On Thursday 11 December, the public event Possibilities for Regenerative Tourism took place at Pakhuis de Zwijger. The gathering was part of a multi-day programme on regenerative tourism within the European ConnAct project, a collaboration between Pakhuis de Zwijger, the Municipality of Amsterdam and Inholland University of Applied Sciences. Researchers, students, policymakers and professionals came together to explore how tourism can contribute to urban liveability, wellbeing and social cohesion.

Click here for Dutch

Regenerative tourism: a different way of thinking and working

Central to the evening was the question of what regenerative tourism means in practice. Rather than a fixed definition, it was discussed as a different way of thinking and working: place-based, long-term, and rooted in close relationships with local communities and ecosystems. Regeneration was framed as a process that grows through hyper-local, small-scale experiments, in which learning, testing and co-creating with residents help build lasting value for place.

From theory to practice: pioneers and policy

Roos Gerritsma (Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab) reflected on regenerative thinking inspired by living systems and demonstrated how this approach is embedded in applied research and education. Anouschka Trauschke highlighted the role of regenerative pioneers in Amsterdam and the wider Metropolitan Region, where small-scale initiatives show how tourism can contribute to local value creation.

Concrete examples, including neighbourhood initiatives, locally rooted food projects and Buurthotel, illustrated how tourism can strengthen neighbourhood identity and social connection. The role of policy was also addressed, with the Municipality of Amsterdam emphasising the importance of trust and societal value over quick or easily measurable returns.

Regeneration also requires inner change

The evening also featured a short embodied intervention by researcher Jimena Diamint. Through a guided mindfulness exercise, participants were invited to reflect not only cognitively, but also physically and emotionally on their relationship to tourism, place and one another. This intervention explicitly connected regenerative tourism to inner change and shifts in mindset.

Learning and designing in the city

Students from the Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab presented projects from Amsterdam Noord, including a successful night market at Buikslotermeerplein, where local makers, projections and neighbourhood-based interventions were used to strengthen social connection, safety and pride of place.

Part of a multi-day programme

The event at Pakhuis de Zwijger was part of a broader programme. It followed a session at the Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab, presented by lab coach Zac Woolfitt, and was preceded by the Regenerative Tourism Hack: a mini-hackathon at Inholland University of Applied Sciences, organised and facilitated by ENSUT project manager Luca von Prittwitz and Jimena Diamint. During this session, students, researchers, professionals and EU partners explored how AI can contribute to a regenerative and inclusive visitor economy, and where alternatives are needed that place human connection, creativity and democratic values at the centre.

Regenerative tourism as a shared exploration

The evening demonstrated that regenerative tourism is not a buzzword, but a shared exploration that grows at the intersection of research, education, policy and practice.

More information and a recording of the event are available on the Pakhuis de Zwijger website.

Society faces major challenges such as poverty, housing, and climate change, to name just a few. To help countries worldwide address these issues sustainably, the United Nations formulated seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015. Within ARC Research Center – the research center of the Creative Business domain at Inholland University of Applied Sciences – Philippa Collin conducted research on how to bring these goals to life. Her conviction: “Collaboration is the foundation for getting started on the SDGs. It is our task to teach students the language to talk about collaboration.”

Dutch? Read more here

At the end of August, Philippa stepped down from her work at Inholland to enjoy early retirement. In recent years, she worked on projects focused on personal development in relation to sustainable change. She explored the question: how do you encourage students to actively contribute to a more sustainable world? Her research led to several meaningful projects, including two international collaborations: Games for Goals and the ESC-IDG Hub. In both projects, collaboration was central – not only as a means, but also as a goal in itself.

Games for Goals

In the Games for Goals project, four European universities of applied sciences from the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Portugal worked together with three NGOs to develop educational games designed to introduce primary school pupils to the SDG’s.

The collaboration took place through annual ‘mobilities’: intensive project weeks in which international student teams co-designed a game around a sustainability issue. In total, they developed three games , now translated into five languages and made freely available, along with an accompanying methodology on quality sustainability education.

An achievement to be proud of, but according to Philippa, the process was just as valuable as the product. “Students learned to collaborate in an international context, to uncover implicit cultural values, and to engage with different perspectives on learning, teaching, and motivation. Some partners from other countries, for example, viewed students primarily as producers of a final result, while at Inholland we aim to create space for personal growth and to nurture intrinsic motivation.”

These conversations about values led to something essential: “Students learned to reflect together, to align, and to make differences explicit and discussable. They learned to truly listen, to let go of assumptions, and to create something new together. They developed a shared working culture and a common language. That experience is at least as valuable as the game they created.”

ESC-IDG Hub

Many students – and lecturers as well – feel overwhelmed by the scale of societal issues such as climate change, social inequality, and the transition to a circular economy. They want to make a difference but often don’t know where to begin.

To address this, the IDG Hub was founded in collaboration with the Expertise Network for Systemic Co-Design: an interactive meeting space where research is conducted into people’s concerns and motivations for action. At the same time, the hub is a place where societal transitions and sustainability issues are addressed collectively and systemically, grounded in the Inner Development Goals (IDG’s).

Together with colleagues, Philippa developed a practical training program for students to explore these inner skills. The training consisted of a short introduction, followed by interactive exercises and reflection moments. The design was accessible, but the effect profound. “Students recognized themselves in the themes. They interacted with each other more openly, felt more connected to themselves, to others, and to the world around them. This created trust and a sense of agency.”

The ESC-IDG Hub applies a dynamic approach with the student at the centre. “The gap between knowing and doing is large. The IDGs help students bridge that gap, starting with themselves”, Philippa explains. “It’s not about knowing more, but about getting to know yourself better so that you dare to take action – based on your own values, within your own discipline.”

Collaboration as a force for change

What connects both projects is the understanding that sustainable collaboration does not emerge automatically. It requires awareness, language, practice, and the courage to move forward – even step by step. “By guiding students in their personal development and taking them seriously as partners in the learning process, we create space for genuine collaboration. And that collaboration is essential for sustainable development and for creating a world we want to live in”, says Philippa.

Research group, living labs and expertise networks: the research center of the Creative Business faculty of Inholland University of Applied Sciences sits at the intersection of theory and practice. It is the place where research, education and practice come together. Recently, the research center received a new name: ARC. Applied Research x Creativity. What does that mean? What are living labs and research groups? And what can ARC mean for Creative Business teachers and students?

In the second episode of this podcast series, Roos Gerritsma, associate professor at the research center, lab-lead of the Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab and PD candidate, and Koos Zwaan, professor of innovation in the music industry and lab-lead of the International Music Industry Lab, answer these questions.

If you have questions or want to know more about opportunities to work with the research center? Feel free to contact the professors directly or email Hilda Bakmaz.

Roos Gerritsma and Donagh Horgan, lableads of the Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, contributed to the newly released book Tourism Interventions: Making or Breaking Places. This book discusses ways to positively influence tourism. It provides students, researchers, and academics with new ideas on how to sustainably develop and manage tourism so that destinations can better withstand future challenges.

