Security campus in the North

The Thorbecke Academy of NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences is going to establish a security campus in the North, in collaboration with the UG. To this end, the UG will appoint a professor at Campus Fryslân in Leeuwarden, where one of the air bases of the Royal Netherlands Air and Space Force is located as well. The professor will be tasked with setting up a specialized research group and providing teaching within a new university-level pre-Master’s degree programme that focuses on European security and geopolitical issues.

The pre-Master’s will collaborate closely with the Bachelor’s programme in International Relations and International Organization. The pre-Master’s is open to students who have completed the degree programme in Integral Security Science at the Thorbecke Academy of NHL Stenden UAS in Assen and offers the possibility to continue on to an associated international UG Master’s.

Strengthening the region

The UG sees the establishment of the northern security campus as a promising strengthening of its regional and thematic positioning. President of the Board of the University, Jouke de Vries: ‘If this pre-Master’s programme is successful, it could lead to more degree programmes in the three provinces. This strengthens the interdisciplinary collaboration in the way that we agreed upon with each other within the University of the North; realizing transitions with impact together for wide prosperity in our region.’

In consultation with the UG, the Municipality of Assen is currently looking for suitable premises for the university activities. Most preferably, a security campus will be developed on the grounds of the Johan Willem Friso barracks. Meetings with the Ministry of Defence about this are ongoing.

Collaborating for national security and resilience

In the coming years, the Dutch government will invest billions of euros in strengthening the resilience of the Netherlands in light of military and hybrid threats, such as cyberattacks and the spread of fake news. The strengthening and deepening of knowledge and innovation in the field of security is a crucial part of this. The Dutch knowledge institutions and businesses have expertise in various knowledge areas that are important to the armed forces.

The UG provides teaching and research that are relevant to our resilience and security in general and to the Ministry of Defence in particular. Currently, the UG investigates which opportunities and challenges a collaboration with the Ministry of Defence will pose.