More Students from Africa Expected to Study in the Netherlands

Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences' admissions team has attended its first ICEF Africa conference online with education recruitment agents on the continent expecting more and more inquiries from students on studying in the Netherlands. Especially students from Nigeria are looking for alternatives to some of the English-speaking study destinations.

"This was the first time we joined ICEF Africa and it was definitely a successful event for us," said Lena Vandenbosch, Wittenborg's International Partnership Manager. The 3-day event saw the Wittenborg team attending 68 meetings in total. Countries represented were Algeria, Benin,  Burundi, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Egypt, Ethiopia, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.  

Vandenbosch said: "We had the opportunity to catch up with various agents that we are already working with, but most of the meetings were with agents we have not spoken to before. Surprisingly, most agents, even very established ones, have not yet recruited students to the Netherlands. Many agents explicitly mentioned that they are receiving more and more inquiries on studying in the Netherlands. Especially students from Nigeria are looking for alternatives to some of the English speaking study destinations."

Mykhailo Huba, also part of the admissions team, said Nigeria is a country with many young people. "It has more than 315 languages of which three are dominant languages, as well as English. Lagos is one of the most dense populated cities in the world as well, and the biggest city in Nigeria. It used to be a capital, but now it is a metropolitan city with accent on naval commerce, much like New York City."

Huba said he learned a lot about the different African countries from the conference. For instance that Nigerians are very optimistic people with hard working students. "They also like good food, since Nigerian cuisine is diverse. They have nice beaches in Nigeria - same as in the DRC. In the capital of the DRC, Kinshasha, they love European fashion and culture as well as music and travel."  

Sophia Faraji, Wittenborg's Support Office Coordinator, said the agents that she spoke to from Egypt and Nigeria were pleasantly surprised by what Wittenborg has to offer. "For instance, the fact that we offer 6 intake opportunities per year and the support provided in terms of visa applications was all new to them. They said they can't wait to start working with us."

WUP 20/6/2021
by James Wittenborg
©WUAS Press