Roos and Donagh wrote Chapter 9 titled: ‘The Urban Leisure and Tourism Labs as Incubators for Sustainable Tourism Interventions: Sharing Insights from Educational Research Perspectives on Regenerative Placemaking in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.’ 

This chapter describes a case study in the Netherlands, where the first tourism living labs were established in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. These labs offer a unique environment for creating positive tourism interventions and involve a wide range of stakeholders. They encourage collaboration between the public, private, and community sectors, and view students as key partners. The chapter discusses the challenges and opportunities of the labs in their early years and showcases some of the most impactful ideas, such as the BMX-routes Zuidplein and the Inclusive Welcome Path. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration, experimentation, and continuous feedback for successful urban tourism interventions.

Andy Sanchez, researcher at the Media, Technology & Society research group and the Sustainable Media Lab, has been awarded the SIDN Pioneer grant. He receives this €10,000 grant for the project 'Fabricated: Anti-Misinformation Games for the 2024 European Parliamentary Elections'. With this project, Sanchez aims to prepare European residents for the elections, teaching them how to recognise fake news and misinformation through interactive games. Follow updates about this project on their Instagram.

Digital Literacy
The Sustainable Media Lab explores the role of technology in society. With elections in the EU, US, India, and elsewhere, more people will vote in 2024 than any other year in human history. Concurrently, these voters are encountering political information online, in an environment increasingly driven by algorithms. Almost half of European residents lack basic digital skills. They may not be able to distinguish fake news from facts. This explains the urgent need for digital literacy and electoral resilience, so that users can make informed choices.

According to figures from the Sociaal Cultureel Planbureau, almost half of Dutch residents are concerned about misinformation online. In addition, deepfakes of Frans Timmermans, among other politicians, appeared in 2023 a day before the elections.Fabricated is an exhibition of games and will give residents a deeper understanding of their digital environment. It also helps them to critically engage with political (mis)information they encounter in the future.

Exhibition
This exhibition prepares voters for the elections and promotes digital literacy. You can visit the exhibition at the following locations:

• 5 May and 13-17 May: The Hague (Liberation Festival and city hall atrium)
• 20-24 May: Brussels (libraries and CPDP conference)
• 27-29 May: Berlin (re:publica 24 festival)
• 2-6 June: Amsterdam (libraries)

How do people from bi-cultural backgrounds view divorce and separation, and what information needs do they have in this situation? In what ways can the central government improve and expand its current range of information on this topic so that it better meets those information needs? Commissioned by the Department of Public and Communication (DPC) of the Ministry of General Affairs, the Research group Inclusion and the Creative Industries researched these questions in a design project, involving experts, people from bi-cultural backgrounds, self-help organizations and others. The goal of this design project was to gain more insight into the perspectives and information needs of people with a bi-cultural background when it comes to divorce and separation. And to come up with solutions that better support all those involved around divorce and separation.

The research team included project leader Ouafila Bejja-Essayah, Professor Joke Hermes and Mirthe van den Hee. Professor of Design Thinking Guido Stompff was also involved.

Saskia Soekhoe-Datadin, Strategic Advisor on Inclusion at the Department of Public and Communication (DPC) of the Ministry of General Affairs: "The design project yielded a wealth of insights about the different context of marrying, divorcing and separating and the perceptions about this among people from bi-cultural backgrounds. It also examined the influence of informal and formal helpers. The neutral role of the Inholland researchers during the co-creation session was crucial, among other things as a link between the system world of the government and the living world of those involved. The co-creation session also prevented unconscious assumptions from playing a role among creators of the information offered by the central government for people from bi-cultural backgrounds about divorce and separation."

Read more 

The Leisure & Tourism Lab (ULTL), with locations in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, has been accepted as a member of the European Network of Living Labs (ENoLL). This makes them the first lab focused on tourism and leisure to be admitted to this network, a remarkable achievement! ENoLL is the international, non-profit, independent association of benchmarked Living Labs. Their objective is to foster the global development of Living Labs as open innovation ecosystems based on co-creation and cross border & cross-sectoral collaboration. In their assessment of the ULTL, ENoLL says: “ULTL shows a strong and inclusive governance model, engaging a wide range of stakeholders effectively. Also, a solid track record in running living lab projects, with a focus on urban leisure and tourism is presented and it demonstrates as well a clear interest in regional and international innovation. Their considerable experience in living lab operations is supported by compelling proof.

From the Creative Business Research Center, the Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab was the first to apply for accreditation by ENoLL with the aim of gaining experience with membership of the network: what can we contribute to the network and how does it benefit us? With this experience, we can see if it could also make sense for the other labs within our faculty to apply for membership.

Peggy van Schijndel, managing director of the Creative Business Research Center: "I am proud of the colleagues and partners who, for years, have allowed these living labs to become beautiful places for learning and development, of the students who, year after year, demonstrate their valuable contributions, and of the unique blend of expertise that we as Creative Business Research Center bring to the research in these living labs: in the field of systemic co-design as well as regenerative placemaking and sustainable tourism. The issues are big and complex, and we feel the urgency to contribute to them though practice-based research every day. I am confident that membership of ENoLL is going to help us grow to the next stage!"

We are currently facing several crises that deal with the disturbed balance between humanity and the earth. To change this, no solutions are yet available and looking for them alone is insufficient to restore the balance. The process of how to get there will also have to change, with not only the interests of people at heart. Our relationship with nature must change.  But how do we do that?      

Symbiocene   
The term symbiocene was introduced by author and environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht¹. The term is derived from the word symbiosis, which in biology stands for the long-term coexistence of two or more organisms of different species. In the symbiocene, relationships and connection of all living things are central. Albrecht's premise is that all living things such as humans, animals, plants, bacteria, fungi, microorganisms, form an integrally connected whole. Man is not at the top of the pyramid, but is an equal part. That gives humans a more humble place. That helps to deal with climate issues differently.   

But what does it mean, living in the symbiocene?   

Summer Research School  
From June 28 to 30, 2023, the Summer research school Symbiocene took place on Zeeburger Island, a collaboration between the Inholland Sluislab and the Centre of Expertise for Creative Innovation (CoECI) initiated by An Kramer. An is a researcher at the Inholland Research group Design Thinking and also the linking pin between the Creative Business Research Center and CoECI. During the Summer research school, thirty participants examined together the question: What does the Symbiocene mean on the Zeeburger Island?   

Co-research   
Ten students from various programs, ten residents and ten researchers worked together in small diverse teams. Precisely the varied composition made that everyone's individuality was in demand. Where one person knew everything about edible plants, another knew about sound engineering, and a third person just had two right hands and could turn an idea into something tangible.  

No fixed goals, but results  
Precisely because of the open approach of the research question, the participants were able to choose their own fascination, such as protecting nature, or, on the contrary, speculatively seek how nature would make devices to communicate with us humans.   

