Internationals: life here is good and everybody speaks English

International students like the quality of life in the Netherlands and of course they are pleased with the English-language education. But they do not always feel welcome…

‘I was looking for a country with a high standard of education where I could study in English’, an international student tells Nuffic, the organisation for the internationalisation of education. ‘The Netherlands was therefore a fairly obvious choice.’

This student is one of the 130,000 enrolled on higher professional education (hbo) or research university (wo) programmes in the Netherlands. At research universities, 27 per cent of students come from abroad; at universities of applied sciences, the figure is 9 per cent.

English-taught programmes are highly regarded and tuition fees are low

But why do they come here? Nuffic used a questionnaire and follow-up interviews to gauge the reasons. Around 300 international students took part in the survey.

They told Nuffic that there is a wide range of English-taught programmes in the Netherlands. These programmes are also highly regarded and, compared to many other countries, tuition fees are low.

The students also appreciate that Dutch people speak English easily. Furthermore, they believe that the quality of life here is good. They mention, for example, safety, but also the pleasant work-life balance.

Seven out of ten internationals mentions the severe housing shortage

For most, the Netherlands was their first choice. One in five had actually wanted to go to a different country. For example, some would have preferred to go to the United Kingdom, but the hassle with visas and higher tuition fees meant they opted for the Netherlands after all.

There are also reasons why they sometimes have doubts about whether they wanted to come to the Netherlands, such as the severe housing shortage: seven out of ten students mentioned this issue. It later turned out that finding a room was often even more difficult than expected.

Once they were here, many realised that a good command of the Dutch language can be important for everyday life. It proves to be a particular challenge in social life and when looking for a part-time job.

Politicians are more sceptical about internationalisation than they used to be

And, of course, there are also students who are downright disappointed. For more than ten per cent, their expectations of the Netherlands did not match reality. They did not always feel welcome and sometimes even faced discrimination. They speculate that this may also be due to the political climate.

Politicians are indeed more sceptical about internationalisation than they used to be. The previous government wanted to reduce the number of international students and force certain degree programmes to resume teaching in Dutch.

The current government is once again offering slightly more scope for internationalisation, to a certain extent. The educational institutions have promised that they will manage the arrival of international students themselves.

Photo: student nightlife in Groningen (photographer: Tábata Vilches Maldonado)