King Willem-Alexander and Minister of Education, Culture and Science to visit University of the North

His Majesty King Willem-Alexander and Rianne Letschert, Minister of Education, Culture and Science, will visit the University of the North on 1 December. The working visit will focus on the National Talent Strategy, presented by the Dutch government last summer.

The strategy sets out how the Netherlands aims to attract, develop and retain talent to address the country's most pressing challenges. Its ambition is to safeguard the Netherlands' future prosperity, tackle major societal challenges and ensure that as many people as possible have access to meaningful work with long-term prospects.

The visit by King Willem-Alexander and Minister Letschert will begin with a tour of the CogniGron lab in the Feringa Building on the Zernike Campus in Groningen. Here, they will meet entrepreneurial researchers who have founded a start-up based on their expertise in innovative AI hardware.

The delegation will then be introduced to three AI projects, in which students and researchers from vocational, higher professional and research universities work together on innovations with societal impact.

This will be followed by a discussion on the significance of the AI Factory for the Northern Netherlands. The morning programme will conclude with a roundtable discussion on how the National Talent Strategy can be put into practice at regional level, and what is needed to make this approach work across the rest of the country.

Working together to develop talent and drive innovation in the North

Dick Pouwels, Chair of the University of the North's Steering Committee, is looking forward to the visit.

“We are honoured that His Majesty the King and the Minister of Education, Culture and Science are visiting the University of the North. Collaboration across vocational, higher professional and research universities is at the heart of our network and is part of our DNA. We look forward to showing the King and the Minister how this broad-based collaboration enables us to contribute to the National Talent Strategy.”

Afternoon programme in Leeuwarden includes presentation of Koers & Aanpak 2030

In the afternoon, Minister Letschert will continue her working visit to the Northern Netherlands in Leeuwarden. There, she will receive Koers & Aanpak 2030, the University of the North's new strategic plan.

She will then take part in a special College Tour hosted by Dutch journalist and presenter Twan Huys. Students and staff from the University of the North's member institutions can register here.

To conclude the visit, the Minister will learn more about the broad range of maritime education offered by the University of the North and the Northern Educational Alliance (NEA), and visit the WaterCampus.