Discover Benelux | Top Dutch Education | Building a Bright Future
Linnaeusborg. Photo: Marcel Spanjer
A global university city in pocket size TEXT: ARNE ADRIAENSSENS
While pinpointing the place you want to study, mainly metropoles and capitals come to mind. Nonetheless, the most pleasant university town in the low countries is widely regarded to be the Dutch city of Groningen. Both inside and outside the faculties of the University of Groningen, a warm, welcoming and international environment awaits you. In the far north of the Netherlands, mere kilometres away from the North Sea and the stunning Frisian Islands lies the charming town of Groningen. Although it is the biggest city in the top of the country, it has a very intimate and collegiate character. With an average age of just 36 years, the population of Groningen is the youngest 32 | Issue 64 | April 2019
of all the Dutch cities, and there is one very clear reason behind that: the University of Groningen. “In most university cities, the students live in a city of adults,” says Charlotte M’doe, marketing director at the university. “In Groningen, however, it is the other way around. There are so many students here that the social life in this town centres around the many enthusiastic youngsters and the multitude of associations. Since many of our alumni stick around in Groningen after graduating and found start-ups here, the town becomes more dynamic and innovative by the day.”
the University of Groningen has a very non-hierarchical and open structure. “The relationship between our students and their professors is friendly,” says Jorien Bakker, the university’s spokesperson. “Most of them are on first-name terms and there is an atmosphere of trust. Even Ben Feringa, one of our professors who won the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 2016, is just ‘Ben’ to all colleagues and students here. Our rec-
Cross-fertilisation This jovial and warm spirit lives on inside the university walls as well. Compared to other major universities in the Netherlands,
Academy Building.