{"id":143894,"date":"2022-09-15T12:39:07","date_gmt":"2022-09-15T10:39:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=143894"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:25","slug":"analysis-will-some-universities-of-applied-sciences-become-a-new-kind-of-research-university","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/09\/15\/analysis-will-some-universities-of-applied-sciences-become-a-new-kind-of-research-university\/","title":{"rendered":"Analysis: will some universities of applied sciences become a new kind of research university?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dutch higher education may be on the brink of a major change. There are already indications that new universities will be needed, and the difference between universities of applied sciences and research universities could even disappear altogether.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Erasmus University started as a university of applied sciences, only since 1973 did the institution became a university. Here the building of the Netherlands School of Economics in the 1960s on Pieter de Hoochweg.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tErasmus Universiteit<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

First some context. The number of Dutch pre-university (VWO) graduates enrolling at universities of applied sciences has been declining<\/a> for years, which is part of the reason why enrolments in higher professional education are down overall. Universities of applied sciences in regions with shrinking populations will find it especially difficult to maintain their educational offerings.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, research universities continue to grow, as their popularity increases not only among Dutch pre-university graduates, but international students as well.<\/p>\n

No wonder then that Minister of Education Robbert Dijkgraaf is thinking about the future of higher education in the Netherlands. He has previously argued that the research universities and universities of applied sciences should function as one institution. \u201cThe Netherlands has already made significant progress in this area\u201d, he stated at the time.<\/p>\n

'Higher professional education holds a key position'<\/h2>

Back in June, we asked<\/a> Minister Dijkgraaf whether universities of applied sciences could be tasked with providing academic education in regions facing population decline. This would allow them to attract more students, and it would also benefit the regions themselves. Dijkgraaf played his cards close to the vest: \u201cI\u2019m going to launch a preliminary study after the summer, the goal of which will be to get a clear sense of the roles of these types of education. Higher professional education holds a key position because of its close connections with the job market and the professional depth of the programmes it offers.\u201d<\/p>\n

We also asked the minister about the possibility of a new research university in a region facing depopulation, as there are historical examples of universities of applied sciences that became research universities. Including Erasmus University, which was a university of applied economics until 1973<\/a>. \u201cThat\u2019s a very good question, and we need to be able to ask all kinds of questions\u201d, Dijkgraaf replied.<\/p>\n

The minister also criticised the \u2018barriers\u2019 between senior secondary vocational education (MBO) and higher education. \u201cCouldn\u2019t we remove a couple of them, taking the study paths of individual students as our starting point?\u201d he wondered. \u201cIn fact, I believe that we should place senior secondary vocational education, higher professional education and university education on a continuum \u2013 not in a hierarchical order.\u201d<\/p>\n

International students<\/h2>

In other words, Dijkgraaf does not seem all that attached to the \u2018dual system\u2019, with a strict distinction between higher professional and university education. His response to the growing number of international students is also relevant here. The universities are begging for legislative changes that would allow them to better manage the influx of students by introducing quotas for international students. The University of Amsterdam even wants to \u2018experiment\u2019 with such quotas.<\/p>\n

But the opening of the academic year made it clear<\/a> that Dijkgraaf isn\u2019t exactly in a hurry. He said that universities sounding the alarm was just a tradition, and that he did not want to let this affect his decision-making. According to Dijkgraaf, internationalisation obviously offers \u2018enormous advantages for the labour market and for the quality of education\u2019.<\/p>\n

The minister also mentioned that he was working on a strategy, but it is not yet clear what this strategy will look like. The universities are already struggling as it is, so if Dijkgraaf wants to continue welcoming high numbers of international students, there\u2019s only one solution: spreading the load by letting new universities take over some of the burden.<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t