Hanze University of Applied Sciences will celebrate its 225th anniversary in 2023. In those two centuries, the school has faced a lot of challenges, and the future also has a lot in store. How does Hanze University of Applied Sciences stay afloat with student decline?
Last year, Hanze University of Applied Sciences celebrated its 225th anniversary. Yet there is not one clear line back in time, the Hanze University of Applied Sciences is an amalgamation of various schools in Groningen.
Rijkshogeschool and Hanze Hogeschool
The oldest of these was founded in 1798. A group of wealthy men set up an academy that offered drawing, construction and maritime lessons.
It was not until many years later that the Hanze University of Applied Sciences as it is known today was established. In 1986, sixteen higher professional education institutions merged to form the Rijkshogeschool Groningen. At the same time, two other academies merged to form the Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen.
The two universities of applied sciences merged in 1993, which meant that the space between Hanze and the university of applied sciences disappeared. The Hanze University of Applied Sciences has existed ever since.
Scaling up and financing education
Several books could be filled with all the stories of the past two centuries. Even a fraction of the period provides a lot of stories, as Geiske Steendam witnesses. She worked for forty years at Hanze University of Applied Sciences and its predecessors. “As soon as you start telling, a lot of stories come up,” she says.
Her story begins in 1971, at the Analyst School on Poortstraat in Groningen. She taught English there in the evenings. “Things were very different then. There was no curriculum, I made it myself.”
Steendam rose to become head of the gamma faculty, which she later exchanged for health studies. The most drastic change during her career is an increase in scale.
Roots in society
She points to the merger of the educational institutions into the Hanze University of Applied Sciences. On the one hand, this was positive, because it meant a greater offering for students. But it also has a downside, sees director Dick Pouwels. While the schools were previously close to their field of work, their roots in society became less strong after the merger.
“During such a transition period you are busy with yourself for a while. The roots became thinner,” says Pouwels.
That is why more than ten years ago, efforts were made to restore those roots. Including by opening more so-called innovation workshops in the Northern Netherlands. There lessons are taught from practice. “We want to be close, around the corner.”
From educational to knowledge institution
In addition, the school is redefining itself. The idea that you learn a specific subject at higher professional education is no longer correct. The new course focuses on practice-oriented research and its own learning path.
First, the studies, which differ from academic studies. “At the university, curiosity is the starting point, at the Hanze the research comes from practice. It is driven by innovation,” says Pouwels. For example, a company that wants to work more efficiently or launch a new product.
Learning a trade as it is now is at a tipping point. Hanze University of Applied Sciences is changing from an educational to a knowledge institution, says Pouwels. Students less often choose a course focused on a specific subject, they more often draw up their own learning path.
Pouwels: “In the future, for example, someone may learn within the healthcare domain instead of nursing. The person is then trained with a profile in healthcare. This broad profile should ensure that more students follow a course in the healthcare domain.”
Challenge: student decline
That’s all well and good, but the future is less rosy. It is certain that the number of students in the North is shrinking. Fewer students means less money.
Yet Pouwels is not worried about this. “The shrinkage is a demographic fact that has been known for some time.” The university currently has approximately 29 thousand students, and 26 thousand students are expected in ten years. The shrinkage will be absorbed by the growth of the research field and more education for workers, says Pouwels.
Nineteen school buildings
Today the school has nineteen buildings, the majority of which are on Campus Zernike. Brand Bos (62) started as a janitor at the Rijks Hogeschool 34 years ago. Around the turn of the century he moved to the Van Olstborg, the main building on campus.
As a building management team leader, Bos came into contact with everyone who sets foot in the building. From suppliers and partners to employees and students. He was then responsible for the daily affairs of the entrepreneurship cluster. He retired last summer. “I have never gone to work reluctantly. Never. It is fantastic work,” says Bos enthusiastically.
More assertive and bold students?
He is slightly less positive about the change in student behavior. “They are more assertive, more stressful and in some situations more brutal,” he sums up. “For example, with the smoking policy, that was a thing. In some places, students are no longer allowed to smoke. When you confront those who do, you may get a rude response. It could all be a little more merciful.” Bos adds a nuance: “The average student is great, they keep you young.”
As far as the expected student decline is concerned, Bos does know of a solution. Namely, dealing with buildings more flexibly. “As a kind of multifunctional building where different students can receive lessons. The opening and services must also be more flexible, for example opening a building 24/7.”