the US and Singapore.

Gartner said while many governments are smart and facilitate different treaties to accommodate foreign workers, elsewhere labour laws and regulations actually work against closing the skills-shortage gap. He gave a run-down of the different situations in Texas (US), Brazil, southern Europe, Qatar and Australia. “Don’t underestimate the relationship between a country’s labour laws and its economic growth,” he told students.

In Australia, for instance, Gartner said that lots of jobs are highly unionised. That means foreign companies can only bring in skeleton international crews when working, for example, in the oil and gas industry, of which the country has huge resources. “Unions have actually destroyed the construction industry there,” Gartner said.

He also cited the Philippines, whose biggest export is people – it was estimated in 2016 that more than 2.3 million Filipinos are working abroad.

Wittenborg CEO, Maggie Feng, for the 4th Time Jury Member of Apeldoorn Business Awards

https://www.wittenborg.eu/wittenborg-shines-apeldoorn-business-awards.htm

The 2019 Apeldoorn Business Awards winners were announced last week with Wittenborg CEO Maggie Feng serving a fourth term as an esteemed member of the jury. Feng said she was, as always, highly impressed with the quality of the nominees as well as the reach and breadth of businesses in Apeldoorn.

Feng and her fellow judges spent weeks visiting nominees and deliberating about how well they measure up to the requirements of the competition. Aside from the awards, businesses also had the chance to win the public prize - voted for by the residents of Apeldoorn. The honour finally went to Café de Hamer who garnered 1,181 votes - 20% of the total votes.

Though serving as jury member meant long hours of visits, discussions and reading, Feng said she was happy to be part of the deciding body. "Wittenborg has been situated in Apeldoorn for almost 10 years and our relationship with the city, businesses and the community is very important to us. This is also a way to give back in terms of our social responsibility as an academic institution."

Winners are selected via a comprehensive process. First, a long list for each of the 6 categories is compiled by a selection committee, who also take tips from the public via social media into account. Businesses are then requested to provide certain information, which is handed over to the jury. After some discussions, 3 nominees per category are chosen, which the jury then visit, applying certain criteria. This includes things like innovation, sustainability, stability, staff policy, contribution to Apeldoorn as a city, and how the company differentiates itself from the competition.

AI Has Role to Play in Reducing Drop-Outs, Personalising Education and Assisting with Admin

https://www.wittenborg.eu/wittenborg-ceo-panellist-world-summit-ai.htm

Wittenborg CEO Maggie Feng spoke about how Artificial Intelligence (AI) will transform studying in the future by providing tailor-made education to individuals and changing the role of teachers during the World Summit AI held in the Netherlands last week.

Feng was part of the Women in AI panel discussion in Zaandam on innovative practices in education and how AI is changing the industry, along with 4 other panellists, all leaders in their field. The discussion was moderated by Dr Cara Antoine, CMO and COO at Microsoft Netherlands.

The theme of the discussion was AI in Education: The current challenges and the fields where improvements can be made with the help of AI. The premises of the talk was that throughout history, education has always been the underlying foundation for economic growth, innovation, and societal advancements. What used to be the norm - filling a classroom with students who follow a lecture and take notes - is not working anymore.

Now it is believed that to have the maximum outcome of educational efforts, content needs not only to reflect modern reality but also to be personalised and tailored to the learning capabilities of all students. With the application of AI, educational institutions now can analyse the learning patterns among their students - their levels of knowledge, the ways they learn best, and the triggers of disruption in processing content.

Wittenborg CEO Maggie Feng Invited to Amsterdam Mayor's Residence

https://www.wittenborg.eu/wittenborg-ceo-maggie-feng-invited-amsterdam-mayors-residence.htm

Wittenborg CEO Maggie Feng was one of 50 inspiring women in Tech and Artificial Intelligence (AI) invited for a networking breakfast at the mayor of Amsterdam's historical residence at 502 Herengracht, Amsterdam.

The event was organised by Inspiringfifty and Startup Amsterdam. The mayor, Femke Halsema, was unable to attend, so the women were welcomed by Amsterdam's deputy mayor, Simone Kukenheim. She spoke about the power of creating strong women networks as well as all the possibilities that AI will create in the world's common, interconnected future.

The building where Halsema and her family moved into in 2018 has been the official mayoral residence since 1927. Before then, it was owned for centuries by rich merchants and aristocrats. Feng said she was impressed with the spaciousness of the residence. "Everything was very sophisticated, including the actual breakfast. I heard it is a rare occasion to have so many women from so many different backgrounds meeting at once in the residence."

Even more impressive to her were the female leaders who attended the event. "They came from all over the world - Sweden, Latvia, France, the US, Russia - each with their own inspiring story of how they are changing the world, whether in academia, business, government or as influencers. I was truly inspired."

WUP 15/10/2019
by Anesca Smith
©Wittenborg University Press

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Wittenborg to re-locate its Austrian study location to International Tourism Management College (ITM) in Bad Vöslau

https://www.wittenborg.eu/wuas-re-locate-its-austrian-location-new-partner-itm-bad-voslau.htm

Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences has recently signed a memorandum of cooperation with the International Tourism Management College (ITM), which is situated 30 minutes from downtown Vienna, Austria in a spa resort town called Bad Vöslau. The college, known as ITM, is an Austrian government accredited College, that offers programmes in the fields of business hospitality and tourism.

Bachelor's Final Year in Hospitality Management

The cooperation agreement sees WUAS appointing ITM as its delivery partner for the final year of its bachelor's in international business administration pathway in hospitality management. The programme, is an intensive 90 EC credit top-up degree, that enables ITM students and other college students to gain a full bachelor’s degree. ITM is unique as it offers its state Austrian curriculum in English, specifically to a wide range of international students.

Re-location

WUAS has now moved its relatively small bachelor's operations from Vienna, where it has been operating since 2016, to ITM in Bad Vöslau from the coming academic year, and is accepting applications into the final year, though its partner