Making and sharing art as a research outcome  
The assignment to the participants was not entirely open-ended. They were asked to work toward an experience circuit: a route across Zeeburger Island offering guests an experience, based on their researched fascination. In between, the teams shared their ideas and showed prototypes they made. The very act of making things together produced different end results.  

Documentary and book  
The search for symbiosis on Zeeburger Island has been recorded in a documentary and a booklet. For inspiration for everyone who, on a small or larger scale, is looking for ways to connect with nature in an essentially different way.  The documentary follows one of the teams. You see how they search together for what the symbiocene could mean and eventually arrive at a surprising idea and result. You also see the joint assignments, and the final experience circuit.  

In the booklet you will read the background of the concept of the symbiocene, and find the different results of the teams and the background of their search. In addition, you will get to know the participants through small nature portraits. 

Follow-up event - Make Place! 
There will be a follow-up to the Symbiocene Summer research school on Sunday 7 April, including a keynote by Glenn Albrecht, the founder of Symbiocene, live from Australia! More information about the programme will follow soon. You can already register via an.kramer@inholland.nl 

Pieter Breek, researcher at the Inclusion in the Creative Industries research group, and lab coordinator at the International Music Industry lab, has won an Emerald Literati Award for his paper titled "Street-level bureaucrats: tensions and challenges in online placemaking" , published in the Journal of Place Management and Development. The paper shows the influence of social media on placemaking: activities aimed at the physical and social environment of a neighborhood.

The article is part of Pieter Breek's thesis and is currently being reviewed by the PhD committee. In his thesis, he examines the notion that social media automatically contributes to inclusive and democratic placemaking with a critical eye. This thesis reveals the obstacles and tensions associated with social media, such as Facebook and WhatsApp, in conjunction with placemaking. It also provides valuable insights to professionals in the public domain for meaningful neighborhood development.

Read Pieter Breek's article on the impact of social media on placemaking.

According to Frank Radstake of ANVR, developing a new sustainability ambition for the travel sector is important and urgent: “There is a political and social reality that we as travel companies have to deal with such as the Paris Climate Agreement, the blending obligations for airlines in 2030 and the UNWTO Glasgow Declaration. In addition, there are also moral and ethical reasons why we will have to work on this. Above all, there is also an economic necessity; if we want to continue to have a 'license to operate' in the future, we will have to undergo a transformation to a sector where intrinsic sustainability, equality and inclusiveness are the norm.”

Read the entire news release here.

Wina Smeenk, Professor of Societal Impact Design, has published her new book The Co-design Canvas. The Co-Design Canvas is a proven, practical and user-friendly tool to start openly and transparently, plan, execute and evaluate collaborations around societal challenges with different stakeholders. Understanding and addressing these challenges is difficult because no single stakeholder or organization is solely responsible. Everything is interconnected and constantly changing, resulting in challenges being neglected and stakeholders being unable or unwilling to make important decisions.

“Co-design is inherently collaborative. To achieve societal impact, all stakeholders are needed. Only when all different perspectives are represented can you achieve meaningful design opportunities," says Wina Smeenk. "If we want ideas from socially engaged residents to take effect, it can only be done through good collaboration with other stakeholders.”

The Co-Design Canvas is a tool for governments, citizens, businesses, nonprofit organizations, knowledge institutions and other stakeholders to communicate and collaborate transparently. It clarifies and discusses differences in interests, knowledge, experience and power relations, dwells on desired positive impact and concrete results from the beginning, and ensures that everyone’s voice is truly heard.

The Canvas consists of eight cards about co-design decisions that can be placed together. "Together with the stakeholders you navigate through the cards flexibly”, Wina explains. "You can take different routes through the Canvas. Sometimes you have to backtrack. It's revisiting decisions and thinking ahead." But crucial above all is that everyone has a say, Wina believes. "If people can really bring in their interests and feel that their interests are served by the portfolio of collaborative projects, then you see people put their shoulders to it and give it all their enthusiasm. Then something beautiful is created."

The Co-Design Canvas is available through BIS publishers.

Book presentation

On Tuesday, October 10, the festive presentation of the book The Co-Design Canvas will take place at Pakhuis de Zwijger. You are cordially invited to attend.

WITH CONTRIBUTIONS OF
Agnes Willenborg, Claudia Mayer and Koen van Turnhout

PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Date: 10 October 2023
Time: 19:00h - 21:30h
Location: Pakhuis de Zwijger, Piet Heinkade 179, Amsterdam

REGISTER
Tickets for this event are available free of charge through Pakhuis de Zwijger: https://dezwijger.nl/programma/the-co-design-canvas

On September 15 and 16, Guido Stompff, professor in Design Thinking, and Roos Gerritsma, associate professor in Societal Impact Design, were present at the SMARTDEST final conference in Barcelona, on behalf of the entire Inholland team that has been working on the Amsterdam case for this EU H2020 project for the past 3.5 years. Also on the team were our Creative Business Research Center colleagues Swen Waterreus, Ko Koens, Donagh Horgan and Ellen Bulthuis. 

On Friday, September 15, Roos presented the work that zooms in on insights gained around the unclear field of who all is (not) involved in developing new tourism policy. On the basis of almost 30 interviews with various stakeholders, it became evident that there is no clear picture about this and that this once again indicates the complexity of shaping such a policy. The obvious way to do this in the Netherlands is through participatory methods, but participants in such processes increasingly fail to see the point. ‘Cuckoo-clock participation’, in which a party comes to collect or bring information once, is not helpful either, but it is common. Congressmen from cities like Vienna, Lisbon, Naples and Barcelona recognized this. One of the questions we continue to ask from our Research Center is: how then? Can our Urban Leisure & Tourism Labs in Amsterdam and Rotterdam change this? Three policy makers from the City of Amsterdam also traveled with us; we will explore these questions with them in the coming years. 

On Saturday, Guido was the moderator of the public debate that was led by him around four central themes. Representatives from various backgrounds were invited, ranging from activists, scientists and journalists to the hotel industry, and managing director Maya Janssen participated from amsterdam&partners. Among other things, she explained that amsterdam&partners focuses on the common interest in helping to shape the city in which we want to live, work and recreate. These were fascinating conversations, during which we realized once again that the more southern countries seem to focus more explicitly on the political arena and the importance of the ‘urban commons’. These were fascinating conversations, once again realizing that the more southern countries seem to be focusing more explicitly on the political arena and the importance of the 'urban commons' (shared facilities in a city, such as infrastructure, hospitals, parks, etc.). 

European cities are changing rapidly and increasingly becoming a 'mobility hub' of a mix of temporary users (from expat to exchange student, from resident to tourist), with all the consequences that this entails. This phenomenon will also remain on the research agenda for colleagues in the New Urban Tourism research group in the coming years. 

