Province, municipality and University pledge substantial investment in university education

This week, the Province of Fryslân, the municipality of Leeuwarden and the University of Groningen approved the establishment of the Campus Fryslân. They also pledged a financial contribution. The proposals will be discussed by the Provincial Council, the Leeuwarden municipal council and the University Council of the University of Groningen before the end of this year. Their seal of approval will give Fryslân a university again, after its last university in Franeker closed in the 19th century.

Campus Fryslân comprises a University College with a three-year Bachelor’s degree programme, a Master’s college with 10 Master’s degree programmes and a graduate school. Within five years, this special faculty will have grown to accommodate 50 FTE staff, 1,000 students and 50 PhD candidates, representing a total investment of € 57 million.

The new Master’s programmes and a broad-based, international Bachelor’s programme in Liberal Arts and Sciences in the University College will serve to establish the University of Groningen in Leeuwarden, and promote international university education. The campus will also raise the international profile of the city and the province and boost the Frisian economy.

Joint ambitions

The University, Province and municipality see the University of Groningen campus in Fryslân as a good opportunity to realize a number of joint ambitions. The University will work closely with the local universities of applied sciences and other knowledge partners in Leeuwarden. A solid network of regional companies and stakeholders will ensure long-term, mutual commitment to university education and academic research on location. Lasting cooperation between regional/local government bodies, teaching establishments and the business sector will maximize the opportunities to enhance the academic climate and develop the Frisian community.

Impulse

The new University of Groningen/Campus Fryslân will give the academic climate and the economy in Fryslân a powerful boost. ‘This agreement is fantastic news: it is an important development for the north of the Netherlands. You see more and more provinces and municipalities investing in education. Working alongside all the other knowledge institutes in Leeuwarden will enable us to explore new combinations of research and education’, says the Dean of University of Groningen/Campus Fryslân, Prof. Jouke de Vries.

More informatie

• University of Groningen, Gernant Deekens, tel. 050 - 3636854
• Province of Fryslân, Marieke Ferwerda, tel. 058 - 292 5735
• Municipality of Leeuwarden, Anthonie Feenstra, tel. 058 - 233 8346