Leonie Neitzel didn’t know what she wanted after finishing high school in Germany. She signed up for a programme in Hamburg, but soon realised it wasn’t right. Then she came across NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences’s Leisure & Events Management programme.
That changed everything. Neitzel would end up travelling to as far as South Africa and Indonesia. More importantly, her NHL Stenden degree took her into a truly international community.
“Looking back, I can confidently say that choosing NHL Stenden was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made,” she says. “It’s not just about the degree – it’s also about the people and the experiences you make along the way.”
NHL Stenden’s community defines it. Based in the north of the Netherlands, it has campuses in Leeuwarden, Emmen, Meppel, and Terschelling. These are homes to students from more than 80 nationalities, places where you meet people from all over the world and exchange ideas every day.
From day one, you’re learning alongside classmates and lecturers with different backgrounds and opinions. It’s a mix that lets everyone see and pursue new ways of thinking – exactly what university should be all about.
Studying at NHL Stenden means learning through Design-Based Education, a hands-on approach across your programme in an inspiring, modern environment. Source: NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences
The world is built into your curriculum
While it may feel like the world is inNHL Stenden’s campuses, the university is just as committed to ensuring its students see the world. The Grand Tour sends you abroad for a semester at one of the university’s partner campuses – in South Africa, Indonesia, Thailand, Italy, or Aruba — where you take specialised minors while living somewhere new.
Then there’s the Regional University Network-European University (RUN-EU), a network of nine European universities that lets you join short, intensive programmes — usually two to eight weeks — working with students from different countries on real problems. International internships are also on the table, and you can mix and match these options across your degree.
Neitzel chose to go to South Africa and Indonesia for her Grand Tour because she’d never been to either country. All she had to do was sign up, and her programme handled everything. She didn’t have to worry about finding a school or accommodation. She could fully focus on exploring the world andherself.
In South Africa, Neitzel took a “Change and Innovation” minor, working alongside local students and businesses. In Bali, she explored “Inspirational Coaching and Leadership,” and each location pushed her thinking in a different direction. “It taught me that our Western European way is only one of many,” she says. “Understanding other cultures is key to understanding yourself.”
Go further than your limits
Karolina Uleckaité, a Creative Business student from Lithuania, stumbled across RUN-EU during NHL Stenden’s minors week. A friend’s enthusiasm for it pushed her to sign up too. Not long after, she found herself doing something she’d never imagined she would do: a landscape design programme in Portugal.
“My RUN-EU journey was quite unexpected, and my decision to do the programme was made really fast,” she says. “I opted for a project that covered a new area for me, something I don’t do here at university but that I thought could be an interesting path to go down.”
That instinct paid off. The programme – a project called “Living Playground Portugal” – took her to Lisbon, where she met students from across Europe, and it ended up being one of the standout moments of her degree. RUN-EU programmes are short, advanced experiences built on top of regular studies, covering topics outside a student’s main field.
Travel, accommodation, and food were all covered through a grant, so Uleckaité could fully enjoy her time there. Though a seemingly small feature, this financial support had an outsized impact on her. It freed Uleckaité up to make new connections and build the confidence to travel alone for the first time. “I learned new things about myself, and it inspired me to do more solo travel,” Uleckaité says.
NHL Stenden gets students ready for the world, and everything that comes with it. Source: NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences
Get a taste of the real world
For Adam Žovinec, a Slovak student in International Business, combining a Grand Tour in South Africa with an internship in Dubai gave him something coursework alone could never deliver: a clear picture of the career he wants, and what to leave behind.
“Internships are a great way to bridge the gap between academic learning and real-world applications,” he says. “They can also teach you what you don’t like, which is equally valuable. For me, I realised I didn’t want to work in the service industry. Instead, I want to work with people from different countries, as they bring new perspectives and therefore amazing opportunities to learn.”
His placement at Jumeirah in Dubai – a company with employees from 87 nationalities – showed him what a genuinely global workplace actually feels like. He left knowing exactly where he belongs. “For anyone considering an internship, I’d highly recommend embracing the challenge – you never know what you might learn about yourself,” he says.
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