In the coming weeks, all research data will be collected from all cities, you can find more information via this link: www.smartdest.eu

Even during the quiet summer months, the international media knew where to find professor New Urban Tourism Ko Koens. He was interviewed by The New York Times about the intention of the Amsterdam city council to no longer allow cruise ships to moor in the city center, at the Passenger Terminal Amsterdam right next to Central Station. This is to deal with the pollution and the large number of tourists brought by the more than one hundred cruise ships that visit Amsterdam every year.

And nonprofit online magazine Reasons to be Cheerful also wanted to hear Ko's views in an article about Barcelona's strategy to combat over tourism.

The New York Times: “Party time is over”
Ko Koens says in the article:

Reasons to be cheerful: “Barcelona’s bold strategy”

The article includes the following quotes from Ko:

The Hague, August 30, 2023 – The Sustainable Media Lab at Inholland University is bringing attention to the crucial topic of digital rights right in the heart of The Hague. The Digital Rights Expo, led by three student project groups, sheds light on the importance of safeguarding citizens' digital rights, particularly within The Hague's Morgenstond neighborhood.

Last semester, students dug into the impact of digital rights on the lives of Morgenstond residents through conversations and engagement. Building on these insights, the three student groups have created prototypes that each showcase a different aspect of digital rights. In collaboration with Digital Rights House, this initiative aims to increase awareness and open discussions about this important issue.

Event Details

Date: September 11th - 22nd
Location: The Hague City Hall, Atrium Spui
Admission: Free

For more details, read the full article about the Digital Rights Expo in The Hague city newspaper at Newspaper Link. If you can't make it to the exhibition in person, you can explore the digital version of the exhibition here: Digital Exhibition Link.

Susannah Montgomery, Deputy Director of the Sustainable Media Lab, explains the students' approach: "Our students come from different creative backgrounds within our institution. We challenged them to use their creativity to find playful, participatory, and portable ways to get every day citizens thinking about what a responsible digital society means. Their exhibits, from funny comics to touching true stories, thoughtfully explore how technology in our digital age affects the quality of peoples’ lives."

The Digital Rights Expo demonstrates the power of innovation and teamwork in sparking conversations about the significant impact of digital rights on our lives today. Ready to join the conversation? Stop by for an informal Q&A about the exhibition, featuring current and past students along with our partners at The Hague City Hall on Monday, September 18th, from 15:30 to 16:30.

This project is part of the larger Inholland Digital Rights Research initiative, co-founded by Professors Wina Smeenk, Ander de Keijzer, and Ben Wagner. To learn more about their research, visit Research Link.

The Expertise Network Systemic Co-design, the Systemic Design Association and Pakhuis de Zwijger are joining forces and organizing the Amsterdam hub of the RSD12 Symposium from October 10 to 12. RSD stands for Relating Systems and Design Thinking and is an annual conference where several ESC professors have presented before. Instead of having everyone fly to Georgetown, where RSD12 takes place, this year the conference has 12 hubs around the world. This will allow everyone to be inspired without flying long distances.

The overall theme of the RSD conference is "Emergence in Entanglement," and in Amsterdam we have a program full of examples, stories and research around the question of how to navigate systemic change and transitions. We explore four different societal challenges: the sustainable and circular society, the healthy and vital society, a safe and fair digital world and education in times of transition. Around each theme there will be keynotes, workshops and presentations, both plenary and in breakout sessions.

"We could not have done this conference on our own as Inholland. The strength of ESC lies in the fact that we can pick up and organize larger projects together" - Wina Smeenk

Program and tickets

Each part of the day is dedicated to a social transition, which we consider a system. You can find the program on the website of Pakhuis de Zwijger, which will be added to in the coming weeks. Tickets for the three-day conference can also be purchased through this webpage.

Evening program

On October 10 and 11 two book presentations will take place. Wina Smeenk will be presenting her book "The Co-Design Canvas" on the evening of Oct. 10 (in English) and Bas van den Berg presents his book "Regenerative Education in Times of Transition" on the evening of Oct. 11 (in Dutch).

More info and registration for book presentation Wina: https://dezwijger.nl/programma/the-co-design-canvas 

More info and registration for book presentation Bas: https://dezwijger.nl/programma/onderwijzen-in-transities

Keep an eye on our website and LinkedIn to stay informed about the program.

For questions, ideas or workshop suggestions, please contact Frank Evers at frank.evers@inholland.nl

At the beginning of June, we had the privilege to participate in the European Media Management Association (EMMA) Conference, held on the 8th and 9th of June at the University of Navarra in Pamplona, Spain. With CB cluster manager Jannerieke Hommenga and we (Natalia Berger and Susannah Montgomery) dove headfirst into the conference's theme: "Perspectives on Media Trust".

As media experts assembled from all corners of the globe, we engaged in vibrant discussions and debates, highlighting the profound transformation our media landscape is currently experiencing due to advances in artificial intelligence (AI).

One of the standout moments for us was our presentation on the "hot" topic, "ChatGPT in the News: Examining the socio-technological phenomenon of artificial creativity in Dutch media discourse," as part of the Innovation and Media Trust section. Our work generated a compelling dialogue that extended well beyond our presentation, marking a milestone in the discourse around AI and media. 

Our exploration of ChatGPT, an AI text-generating model developed by OpenAI, underscored AI's intricate and sometimes contentious role in society. The launch of ChatGPT in Dutch print media sparked a multifaceted discourse, oscillating between admiration for its high-quality outputs and anxieties about its broader societal impact. We highlighted the necessity for wider public engagement, a better understanding of AI capabilities, and a shift in our approach towards content production and media management. We also emphasized the urgency for enhanced regulatory frameworks, verification technologies, and informed, interdisciplinary discourse to navigate AI's transformative potential.

This presentation was linked to our greater needs analysis research for the MediaNumeric Erasmus+ project. This was also an opportunity to promote to our academic peers the upcoming MediaNumeric Academy: an online course to develop crucial data-driven skills in content, journalism and storytelling.

Distinguished speakers like Dr. Eli Noam from Columbia Business School and Professor Emeritus Robert Georges Picard, a senior research fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford, enriched the discussions, expanding our understanding of the rapidly evolving media economics.

The EMMA Conference, as always, served as a platform for enriching intellectual exchange, invaluable networking, and warm camaraderie. As the EMMA president, Dr. John Oliver from the University of Bournemouth, aptly noted, "EMMA is like a wedding: a lot of familiar faces, far nephews, uncles and aunts are here, and you are happy to see them all."

We eagerly anticipate the next conference, which will take place on our home turf at NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands. It will provide an excellent opportunity to continue the discussions sparked in Pamplona and delve further into the transformative potential and challenges that AI technologies like ChatGPT present to our society. 

Are you interested in learning more about our research, participating in EMMA 2024, or how to become an early tester of our MediaNumeric Academy? Reach out to susannah.montgomery@inholland.nl or natalia.berger@inholland.nl for more details!

