Erica Schaper (NHL Stenden) to be the new Chair of the Steering Committee of the University of the North

After a period of over five years, Jouke de Vries lays down his position as Chair of the Steering Committee of the University of the North. As from 1 January 2024, he passed on the baton to Erica Schaper, President of the Board of NHL Stenden University of Applied Sciences. As President of the Board of the University of Groningen, De Vries will continue to be involved with the University of the North.

De Vries, who is also the interim President of Universities of the Netherlands since November, was one of the instigators of the University of the North when he started as President of the Board in 2018. He looks back on some wonderful years in which a lot has been achieved. 

Jouke de Vries: ‘The affiliated knowledge institutions of the vocational education sector, universities of applied sciences, and universities are working hard to strengthen the northern innovation ecosystem. It’s incredible to see what we have already been able to realize together in Drachten, Emmen, Eemshaven, and other places. In the coming years, we will continue to pursue our regional ambitions from the Knowledge Agenda with undiminished effort. I have every faith that Erica Schaper is going to help further advance the University of the North.’

Bridging the gap between academic, applied, and practice-oriented research

Schaper, who is not only Chair of the Steering Committee and President of NHL Stenden, but also vice president of the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (Vereniging Hogescholen, VH), was also involved in the University of the North from the very beginnings.

Erica Schaper: ’In my role as the new Chair of the University of the North, I don’t just see a nice challenge but also a huge opportunity. The demographic shrinkage in our region is the reality, while the northern business community, and in particular small and medium-sized companies, have a great need for new talent. The key to success is creating a continuous learning pathway from vocational to academic education that will enable us not only to strengthen the economy but also to tackle the societal issues adequately. By bridging the gap between academic and practice-oriented research, we are striving to create regional added value but also to develop nationally and internationally relevant knowledge. Together with our partners, we want to use the full extent of the economic force of the Northern Netherlands and to further increase this force.’

The Steering Committee further comprises Dick Pouwels (Hanze University of Applied Sciences Groningen), Ate van der Zee (UMCG), Anneke Luijten -Lub (Van Hall Larenstein) and Wim van de Pol (Noorderpoort College.

About the University of the North

The University of the North is an initiative by the UG, UMCG, Hanze UAS Groningen, NHL Stenden UAS, Van Hall Larenstein UAS, and vocational education institutions from the Northern Netherlands. Through the University of the North, the knowledge institutions involved want to boost the wide prosperity in the Northern Netherlands and the transitions as formulated in the Knowledge Agenda. This is achieved through making smart use of each other’s facilities, making each other’s teaching easily accessible, forming hybrid research groups, and stimulating entrepreneurship.