Johan Cruijff Arena is One of Europe's Most Innovative Football Stadiums

The Johan Cruijff Arena is one of the most recognisable landmarks of Amsterdam, and while it may not look strikingly unique from the outside, it is one of the most innovative stadiums in Europe - which is why it was such a privilege for 15 students of Wittenborg Amsterdam's double-degree programme to go on an excursion to the stadium this week as part of the People & Systems module.

The Arena hosts football matches for its home team AFC Ajax and the Dutch national team to a capacity of about 55,000 people. It also doubles as a concert venue with a capacity of about 68,000 people. The activities held at the Arena necessitate a framework for efficient energy consumption and mobility management.

This excursion was intended to give students an insight on operations management at work. The Johan Cruijff Arena’s mobility management during events has proved so successful that the City of Amsterdam has asked the arena to help design a solution for traffic congestion in the city centre.

The students enjoyed a private tour of the pitch, which is watered and lit by remotely operated machinery allowing for sustainable and cost-effective management of the pitch all season long. Students also had a chance to visit the energy storage unit, which stores at least three hours of back up energy in the case of a power failure.  On days where there are no events running, the electricity is distributed to the Arena’s neighbours, such as Ziggo Dome and Afas Live. Finally, students also visited the Ajax trophy room and changing rooms.

The students really enjoyed the tour and were happy to have an opportunity to see an example of what they have been learning in the classroom applied in an organisation.

WUP 22/2/2020
by Olivia Kawuma
©Wittenborg University Press

Talented Dutch Hospitality Students Invited to Apply for New Scholarship at Wittenborg before 15 June, 2020

https://www.wittenborg.eu/dutch-students-can-apply-new-scholarship-wittenborg.htm

Dutch students can apply for a brand-new scholarship announced by Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences this month which amounts to €5,000 per year for a maximum duration of 4 years. The scholarship is aimed at talented Dutch students with an international orientation who wish to pursue a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management at Wittenborg's campus in Apeldoorn. The deadline for the September intake is 15 June, 2020.

Wittenborg's chair of the executive board, Peter Birdsall, said after offering scholarships to international students for years, Wittenborg is expanding its scholarship policy and strategy. "The hospitality industry is growing fast and employment prospects in the future are high," he added.

Part of the application process requires applicants to submit a 3- to 5-minute video expressing their passion for hospitality and why they think they deserve the scholarship. Interested parties can apply here or attend one of Wittenborg's Open Days in Apeldoorn - the next one is on 29 April.

Wittenborg's School of Hospitality and Tourism undergraduate programmes include Hotel & Hospitality Services Management, Event Management, Tourism Management and Sport Business Management. Annual tuition fees amount to €8,900, which means successful scholarship applications will only pay €3,900 per year to study at one of the most international institutions of higher education in the Netherlands.

Applicants need to be recent graduates of Dutch secondary schools (MBO Level 4, HAVO, WVO) with a 75%  average GPA, be hardworking and passionate students and be available for a September full-time intake.

WUP 20/2/2020
by James Wittenborg
©Wittenborg University Press

Want to Build an App? You Can. Even Without IT Knowledge, AI Expert Tells Students

https://www.wittenborg.eu/students-learn-about-applying-ai-efficiently-business.htm

Artificial intelligence expert, Dr Larry Lucardie, captivated students this week by cutting through the complexity which many people associate AI with, and showing how it can be applied efficiently in business. He even demonstrated how anyone can build an app without IT knowledge or a programmer.

Lucardie, who is the CEO of Knowledge Values, was the guest speaker at the kick-off meeting for Block 5 Project Week at Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences, which revolves around artificial intelligence. Lucardie's company has delivered AI to many companies, banks, municipalities and other government agencies.

He started off his lecture by acknowledging that, though AI is developing fast, for most people it remains a mystery. "So far AI has not delivered much for companies. The current economy and organisations struggle with complexity, as knowledge and complexity are closely related. There is complexity in the business value chain and complexity is caused by complex customers. AI can help to make things less complex."

He cautioned that a pre-requisite is that the day-to-day realities in companies are sometimes not taken into account when building systems and processes. "If we don't understand reality, we can't make good systems. A lot of IT people don't understand reality and, therefore, can't build a smart system. For instance, exceptions cannot be automated." He used as an example the penguin - which is a bird, but cannot fly. "It is an exception. I see a lot of penguins when I visit companies.

"We must make automation easier. AI at the moment is very expensive." Many students approached Lucardie after the lecture to hear more about his theories.