During the last week of February 2023, the third and final group of international students took part in the MediaNumeric training course in Warsaw, Poland. The University of Social Sciences and Humanities was the gracious host for the exciting week focused on data-driven journalism, creative storytelling and fact-checking. We couldn’t let the week go by without sharing the insightful, educational, challenging, but most of all fun experiences of our students Didi Baas (CB Haarlem/Sustainable Media Lab) and Marvin Ikoroha (TOI Diemen) and our colleagues Susannah Montgomery and Natalia Berger.

The project MediaMumeric (leading lector Joke Hermes), which started about two years ago, offered its final in-person weeklong intensive training program where students learn all about (1) exploration of multimedia data, (2) storytelling with multimedia data, and (3) tracking and debunking misinformation. Approximately 50 students from University of Social Sciences and Humanities (SWPS, host) the Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA, France), and Inholland, applied to be a part of this program. Ultimately, 16 students from Poland and four from France and the Netherlands were selected for participation.

An experience to never forget
Didi Baas: “I am still feeling honored to have been able to participate in the program! It has been a great opportunity to learn more about the topics that I consider to be interesting and important. This week has been incredibly interesting and inspiring, filled with lectures, workshops and events held by professionals and lecturers from Poland, France and The Netherlands. The main topic and case study of the program was the War in Ukraine. A topic with such importance and relevance left an impression on me, and showed me once again how important fact-checking and critical thinking skills are. During the program I have met and worked with a variety of inspiring and motivated students from France, Poland, Ukraine and the US. All with different study backgrounds, talk about interdisciplinary co-creation!”

Intense but rewarding training program
Indeed, it was very interdisciplinary! Trainers with impressive experience and skills helped students to explore what data can offer to those who know how to use it. Over the course of the week, students learned how to scrape when you need specific information, understand what a spreadsheet is telling you, visualise your story, check facts, and how to confront the ethical dilemmas you will encounter while working with data. However, our goal is not to create data scientists, but provide students a realistic and inspiring idea of what data-driven possibilities are out there for telling great stories.

Case-study project
This edition of the MediaNumeric training program coincided with the one-year mark of the War in Ukraine. As such, the MediaNumeric team decided to allocate half of our training time to a case-study project where students used data to craft nuanced and persuasive stories about the many lasting effects of this war. Together with her colleagues Kuba Piwowar (SWPS), Ewa Korzeniowska (SWPS), and Jacqueline Pietsch (AFP), Susannah Mongomery assisted the students' teams in creating these data stories.

Susannah Montgomery: “This week of storytelling was especially moving for me. I still vividly remember one year ago being in the AFP news offices in Paris for MediaNumeric when we found out this war started. This week, our new cohort of students took their journalistic and storytelling responsibilities very seriously when weaving together data-driven stories about the toll this war has had within Ukraine and beyond. From debunking human trafficking trends to understanding citizen perspectives on the energy crisis caused by the war, students took a thoughtful an multiperspective approach to the data they used and the stories they presented to our jury at the end of the week.”

What’s Next for MediaNumeric?
Over the coming months, the MediaNumeric team will launch the MediaNumeric Academy, an online course to develop crucial data-driven skills in content, journalism and storytelling. Building upon the physical in-person training courses in Paris, The Hague, and Warsaw, Natalia Berger is in the lead of developing the curriculum for this comprehensive online course. The future of content creation is data-driven. The MediaNumeric Academy will equip students, young professionals or anyone interested in the field of data-driven journalism, creative storytelling and fact-checking with the necessary skills to thrive in our digital age.

You can watch for updates about this online course on our Instagram and our website. You can see here some pictures of the week in Warsaw.

In the latest "trend paper" of temporary employment agency (and Inholland relation) ASA, Generation Z is leading. A generation, born between 1995 and 2010, that we find everywhere in our courses and that we try to serve and challenge as well as possible. How do we do that? Among other things, by renewing our education. 

One of the drivers of this is Arsjaad Imami, manager of the Facility Management and Business Innovation programmes and also co-developer of the new flexible educational concept. This is now running as a pilot in the Facility Management and Communication programmes and is pre-eminently aimed at Generation Z..

Read all about Generation Z in the ASA Trendpaper February 2023 (only in Dutch). The conversation with Arsjaad about our innovative education can be found on page 12!

Would you like to know more about this innovative Creative Future education and how it fits in with all kinds of other developments within the Creative Business faculty? Check out this post! 

Are you looking for a quick overview of what the renewed educational concept in the FM and Communication programmes entails? Check out this presentation... 

Want to get in touch with Arsjaad himself? Mail to Arsjaad.Imami@inholland.nl

The students of the Sustainable Media Lab have made creative and experiential media products to help you understand how and why media can shape, nurture, and impede justice in our society.  The Sustainable Media Lab will be hosting the Community Day on Friday, January 13th from 14:00-17:00 in the Mauritszaal at Inholland The Hague. 

The projects of the Sustainable Media Lab were made possible thanks to partnerships with Sound & Vision The Hague, Municipality of and The Hague Humanity Hub.

At Texel Tourism student Niels tells about his special internship. After Joy and Nigel have landed safely again, the CRB on Tour camper continues on its way to Diemen. Where colleagues and students hilariously compete with each other on the storm track.

This month the CRB on tour camper will travel to the Citylab Haarlem, where we will be hearing more about the new year 3 and 4 of the Communication and Facility Management programme and we will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Tourism Management programme.

This fourth episode starts at the Citylab Haarlem where we will understand more about how to work, learn and research within the context of a lab track. Learning director Ine Hustinx, Lab partner Aldert Messemaker from the company “Jopenbier” and student Frans Vellinga will tell you all about it. 

We will also take a closer look at the pilot that the Communication and Facility Management courses are going to start after the summer. Joy and Nigel will talk to teachers, students and team lead Arsjad Imami about this pilot. You will get to hear all about what the new year 3 and 4 will look like in order to connect students even better to the ever changing workfield. And above all, this type of education offers students a maximum freedom of choice and flexibility. If you still have questions after seeing this item, take a look at the Q&A education concept Creative Future. 

We will wrap up this episode with a party. The Tourism Management course organized a real festive week for their 20th anniversary. After two Corona years with little to no excursions, about 300 students and colleagues went on an excursion to Disneyland Paris, De Efteling and Cologne. And of course we went with them! Enjoy watching. 

In this third episode the camper is in Diemen. Do you like sports? Then take a look at how students from different years set up an Urban Sport Community in Amsterdam. And listen to the special and brave story of student Charlotte. She talks about a difficult period in her life and gives some good advice. 

Students who took part in the Creative Growth Initiative (CGI) SLUIS Lab, the Creative Growth Experience (CGE) SLUIS Lab and the CGE ULT Lab minors delivered amazing, sustainable connective concepts, as shown by the various online final presentations. Many of the student teams focused on issues relating to the Sluis neighbourhood on Zeeburgereiland, to which Inholland University of Applied Sciences in Amsterdam/Diemen will relocate in a few years’ time.

