Strategy for Goal 4: Connecting with our environment

STRATEGY FOR GOAL 4: We have strong regional and international ties Because of our external focus, we have a regional presence and a network all over the world. We have found reliable partners in recent years and are ourselves a reliable partner in new collaborations. Being an all-round professional also means being good at connecting. We teach students to think as an entrepreneur, project leader or researcher in an international market. The combination of physical and online education means that we can provide tailor-made solutions for everyone involved. This also applies to education and research; by working together, both become better and more relevant. Because we do what we teach, we are the driving force in projects in the region with multiple parties.

Over the next decade, Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences aims to develop into a community that is an indispensable partner within its ecosystems. The strategy towards 2025 aims to increase the vitality of our external collaborations: we are committed to a limited number of strategic collaborations in our regions. Internationally, we are asked to share our knowledge.

"The intensive cooperation within INVEST* provides new insights and a fresh look at our field. It adds to our ambition to be one of the best green universities in Europe."

RUTH VAN DER BEEK

Director of Education

* INVEST stands for Innovation of Regional Sustainability: European University Alliance and aims to create a modern European university, meeting the needs and demands of the new generation of Europeans who want to take the lead in introducing and supporting sustainability in regions throughout Europe. These are our four goals toward 2025:

1. We are strengthening our connection with the region through a limited number of close partnerships.

Great ideas from the preliminary process: a. We are developing relationship management to maintain contact with our partners in the region, including to support teachers and management. b. We encourage Living Labs in the region with attention, budget and people. c. In consultation with partners, we will further develop contact time in education outside the classroom. d. In order to be a reliable partner for our environment, no professorship should be dependent on just one person. e. Each year we invite 'Entrepreneurs in residence' to connect the field to our institution. f. Each location will partner with innovative companies that are at the forefront of the chosen transitions. g. Our sites are opened up for transition-relevant neighbourhood activities and we initiate (outdoor) activities for various external stakeholders. h. We prefer long-term projects to short-term projects. i. We facilitate internships and graduation projects mainly within companies with which we have close partnerships. j. Professionalisation and 'keeping up to date' is something we do in consultation with our environment. We organise external feedback to stay sharp and improve ourselves.

2. We are known as one of the best green universities in

Europe.

Great ideas from the preliminary process: a. We are committed to international cooperation through sustainable-strategic international partner networks, including INVEST* and the continuation of capability building and research through the Orange Knowledge Programme, among others, and the existing international networks as we have in India, Indonesia and the

Horn of Africa. b. We secure the internationalisation knowledge in the organisation, ensure that the support of our mobility processes is in order and put the student's experience central. c. We encourage the participation of our students in (an) international project(s). d. We enable our international partners and organisations to share their knowledge and expertise with us as guest lecturers and speakers. e. We facilitate foreign students to come to our programmes. We focus on scholarships for core countries and an appropriate English-language (online) education offer. f. We seek to align with the policies of the Dutch and European governments and the implementation/support on the deployment of available instruments such as a) Erasmus+, b) Horizon

Europe, c) OKP and d) MENA. g. We are increasing our professional international expertise and showcase this to the outside world through our participation in and contribution to international conferences and publications. h. We are developing our programmes and research in such a way that, by 2025, we will be positioned to launch the special quality mark for internationalisation with the NVAO.

3. We are raising our profile.

Great ideas from the preliminary process: a. We continue to extend the (recruitment) campaign ‘Building your world'. b. We are campaigning in the region to make clear what we stand for, with an invitation to get involved. c. We are investing in visibility in the places where we work together nationally and in Europe through visits and media. d. We are evaluating the names of our courses and subjects (are these the right and appealing labels for our target groups).

4. We will intensify the cooperation with the green higher vocational education (HBO) and regional knowledge institutions.

Great ideas from the preliminary process: a. We are consciously looking for synergy with partners to shape the transition in the region together. b. In our regional projects, we invite the whole education chain. c. We are critical of our input. We focus on collaborations in which our distinctive profile and the

HVHL approach have the greatest added value.