WUP 14/2/2020
by James Wittenborg
©Wittenborg University Press

The Challenges and Opportunities of Educating the Next Generation

https://www.wittenborg.eu/opinion-future-now.htm

“We’re just sad kids, who put all of our hope in the fact that putting our headphones in makes us feel we’re not alone.” (Anon. n.d.)

That statement hit home; it resonated a deep truth about growing up today. However, it tantalisingly holds an inherent solution to the same. The children and the teenagers are the future, now; they are a solution, in the making, today!

Recently, this writer, together with Peter Birdsall, a director of WUAS, were judges to a speaking competition at a high school in Epe. The topic was the title of this article. What made a strong impression was the opportunity for the students to express, and for us to hear, what lay at the core of their concerns. This is important -- no, this is vital -- in terms of true education for the next generation, for those who will eventually slip into the various roles of our society. They, the kids and teenagers, are the solution.

The old paradigm of separateness and no consequences for actions, and those who rigidly cling to it, is fading away in time. However, the consequences of decisions and actions taken from that older paradigm – nothing is connected, and, for example, if the Amazon forest is gone, so what? – are with us today, big time! This can best be summed up by the action of one Greta Thunberg, a now globally recognised young Swedish environmentalist. This young girl, a meaningful symbol for a new generation that needs a hero that they can relate to, is nevertheless criticised in certain elements of society as being too young, and/or autistic and so forth. As in many instances, the simple truth is missed: it is not Greta, it is the ideas expressed! Do those in charge listen to the message, or just see a young girl?

We give our children everything outwardly, within reason and possibility, except that which is vital: a reflection back to them that they are an essential part of life, a life that functions beautifully within a cooperative approach. In short, a reflection of their own beautiful eco-system, within the larger global eco-system. This is the new paradigm that is attempting to bust through in places across the globe, an ever-increasing crescendo that will, I am completely certain, reach a critical mass turning point. A healthy competition in society is stimulating, but only from within the broader organic concept of cooperation to a deeper vision for our planet, our home. The young generation will get this, and they will act to clean up the mess we left them.

This is what they need today. This is what education can provide them in a critical time frame before entering higher education. One can just imagine what creativity can emerge with undergraduates exposed to their sense of self-worth, their potentials and a deeper understanding of their place and role in a healthier and creative society. The potential is enormous in every field of human endeavour. 

Events like in Epe provide a stage for them to research and give voice to a lingering hollowness that follows many at that vulnerable stage. It gives focus, and a channelled perspective for further creativity. They know all there is to know about smart phones, the internet and so forth. What needs to move in tandem with this is an educational environment that stimulates a growing awareness of their own responsibilities and inherent creativity. This then leads away from the isolation and separateness of the present times, with its concurrent psychological and emotional baggage.

Logic alone is only half the story, and perhaps even less! A system - call it “an education for life” - can be created, to support a balanced development of body, heart, mind and spirit. In addition to learning the usual subjects, students can be exposed to concepts of cooperation, compassion and self-discipline and many other approaches to creative living. This automatically lends itself to a sense of self-worth, purpose, and a knowingness that everyone can make a difference for the better. This notion, and more, is what takes the logic to a newer, richer and deeper level. This is the future, now! We owe this to our children.

In this writer’s view, this approach is a solution. The upcoming generation will bring it all together and restore the madness to balance. Of this, we can be certain.

“It is time we learned that facts, and even skill, by themselves cannot produce a healthy society. Cooperation, positive thinking, kindness and other eternal values are essential to a truly productive life and to the attainment of the universal goal of all life: happiness.”  (Waters, n.d.)

WUP 11/2/2020

by Daniel O’ Connell
Head of English Department & Foundation Programme
©Wittenborg University Press

Graduates from 20 Countries at Wittenborg's 2020 Winter Graduation Ceremony

https://www.wittenborg.eu/wittenborg-graduates-given-final-boost-they-step-job-market.htm

As Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences' latest graduates stepped off the stage and into the labour market on Friday, degrees conferred, they were given a final moral boost in terms of their employability.

"You are a special category that employers are interested in," the keynote speaker at Wittenborg's 2020 Winter Graduation Ceremony, Rijn Platteel, told graduates. Platteel is the  regional chair of VNO-NCW, the largest employer organisation in the Netherlands. "You have international backgrounds and have already mastered intercultural relationships. These are skills I value more than your grade list."