Social function
Good access is extremely important not just for Inholland students and colleagues, for instance, but also for neighbourhood residents and businesses planning to set up operations in the new district. It all starts with a ferry that will provide a temporary connection between the Eastern Harbour Docklands and Zeeburgereiland. The municipality of Amsterdam is already studying the possibilities for installing a temporary ferry line and the related infrastructure measures and products. But how great would it be if the ferry had a social function as well? Where neighbourhood residents can connect with each other? Two student teams mulled over this in the SLUIS Lab.

Team 1 consists of Nancy, Celine, Annemieke, Linda, Daniela, Bodil and Volkan, from the following degree programmes: AD Event Facilities Management, Tourism Management, Creative Business and Business IT & Management. They devised a concept consisting of two elements: a digiboard on the ferry, on which people can post a notice using their smartphone and a QR code, plus an interactive map on the floor of the ferry.

Notices
Annemieke explains what the concept is all about: 'All kinds of notices can be put up on a digiboard. A notice from a group of women, for instance, who are planning to set up a singing club and are still looking for members. Or a notice from a single mum who needs a babysitter for her little boy. People can post notices using their smartphone, but they can only be read on the digiboard because we don’t want everyone to be glued to their phones all the time.'

'We’re looking for a longer connection between people than a fleeting conversation on the ferry', Celine adds. 'That’s what we’re aiming to achieve with the notices on the digiboard. If people respond and make contact with each other, a sustainable connection will be created. We’re just giving them a little push.'

Drawing inspiration from museums, the group also came up with the idea of integrating an interactive map into the floor of the ferry. 'People can stand on a dot to find out more information about things they find interesting.' What does Zeeburgereiland have to offer? What are the best local restaurants? People will also see interesting facts about the neighbourhood or a piece of history.

Saving coffee points
Nicole, Kylie, Jennifer, Sven, Benthe, Manon and Roni in team 2 also came up with a digital platform in the form of an interactive screen, but the way in which it works is completely different. ‘Smart Together’ offers people the opportunity to play contemporary and old Dutch games with fellow passengers using free WiFi and their own smartphones in the middle of the ferry. People can also save coffee points, read the newsletter, look at hotspots in the neighbourhood or take part in neighbourhood opinion polls. Roni and Berthe provide more details: 'Even without a mobile phone, people can still play games in an analogue way. And locally run coffee stalls are located on both wharfs.' The team encourages passengers in a playful manner to deposit their empty coffee cups in the rubbish bin.

Peter Blummel, environmental manager at the municipality of Amsterdam responded enthusiastically: 'Your idea of making the ferry a place where people can drink coffee is really great. It will create a moment of relaxation and will indeed bring people into contact with each other. And you can do many different things using the platform. Things like saving coffee points: it’s the small things that will contribute to an enjoyable ferry experience.' He also finds the digiboard and floor map created by team 1 interesting ideas: 'Many people in such a new district are in the process of discovering who the other residents are and how they can help each other. I believe that a floor map is a good talking point on the ferry.'

Temporary settlement
Aside from the above, many more great experience concepts were developed, which will contribute to building a pleasant and liveable Zeeburgereiland. One such concept is SluisBox, an intergenerational jukebox that will play the collective music tastes of the islanders, which people can listen to in a park together. And Sluisdorp, a temporary, movable settlement offering music, food trucks, a playground, games, an interactive wall, a market, a stage, a pub, a book corner where workshops will also be held and a sports corner. Plus Waste = Food, a sustainability experience accessible to the public featuring ‘edutainment’ for and by residents of North Amsterdam, where people can learn from each other how to recycle food. The latter concept was developed by the Urban Leisure & Tourism Lab (ULT Lab).

Sharmilee Jayakkumaran, urban designer at the municipality of Amsterdam, is eager to implement a number of ideas. 'What I really appreciate is that we’ve learned a lot from each other during this process. This educational concept is so valuable.'

The FM degree programme contacted the service organisation a few months ago: 'We talked to Facilities Management to see whether we could carry out any experiments that would be beneficial to us later in the Sluis neighbourhood', explains Elze Reitsema, lecturer in Workplace & Real Estate Management (minor). 'I saw the Creative Growth Initiative programme as an example. A dedicated space was designed especially for project-based working under that programme but I just wanted to go the extra mile in creating a dedicated project space for our students.'

Design freedom
No more classes, but all eighty first-year students in one learning landscape, with lecturers in their midst to offer them support every day, where necessary. That was the idea. 'For such a large number of students, you would now need to break open an entire wing, ha ha!’ Within the Workplace & Real Estate Management minor, where third-year students focus on accommodation and the use of space, eight teams designed a learning space for their future fellow students. Each group came up with their own solution. Elze: 'The space on the first floor (A1.18 and A1.20) had already been designated and we also set out a number of framework conditions, but they were given complete design freedom within those constraints.'

Myrthe Dortants, whose work in the service organisation involves facilities management and accommodation, has been appointed project leader of the refurbishment of the two former classrooms, together with Merel de Boer. 'I’ve seen proposals containing really exceptional and creative ideas. We had a clear top 3 of best designs, but we ultimately selected the best elements from among all eight proposals, which actually closely matched the image that we ourselves had envisaged. We are currently fine-tuning the ideas, to determine, for example, especially during this coronavirus pandemic, which audiovisual media we can additionally use to create a good connection with students at home, so that we can work together in that way. We will give the green light shortly and start with the refurbishment and furnishings and fittings this summer.'

Shared experience
The focus is on first-year students, especially given that the 1.5-metre society will be maintained in the Netherlands for the time being: no more than 20-25 students are allowed to be in the room at the same time. Myrthe: 'Senior students should also be given the opportunity to share the experience and feel invited to work together. We have therefore incorporated the lobby and other nearby work spaces. This will make the entire floor an attractive space for studying. It is also rewarding to instantly recognise that this is the location of the FM degree programme.' Elze adds: 'Moreover, the learning space will not be locked. I expect that it will almost always be occupied. For the rest, you would need a crystal ball to predict developments in the coming months. I believe it is important to engage with first-year students. You won’t achieve this with a computer screen. I don’t believe in that. That’s why it’s positive that a relatively large amount of on-site time will be reserved for first-year students in Diemen.'

What design ideas will now actually be used for the learning space? 'We will start working with zones, for example, each of which will be assigned their own colour', Myrthe explains. 'The leisure space will be green and the focus space yellow. Group work will take place in the blue zone. We will use those colours on the furniture and walls. Furthermore, we have selected a diverse range of furniture: alternating between high and low, project tables, train seating and a gallery for presentations. A cork wall will be installed where students can go wild and hang up all kinds of things, so that they can be easily visualised. It should actually start feeling like their own space.'

