IND not Happy About Questions from Individual Foreign Students

https://www.wittenborg.eu/prospective-students-asked-not-contact-ind-directly-about-permit.htm

The Dutch Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) has asked prospective international students to direct questions about their intended stay in the Netherlands to the institution they intend to apply to – whether a research university or a university of applied sciences like Wittenborg.

According to the IND, its Client Information Centre (KIC) continues to field a lot of questions from individual foreign students and this summer is no exception. It has, therefore, appealed to institutions to inform students ahead of time that “there’s no point in contacting the IND” to inquire about the status of their application while the process is still running.

“If the need arises, institutions can contact the IND themselves,” they said in a newsletter. “The IND will not answer questions (from individuals) but refer them to the institution in question. It is then up to the latter to decide whether they want to take it up with via telephone or email.”

WUP 29/72019
by James Wittenborg
©Wittenborg University Press

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"Balancing Work, Studies and Family Came Down to Good Time Management"

https://www.wittenborg.eu/second-mba-wittenborgs-new-head-operations.htm

Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences' new Head of Operations, Lasantha de Silva, received his second master's degree at the university's 2019 Summer Graduation Ceremony, along with fellow master's and bachelor's graduates from all over the world.

Following his MA in Leadership, Innovation and Change Management at UK-based York St John University in 2015, De Silva did a MBA in Finance at Wittenborg the past year. Once again, he had to balance work with studies and spending quality time with his wife and two daughters, who proudly supported him at the graduation ceremony on Friday.

"My first master's degree was more academic and the second one more practical, meaning this time around I had more industry exposure." How did he manage such a fine balancing act? "It is all about time management. I was quite strict about that." He does admit to having to survive on less sleep, however.

De Silva worked in the Middle East banking sector before coming to Wittenborg in 2007 to complete an IBA in Financial Services Management with Honours. Upon graduation, he started as a junior lecturer at Wittenborg, and by the time he left in 2012 he was the institution's first Education Operations Manager.

Upon returning to Sri Lanka, he took a position as Director of Higher Studies at the University of London’s programmes in Sri Lanka, while also teaching on the London School of Economics' BSc programme. From there, he was head-hunted as COO by a company working exclusively with Scotland’s Heriot Watt University – one of Britain’s top-ranked universities.

"Success is Achievement without Causing Others Harm" - Wittenborg Top Student

https://www.wittenborg.eu/norwegian-graduate-achieves-highest-mark-ever-wittenborg.htm

MBA student, Jahn Christian Verkooijen from Norway, has just managed to achieve the highest pass rate ever at Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences by scoring an average mark of almost 90% (8.8).

Verkooijen graduated with honours and received his diploma along with fellow graduates at Wittenborg's 2019 Summer Graduation Ceremony. He did an MBA in General Management.

After working many years as a supply-chain advisor in Norway, he came to Wittenborg in his early 30s and admits adjusting to life as a student again was a challenge. For instance, he observes: "Too many students act like children and arrive late and spend far too much time doing other things while in class." His advice, therefore, to prospective students is: "Show respect to fellow classmates and tutors, and work hard in school".

He decided to study in the Netherlands because "it felt like a smart thing to do to strengthen my profile". After graduating, he now hopes for a managerial position back in Norway. "I am thinking of maybe the oil and gas industry," he said in an interview. However, he bemoans the lack of social engagement he experienced as a student. "Unfortunately, I have not experienced a lot of social engagement during my stay, so my personal life has not really improved to be honest."

How does he define success? "That question could probably be passed down in time as a big philosophical question. I am not entirely certain yet, as I am trying to figure it out myself. Success is probably a form of fulfilment and sense of achievement, while simultaneously achieving happiness without causing other people harm."

Believe it or Not, Watching a Lot of TV is Good for your Language Skills!

https://www.wittenborg.eu/how-improve-your-english-student.htm

Did you know students at Wittenborg write an average of 12 research papers or essays during their first year, which amounts to approximately 24,000 words altogether?  That is a lot of words to write.  And if you are not a native speaker of the English language, that looks really daunting, doesn't it?

Having been an English teacher for over 15 years, I know that mastering the English language needs a lot of commitment and practice, but it is never impossible.  I have had new students from China who barely know the language except for "thank you" and "sorry", but within months they transformed into confident and fluent English speakers in the school.  

