New location in Amsterdam: Inholland exploring options to Sluisbuurt on Zeeburgereiland

In its decision regarding the relocation of Inholland Amsterdam, the Executive Board has stated its intention to commission a new education building in the Sluisbuurt neighbourhood on Zeeburgereiland. Consultations with stakeholders will be initiated to this end. Once completed, this single new building will house all of the programme departments now in Diemen, in the OZW building and on Naaldwijkstraat.

The plan to relocate arose because the campus building in Diemen has reached the end of its lifespan, but was also motivated by the desire expressed by the municipality of Amsterdam to see the university of applied sciences based in the city and operating at a location within it. Inholland also wants to offer its programmes at a single location in Amsterdam, in a building suited to the desires and requirements of future higher professional education. For the time being, the teacher training programmes in Amstelveen have not been included in the plans, pending the outcome of talks on more extensive collaboration with AUAS. Oral Hygiene and Midwifery also fall outside these plans.

Within Amsterdam, Inholland had a number of options to choose from, which were finally whittled down to moving to the VU campus or building new premises in Sluisbuurt on Zeeburgereiland. Speaking about this choice, Jet de Ranitz stated, ‘This was a complex decision. Both options had pros and cons, which also differed from one faculty or programme department to another. In the end, we settled on Sluisbuurt. The next challenge will be to start drawing up plans for the new building. At VU there was insufficient space available and it was impossible to create additional space within a viable time frame.’

Further development of the plan depends, among other factors, on formal decision-making, approval by the Advisory Council and approval by the Supervisory Board, as well as financing and the adoption of an appropriate land-use plan for the Sluisbuurt on Zeeburgereiland.

Sluisbuurt
In Sluisbuurt, Inholland can create a single location within the city borders. ‘This location gives us the scope to design a building that is fully suits future education and where we can focus on creating the right facilities needed to teach our students’, said Jet de Ranitz, President of the Executive Board. ‘We anticipate that we’ll be able to start using the building as from academic year 2021-2022. While we await the completion of this new building in Sluisbuurt, classes will continue to be taught at our locations in Diemen, the OZW building and on Naaldwijkstraat. This also applies to Oral Hygiene at ACTA, Midwifery and the teacher training programmes.’

The incentive for the relocation comes from a desire to carve out a recognisable position for Inholland in Amsterdam and enhance its profile in the city and metro region. With six Inholland faculties currently offering programmes at various locations across this region, in-depth collaboration and efficient support can be difficult. The Business, Finance & Law, Creative Business, and Engineering, Design & Computing programmes are established in Diemen, Agri, Food & Life Sciences and Health, Sport & Welfare are in Amsterdam, and Education & Innovation is taught in Amstelveen. Under the new plan, the Oral Hygiene, teacher training and Midwifery programmes will remain at their current locations. A separate decision will be taken with regard to the programmes in Amstelveen, once discussions with AUAS have been concluded.