New building in the Sluis neighbourhood
'I see a shift in the use of space', says Elze. 'To be able to focus, you work from home, whereas you meet up and work together in a building. A different division of space is increasingly being used in education buildings, with sloping floors and large galleries often integrating seating areas.' Myrthe chips in: 'In our new building in the Sluis neighbourhood, the entrance hall has the form of a gallery. It wraps around the floors. The gallery form can be used not only for events, but also for meeting up and working together. Many more learning spaces will be created in addition to theory rooms. That’s why it’s really beneficial that we’re now already working with this in Diemen.'

Elze: 'Our education will be designed around practical issues. The beauty of it is that we immediately dealt with this practical issue. The collaboration between the Inholland FM degree programme and the FM department really is a win-win situation. We have also been helping each other in other areas in the recent period. A group of students, for example, took it upon themselves to work on coronavirus measures in our building. That’s a welcome development, in my view.'

Pub quiz
We divided the whole group of students in different teams to play a special pub quiz: the best way to get to know each other and find out more about the Netherlands and Haarlem. Kenneth & Andor, students of MEM (Creative Business), were the best quizmasters ever! Team Sweden won the pub quiz and received a basket full of nice typically Dutch products. Swapfiets was also present and gave away two bicycle subscriptions for three months. During the day it was possible to take a picture in the Photobooth in the lounge. A perfect reminder of a new beginning!

ESN Haarlem and Creatrix Populus
Students of the Erasmus Student Network (ESN) and Creatrix Populus were also present at the Welcome Drink. ESN Haarlem organises events and fun stuff like cultural activities, international dinners, city trips and more for the international students of Inholland Haarlem. Creatrix Populus is the Student Association of Creative Business. They organise crazy activities, interesting guest lectures, parties and special study trips. To join these networks is the best way to meet new people and make new friends.

Next event: bike tour on 27 September
On Friday 27 September Inholland Haarlem and Swapfiets will organise a bicycle tour in Haarlem for the international students. The tour will start at 4.00 pm just outside Start Up Campus Haarlem (SUCH: opposite the building of Inholland Haarlem). The bicycle tour includes short cycling lessons, a brief explanation of traffic rules and an hour-long cycling past beautiful places in Haarlem. We will end up in the city centre. Therefore we advise you to take your personal belongings with you. Sign up quickly. There are only 30 tickets (and bikes) available.

Winning the Dutch final, the Inholland Creative Business (IMEM) students (Tony Kyriakidis, Oliver Miles, Senna Driessen and Martijn Bos) represented The Netherlands with their start-up Venuepark. After two days of intense pitch training by pitching coach Gleb Maltsev, the students delivered an impressive presentation in front of the international jury and a large audience. During the Q&A the whole team was ready to answer a variety of questions about their start-up Venuepark.

Denmark won the competition with Lapee, the female urinal, which is already being used at the Roskilde festival. Finland came in second with Deafmetal, a company that supplies hearing aid jewelry.

Beside the pitches, international key note speakers (from hip-hop till blockchain) presented and panel discussions were held, all related to the possibilities of start-ups. Overall, the experience was great for the Inholland students. They met a lot of interesting, driven people, learned about pitching and business and had a great time.

Amsterdam is grappling with the repercussions of mass tourism. In fact, the city is suffering from a 'tourism surplus', with large numbers of tourists causing annoyance to local residents. Inholland University of Applied Sciences, the North Amsterdam Tourism Industry Platform (TOP) and Pakhuis de Zwijger decided it was high time to exchange knowledge. The partners joined forces to organise the Fair Tourism Urban Conference during the WeMakeThe.City (WMTC) festival in Amsterdam.

Sustainable co-creation innovations from cities throughout Europe will be presented at the Fair Tourism conference in the afternoon of Tuesday 18 June. The event will explore Amsterdam – and, more specifically, Amsterdam-Noord – from an international perspective. Amsterdam will need all its stakeholders to take responsibility and develop more inclusive and sustainable forms of tourism. How can local businesses, local government agencies and residents work together to change the way tourists spend their time and money in the city?

Digital nomadism
The day's first keynote speaker Claudio Milano, lecturer and researcher at the Ostelea School of Tourism & Hospitality in Barcelona, sees the boundaries between tourists and local residents blurring: we are seeing the rise of digital nomadism, whereby new, temporary residents flow into our cities and countries.

Charles Landry, an author and international advisor on the future of cities, also makes reference to a nomadic world: a growing number of people are travelling the globe. Businesspeople, refugees, students, tourists. Our notions of space, location and time are in flux. For example, public spaces are increasingly multifunctional and can no longer be pigeon-holed in terms of design or image. As a case in point, he mentions a Berlin bank designed to look like a meditation centre. These days, we also tend to spend more time in the virtual world than the physical one.

Meaningful encounters
Rather than focusing on the obvious problems of mass tourism, Landry takes a broader view: "How do we create meaningful encounters and relationships in a transforming world? What do we take from our environment, and what do we have to give in return?' Cities that currently hold less appeal to ambitious modern-day nomads can take fate into their own hands. 'Find your unique niches!' This will help ensure a more even distribution of travellers and residents. The two men both envisage a key role for governance. 'The political field isn't keeping pace with the changes around us", Landry explains.

The keynote speeches will be followed by contributions from Fairbnb and www.untouristguide.com, two initiatives that benefit the city and local economy. Ewout Versloot of Rotterdam and Partners will share his experiences with Rotterdam's new tourism policy, which is primarily focused around the city's needs and tourists' potential contribution to these goals. Various special projects have been established as a part of this strategy.

A home for creators
Everyone head for Amsterdam-Noord! Eva de Klerk of TOP Amsterdam-Noord explains: "We are a home to creators and many community-based initiatives. These ideas tend to attract various subcultures once they start to take shape." While she would also like to see new tourism policies, she feels these should be co-designed by the community. "We want a seat at the table in order to develop policies with municipal authorities, businesses and other stakeholders."

TOP assigned Inholland Tourism students to develop a profile of visitors to Amsterdam-Noord. As student Coen van der Meer explains, their research showed that visitors generally don't read up on Amsterdam-Noord before visiting. They basically come to see the IAMSTERDAM letters, A'DAM Tower and Eye museum, and have no idea about the other sights and activities. The students advised TOP to create a hotspot next to the Eye film museum, with features such as a large playground, fountain or arts centre.

IJamaze
Another group of students developed ‘IJamaze’, a platform that allows tourists and local residents to take part in joint activities. "Tourists get to experience an authentic part of Amsterdam-Noord, while local residents have a sense of ownership over the activities", explains student Kathleen Umbdenstov.

The conference ended with a panel debate on potential solutions to Amsterdam's tourist surplus: should we simply restrict tourism in certain areas? Perhaps we should make more efforts to involve residents in local activities? The issues prove difficult to resolve: plenty of room for further debate, in other words.

