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New Coordinator Bachelor Programmes on the Development of Wittenborg

As the new Coordinator of the Bachelor Programme, Rauf M A speaks about Wittenborg’s future development:

“There are great opportunities for an institute like Wittenborg to offer to its students. Being strategically located at a good place, it is a fact that Wittenborg has better prospects to have a greater offer in various subjects and specializations with emerging market demands. Wittenborg has built up a strong name in the market for delivering high quality business education to young and enthusiastic Dutch and international students (from over 37 countries). Being the most international business school in the Netherlands, this unique multicultural blend provides a great learning atmosphere to students in the classes, enabling them to think beyond boarders. At the same time it is a big challenge to fulfill the increasing demands of such a diverse group of students. Wittenborg’s mentoring policy is unique in the Dutch context, providing the best possible guidance to its students through a structured and monitored support system of tutoring. The tutoring system is designed to support students through keeping and maintaining record of all students by reviewing their progress and supporting in case of problems (e.g. related to keeping up with the pace of the programme). This system is widely appreciated by the students as they believe that this system ensures that they can graduate in time. Hence, individual as well as group tutors play an important role in each student’s academic life, enabling them to complete their degrees smoothly. In addition to academic learning, the External Relations department actively supports and helps students when it comes to excursions, study trips, work placements, and finding a job after graduation. This is also a significant impetus provided by the school: students should start a successful career after their studies.  

There is always room for improvement and there are certain areas to focus on, which need to be formalized in a way in which they are in practice at the moment, to improve the strength of Wittenborg’s qualification(s). Pursuing a growth strategy, Wittenborg continues to invest heavily in high-quality resources in the shape of new staff members, engaging people with higher academic degrees, expertises, and scientific research and educational experiences.  This unique input is vital for any academic institution striving to deliver high quality education. In addition to these resources, a special emphasis has been put on matters related to the development of course content, such as a new form of additional examination involving blind peer reviews, but also on more structural matters like the way in which module descriptions can motivate and convince students to get more knowledge of the subject at hand and improve their learning. This is vital for their successful future career in any industry after graduation. Wittenborg is implementing a stronger, more reliable and credible examination and evaluation system to guarantee the worth of its academic degree.

Furthermore, focus will be put on restructuring resources of Wittenborg to improve the academic learning quality. During the last accreditation panel visit earlier this year, it was even noted that criteria in certain areas are too ambitious at this level in this business school at the moment. This corresponds with our drive to maintain and further improve our internationally accepted high standard quality education in the field of business and social sciences. Wittenborg aims to maintain its position as a pioneer in the Apeldoorn region, in developing quality international programmes in the area of business which gives its graduates the right start in their career. The ultimate goal is not only to provide good quality education to current students, but also to continue building an institution which will have a long-term impact, not only in the region but also in students’ home countries, all across the globe. To achieve these goals, only the education cannot help much unless some efforts are taken to connect with the contemporary scientific research.  For this Wittenborg is continuously building collaborations with partner institutes for conducting joint scientific research projects. Rauf completed an MBA in Marketing & Management, after which he functioned as a lecturer at a graduate college for three years. After moving to the Netherlands he completed an MSc in Business Administration with a specialisation in HRM at the University of Twente. Currently, Rauf is carrying out his PhD research in HRM.”