Mastering the English language can be a real challenge if you’re still struggling with grammar and vocabulary.  However, do not be discouraged.  In this article, I have summarised some useful tips for improving your English, or any language for that matter.  The tips I am giving here are progressive in nature, which means once you follow them, you’re already on the road to improving your English language competency.  Spend about 10-30 mins. of your time daily to follow these tips, and you’ll come out better prepared to understand, write, and converse fluently in English.

For the "last-minute'' type of people

https://www.wittenborg.eu/how-pack-your-bags-day-your-flight.htm

Listed below is a combination of two frequent scenarios that may occur given this topic.

It’s 11:00pm, a loud *ding* is heard coming from your phone: the notification from your airline is requesting for you to check-in for your flight the next day. You tell yourself: “Hmm, I got 24 hours left to pack my bags, I am Gucci!” The night passes (cue the well-known scene from The Hangover 1 when they are all on the rooftop of Ceaser’s Palace). All of a sudden, it’s the next day, 2:00pm and your flight is at 7pm.
 
You open your eyes and realise that you completely messed up and start to panic. With this panic set, you scramble to get all your bags in order and manage to get to the airport one hour before the flight and realise: you forgot your passport.
 
NOTE: Don’t panic, dude! Here’s how to actually handle such a common situation.

Again, it’s 2pm, when your flight is at 7pm. You wake up, and realise the situation. First thing: take three deep breaths, in from your nose and out from your mouth, just like that annoying Headspace ad tells us to do all the time. What you do next is brainstorm everything that needs to be done before you leave your place. This stage will often resemble the meme to your right. Once brainstorming is done, let’s say at around 2:30pm, you chug a sugar-free Red Bull (because you're definite about that healthy lifestyle) and get to work!
It's 4pm and you are done packing your bags along with your passport duck taped to your forehead, but it is also the time you are supposed to be at the airport according to International travel standards. It's okay, almost no one abides by these rules anyway. One box is ticked and now all you need to worry about is getting yourself to the airport.

Nuffic NESOs and Holland Alumni Network will be Heavily Hit by Decision

https://www.wittenborg.eu/major-blow-internationalisation-dutch-education.htm

Internationalisation in Dutch higher education has been dealt a major setback after it became public this week that the government is planning a substantial cut in the subsidy it gives to Nuffic - the Dutch organisation for internationalisation in education, which has been operating since 1952. Nuffic says it "regrets" the decision, which will lead to a substantial decrease in its activities.

The planned cuts will take effect from 2021, although legislation around the governing of Nuffic will still need to be approved by government.

Notable is the proposal to cut subsidies for Nuffic's offices abroad - the so-called NESOs (Netherlands Education Support Offices). A spokesperson, Anne Lutgerink, told Wittenborg News the possibility that some NESOs might close as a result of the cuts is not excluded. "We received a letter earlier this week from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science communicating the decision to us."

The ministry is also planning to cut the funding of the Holland Alumni Network.

The decision was slammed by Wittenborg's chair of the executive board, Peter Birdsall, who termed the motives behind it "political". He said: "This will be completely detrimental to internationalisation of education in the Netherlands."

Lutgerink did not want to divulge by how much the subsidy will be slashed other than to say it will be "substantial". The organisation said in a press release: "Since 1952, Nuffic has been committed to the internationalisation of Dutch education - to prepare learners and students for an increasingly global society and labour market.

"Prestigious" Partner for Wittenborg in Australia

https://www.wittenborg.eu/wittenborg-partner-top-australian-university.htm

Wittenborg has signed its first partnership agreement with an Australian institution, Deakin University, which was ranked in the top 1% of the world’s universities by the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) last year and it has just entered the Top 200.

According to Wittenborg’s chair of the executive board, Peter Birdsall, plans are under way to launch a double-degree master's programme with Deakin. That means in the future students will have the option to do part of their studies at Deakin’s Faculty of Law and Business in Melbourne, and the other part at Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences in Apeldoorn.

Deakin is accredited by AACSB (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), and is in the process of obtaining accreditation EQUIS (EFMD Quality Improvement System). The most sought after international accreditations for business schools are AACSB, AMBA and EQUIS). Only about 90 schools around the world hold this so-called “triple crown” accreditation. Wittenborg is in the process of obtaining both AACSB and AMBA (Association of MBAs) accreditation.

