Measures around intake international students

VU Amsterdam is also taking steps. "We see it as our responsibility, as a university closely engaged with society, to contribute to solving the challenges around international intake," said Margrethe Jonkman, president of the Executive Board of VU Amsterdam.

Promoting Dutch language skills among academic staff and students and more Dutch-language tracks. These are two important measures that VU Amsterdam will now develop further in consultation with faculties and the staff and student representative council based on the national agreements on managing international student numbers. Jonkman does point out that this will not ignore the positive aspects of internationalisation. "International students and staff are an enrichment for our university. This diversity but also international experiences teach us to look at things from different perspectives. Moreover, internationalisation also promotes the Netherlands' position as an open and leading place for research and education."

Steering instruments essential
VU Amsterdam has reduced international recruitment activities since January 2023 to activities focused on degrees in sectors with labour shortages and actively informs prospective students about limited availability on the housing market. To be able to more actively control international student recruitment, Dutch universities have been calling for the necessary legislative tools to since 2018, as UNL reiterates today.

Read the full package of measures announced by UNL here.