Venuepark is a go-to event planning platform, making it easier than ever to find and book venues and event services. After a selection procedure at all the applied sciences universities in The Netherlands, the best 7 teams entered into the final in Amsterdam. The competitors would be assessed on the following criteria: how realistic, scalable and financially solid their business is, how well-balanced their strategy is, the motivation and skills of the team and of course, creativity. The incredibly exciting and immensely promising pitches of all the young entrepreneurs made the level of this final very high. Ultimately, Venuepark was unanimously rated as the best. The second place was won by students from Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and the third place by students from University of Applied Sciences Utrecht.

Worldwide final in Copenhagen
By the end of June, the team is going to Copenhagen to compete with national winners from all over the world. This global final is a hugely exciting opportunity for the Inholland team. The start-ups will get additional training, facetime with investors and a chance to win € 50,000 in funding.

Founder Tony: "Of course we want to win in Copenhagen. The prize money would be a huge support for our company as well as the additional training. At this moment, the feeling of being the best of The Netherlands and meeting all these excellent creative entrepreneurs gave us a massive boost."

Anne’s research project focused on inclusive tourism: ‘This is an innovative tourism concept developed and applied by the ITC, the joint development agency of the United Nations and the World Trade Organization. It aims to enhance the competitiveness of the tourism sector in least developed regions such as Kayah State. Inclusiveness is achieved by working along the tourism value chain: integrating local producers and Myanmar inbound tour operators, strengthening Myanmar government institutions related to tourism and also promoting the region in international markets. The main beneficiaries are the local people of Myanmar, among them the inhabitants of Kayah State, one of the least developed regions in the country.’

Anne was asked to compile a report that explained the applied methodology of the tourism concept, its results and lessons learned and how it benefitted the stakeholders. ‘ITC uses the report I’ve written to showcase their project to potential future donor countries – in the case of Kayah State that was The Netherlands – and to share this knowledge with other experts in the tourism industry who might seek to replicate their innovative approach.’

Demanding thesis research
‘Why did I choose to study in Diemen? I wanted to study in English, and during my travels I’d met Dutch people who told me I could do an entire Bachelor’s course in English in the Netherlands. I liked Amsterdam and the programme. I also did an exchange semester in Mexico and an internship in Jerusalem during my studies.’

So impressed were Anne’s teachers with the highly ambitious and complex scope of Anne’s thesis research, which she carried out in the Netherlands, Switzerland and during a six-week stay in Myanmar, that they awarded it a perfect score. It was the first time in its history that the Inholland Tourism Department awarded a 10 for a final Bachelor’s thesis, but it was wholly merited by Anne’s outstanding performance as a tourism student. Not only that, Anne was subsequently chosen to receive a competitive VSBfonds scholarship to pursue a Master’s degree.

Future in conflict management
During her internship in Jerusalem, Anne worked for MEJDI Tours, a tour operator founded by a Jew and a Palestinian that runs trips to Israel and Palestine and promotes peacebuilding. Anne feels the experience she gained while working there to be very meaningful, and that inspired to return to Israel after graduation. Now, she is doing a Master’s in Conflict Resolution and Mediation. ‘I’m just starting to write my MA thesis about state policy influence on reproductive rights in Rwanda. I think this is important because women everywhere should be able to have control over their own bodies. After this, I would like to continue working in research and hopefully go on to do a PhD.’

For the fourth year in a row, students’ satisfaction with their study programmes at Inholland University of Applied Sciences has increased. Notably, there has been a slight dip nationally; Inholland is actually the only broad-based university of applied sciences in the Randstad region to show an increase. Especially the Associate Degree Crossmedia Communication in Diemen and Construction Engineering in Haarlem experienced a sharp increase in satisfaction. Programmes in the field of social work received high marks as well. These are the results of the National Student Survey, the leading satisfaction survey among students in higher education, which is commissioned by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. Over a quarter of a million students took part in the survey.

Personal and community-based
One notable aspect is the English-language proficiency of Inholland staff. International students also report higher satisfaction with the assistance and personal guidance being offered. Other important aspects are that students at Inholland particularly value the personal approach and the way in which the programmes promote individual involvement. Esmée Hendriks studies in Haarlem: 'My lecturers are highly involved. They know who each and every student is and can put faces to all the names. If I tell a lecturer I’m a little nervous about handing in an assignment, they will definitely check back with me later. That motivates me to keep going.' Roel Homan, studying in Diemen, adds: 'Lecturers challenge us, sure, but they also help us look for solutions when we are facing a problem. I really appreciate that kind of involvement.'

The Hague student Melissa Kortekaas, is also pleased with how her programme affords her opportunities for involvement. 'After each block, our programme organises a meeting between a class representative, a lecturer and a programme coordinator. They discuss what went well during the block, which aspects could use improvement and what people thought of the timetable. As students, we really appreciate this. It makes us feel our opinions are being taken seriously.'

‘Guide, rather than lead students’
'In everything I do, I find it vital to guide students, rather than lead them,' Marco Bijsterbosch explains. Bijsterbosch, a lecturer in Tourism Management in Diemen, was recently named Inholland Lecturer of the Year for reasons including his passion for teaching, his willingness to experiment and the sense of connection he fosters with the professional community, students and fellow lecturers. 'I am constantly talking to students about their motivation and the best way for them to approach their tasks and challenges. I try to tell them that it’s most important to choose something that motivates them, something they feel passionate about, so that they learn to follow their hearts.'

Inholland’s Chair of the Board Jet de Ranitz is pleased with the positive feedback. 'Student satisfaction has risen for the fourth year in a row. Not only are students, lecturers and researchers achieving fine results, but our students are also extremely satisfied with how we are doing it. I am pleased that the results of the National Student Survey confirm that we are on the right track, and proud of where Inholland is today. This feedback from students will help us sustain our forward momentum.'

A group of second-year students International Media and Entertainment Management has been working on the first edition of ‘The Hague Film Awards’, hosted by Gemeente Den Haag and Culture Clash4U at Filmhuis Den Haag on 17 February 2018.

After this step, the students planned the content of the award show together with the clients. After the submission deadline of the video contest passed, the students nominated the best videos for the upcoming award show. Contestants can win € 500, which can be spend on a future profession in this field. Besides the money, the winning film will be screened at Filmhuis Den Haag for a month! During the award show itself, short documentaries, vloggers, music videos and animations will be shown. During the show, on February 17, the IMEM-students will be working as stage managers and front runners.

More information about The Hague Film Awards can be found on the Facebook page.

Three international student groups of Media and Entertainment Management Inholland The Hague have been working on a project called ‘Watermakers’ during the past months. The students have been planning events, exhibitions and social media content to promote the story of Watermakers.

Role IMEM students
The international students have taken on different tasks to help boost the popularity of Watermakers and make sure it will be a sounding success. Three IMEM project groups work on the project Watermakers: Temper Media, SF Marketing and Atale.

More information about project Watermakers and A bunch of choices can be found on their Facebook page and the website of A Bunch of Choices.