Wittenborg’s Vice President of Academic Affairs, Dr Ron Tuninga, made a successful visit to Deakin’s campus in Geelong last week where he signed a study abroad agreement between the two institutions. Prior to that, Birdsall signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU).

Tuninga met and signed the agreement with the Dean of the Faculty of Business and Law, Mike Ewing.

Wittenborg Students Enrich Apeldoorn, says City's Acting Mayor

https://www.wittenborg.eu/graduates-16-countries-wittenborg-summer-graduation-ceremony.htm

Almost 40 graduates from 16 different countries received their well-earned degrees at Wittenborg's 2019 Summer Graduation Ceremony at Apeldoorn City Hall - the youngest among them being 19-year old Illia Kupris from Ukraine. They were addressed by the acting mayor of Apeldoorn, Petra van Wingereden, as well as Wittenborg's Vice President Corporate Affairs, Dr Jan-Albert Dop.

The group consisted of MSc, MBA and IBA students, as well as the second group of Wittenborg lecturers to receive their Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, offered in conjunction with Wittenborg's partner institute in the UK, the University of Brighton.

Wittenborg's chair of the executive board, Peter Birdsall, introduced the first of this semester's 7 MBA graduates - Wittenborg's Director Assistant, Lasantha De Silva, who completed an MBA in Finance. Birdsall told the graduates: "As the Board we are pleased and proud of what you have achieved. "We prepare you as best as possible to make a success of your career, because that reflects on us. Wittenborg will always be on your CV. As you progress, our job is to improve the brand and the reputation of the institution."

Van Wingerden welcomed graduates on behalf of the city of Apeldoorn and said: "First of all, I want you to have a great day. Don't worry about whatever awful thing is going on in the world right now and just take a moment to enjoy the fruit of your labour. I don't know what struggles you faced during your studies, but you managed to overcome all that."

A Report that Seeks to Better our University.

https://www.wittenborg.eu/student-reps-hand-over-their-official-report-executives.htm

It is with great pleasure to announce that Wittenborg’s student representatives have completed their report and handed it in to the Executives. The official report is filled with many of Wittenborg students’ ideas and suggestions to improve our institution as a whole. The report was physically delivered by Student Rep President Matthew Skelhorne and soon-to-be MBA graduate Maike Nuyken.

 The report itself consists of 6 parts: Recognition of the Amsterdam/Apeldoorn Campuses, Additional Dutch Language Lessons, Exam Reviews, Guidance, Counselling & Process Tutors, Work Placement and Final Graduation Assignment. To view the full report, please click here.  

This year’s set of student reps were extremely vocal about these 6 parts of the official report during the Student and Staff annual meeting this past March, and they are content that it has been transcribed into formal writing. "I'm glad to see that our Executives are aware of what we, the students, have in mind for Wittenborg's future," Matthew says. "We are happy to have noticed some immediate actions being discussed and implemented right after the annual Student and Staff Conference… We are looking forward to all new developments currently in the pipeline coming to fruition," Maike adds.

"Having Many Friends is Not Important, but Having the Right Ones Are," Says Wittenborg's Youngest Graduate

https://www.wittenborg.eu/meet-wittenborgs-youngest-graduate-ever.htm

When 19-year old student, Illia Kupris, passed his last module this summer, he became the youngest graduate ever at Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences. He will receive his diploma this Friday along with other graduates at Wittenborg's 2019  Summer Graduation Ceremony - a week before his 20th birthday.

Illia, who is from Ukraine, first arrived in Apeldoorn to start his studies in September 2016 - a shy 17-year old who upon arrival was immediately thrust into the spotlight when he was asked to do a photoshoot by Wittenborg's news team to showcase student accommodation.

Since then, he has not only gained a lot of confidence, but has also become one of the most popular students at Wittenborg, serving as a Student Ambassador and long-term member of the student organisation SWIFT.  One of his jobs as a member of SWIFT was to give new students arriving every block at Wittenborg a tour of Apeldoorn. "I really got to know the city pretty well," he says.

How did he manage to finish his studies in precisely 3 years? "My parents really ingrained the habit of working hard in us and I kept to that. My motto in life is also to not change who you are for the sake of others." He did an IBA in Hospitality Management.