Wittenborg Online News!

First Wittenborg MSc graduates to receive second degree from Brighton University in the UK on Friday 13th February 2015

Master of Science graduates from Wittenborg University who received their MSc degree at the 2015 Winter Graduation Ceremony on Friday will get a second degree from the University of Brighton on 13 February 2015. Wittenborg's Chair of the Executive Board, Peter Birdsall, will accompany them to the Brighton ceremony.

In September 2012 Wittenborg University admitted its first cohort of international Master of Science students, followed by another intake in September 2013. This winter they have finalized their studies and last Friday received their MSc degrees in respectively International Hospitality Management, International Event Management and International Tourism.

Adding further value to the prestigious achievement is that due to Wittenborg’s partnership with the University of Brighton in the UK, these graduates have earned a double degree. This means that on top of the certificate they received on Friday from Wittenborg, they will also receive a degree from Brighton on 13 February in the United Kingdom.

In total 8 students graduated on Friday at a ceremony held at the Apeldoorn Gemeentehuis where the mood swung from highly emotional to pure delight. 

One graduate who inspired the audience is Lucy Omwoha who is from Kenya but lives with her family in the Dutch city Arnhem.  She completed her degree in International Event Management whilst balancing life as a wife, mother and working for an NGO.

“One has to be a good planner, time conscious, dedicated, passionate to what you do. Reminding yourself of the end goal is a hands on motivation. It gives a lot more joy making it easier to attend to all without feeling them as burden.” She will now pursue a PhD degree. She chose Wittenborg because of its flexibility and its partnership with Brighton as well as the fact that she was able to complete her degree within one year.

The guest speaker on Friday, Apeldoorn’s locum-mayor Johan Kruithof, congratulated the graduates and said to be an international student takes courage as you have to persist through times away from loved ones. “We at the Apeldoorn Gemeente are proud and excited about having a growing contingent of international students in our midst, enriching life in Apeldoorn with their different cultures.”

Since 2007, Wittenborg has worked closely with the University of Brighton, mainly with the School of Service Management and Sport, based in the town of Eastbourne.

The partnership has now developed from what was initially a possibility for students to do their final year in the UK, to Wittenborg fully offering dual-taught Master of Science programmes in Apeldoorn, and developing joint research projects with its counterparts in the UK.

MSc modules are all jointly taught by lecturers from Wittenborg University and the University of Brighton, using the same British curriculum and standards.

What were graduates’ impression of the programme?

Bernadette Yolanda, who did an MSc in International Event Management, says one of the main reasons she chose Wittenborg was because of its dual-degree partnership with Brighton.  “My favorite module was Event Project Management. As a group we organized a fashion event in Apeldoorn once. We had to decide start about the theme, venue selection, logistics and even the advertising campaign. It was really interesting because I feel we jumped directly into the practicalities of organizing an event.” She will now focus on finding a job – probably in the fashion retail sector.

Emmanuel Onyeke from Nigeria who completed an MSc in International Hospitality Management says he will return to his home country to exploit the emerging hospitality industry. He chose Wittenborg for its multicultural environment. “I would recommend the Netherlands as a study destination. I stayed in Apeldoorn during my studies and the city is quiet and perfect for students to concentrate on their academic work. My advice for current and future students is to concentrate on and prioritize their studies while in the Netherlands because there are various extra circular activities in the country that can easily distract a student from achieving this goal.”

WUP 10/2/2015

©Wittenborg University Press

by Anesca Smith