He urged graduates not to value themselves only in terms of their degrees, but to look at the sum total of who they are. "We tend to see intelligence as only verbal, mathematical and spatial. Yet there are far more forms of intelligence. Musical, physical, interpersonal and intrapersonal. You are made up of so much more than just what you’ve read in books, what you’ve learned in formal education. Knowledge comes from real life, from applying knowledge in every part of your life. Knowledge is not only in your heads: you ingrained knowledge in your bodies. Knowledge comes from experience, it comes with living life.

"A degree tells me something about your aptitude for learning skills, that you showed discipline, that you have a basic toolbox. But I am far more interested in your other skills. What did you do besides study, what skills did you develop? Your soft skills, what values do you hold dear, what empowers you, what puts you down, how you’ve built your character. You may think that you know nothing, but what you really have been doing is mastering life. You are a rather special category we are interested in. You already mastered intercultural relationships. You have international backgrounds. These are skills that I value far more than your grade list."

About 39 students of 20 different nationalities graduated from Wittenborg this semester. At the ceremony on Friday, splendid in their traditional black ceremonial gowns and caps, they received their hard-earned diplomas in front of family, friends and academic staff. Among them were 7 MBAs, 4 who received Master of Science degrees, 4 from the Wittenborg Amsterdam campus who got EBAs in Entrepreneurship & SME Management, and 24 Bachelor degrees in International Business Administration.

Wittenborg's chair of the executive board, Peter Birdsall, congratulated them in his speech saying that Wittenborg commits to doing everything it can to ensure that the value of their degrees increases day by day, thus strengthening the brand Wittenborg. "That brand has to say something to your future employers about the quality of your education." He urged graduates in turn to be successful. "That success will also rub off on us. The most important thing for us is to ensure your employability, which is why we are so pleased to have a representative of the VNO-NCW as our guest speaker today."

WUP 9/2/2020
by Anesca Smith
©Wittenborg University Press

NEC Chancellor, Sascha Liebhardt, Host for ISPO Brandnew Sport Start-up Award

https://www.wittenborg.eu/wittenborg-partner-munich-nec-judge-2020-ispo-fair.htm

This month saw 2,800 exhibitors descend upon Munich at the largest trade fair for sport business, the 50th annual ISPO Fair. Held from 26 – 29 January, the world’s most innovative, successful and well-known sporting brands presented their latest products at the event.

Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences’ partner institution in Munich, the New European College (NEC), also had a key role at the event. NEC’s chancellor, Sascha Liebhardt, hosted the ISPO Brandnew Awards Ceremony and Pitch Competition on the opening day.

ISPO Brandnew is known as the largest platform for sport start-ups worldwide. For 20 years, ISPO has used ISPO Brandnew to seek out the most promising newcomers and innovators within the sports industry. Past winners of the Brandnew Award include GoPro, Naish Kites, Maloja and Nixon.

Liebhardt’s connection with ISPO started in 2012 when he was asked to be a member of the jury for the communication award. “Eventually I became the head of the jury and hosted a communication, storytelling and social media event at ISPO. This year I had the honour of being the host of the Brandnew Category Award Ceremony and the Brandnew Overall Category Competition and Ceremony,” Liebhardt said. He is the founder of NEC, which is dedicated to the education and future success of young entrepreneurs.

The competition commenced with the election of winners from eight Brandnew categories: Body & Mind, Connected Sports, Future Mobility, Matchtime, Offshore, Outdoor Adventure, Parks & Slopes and Urban Outdoor.

Winners were then given the opportunity, with Liebhardt, to present their business models and motivations for their products or services on stage. Later that afternoon, all 8 category winners went head-to-head in a “pitch-off” to compete for the Overall Winner Award. Each start-up was given 90 seconds to give their elevator pitch and convince the jury and the audience of the true value of their brand.

EXOlung , a private initiative currently in the prototype phase, eventually triumphed for their innovative underwater breathing apparatus – a light and compact diving device which uses the diver’s leg movements to draw fresh air down from the surface of the water at depths of up to five metres, and allows the diver to stay underwater for as long as desired.

This year’s ISPO event was guided by three mottos: “Be responsible. Be active. Be creative.” ISPO prides itself on not only being the “world’s largest multi-segment trade show in sport”, but also as the driver for creativity, innovation and digitalisation in the sporting goods industry. ISPO visitors travel across the planet to collaborate, network, partner and grow business in sporting segments such as snow sports, outdoor, health & fitness, urban recreation and team sports.

WUP 04/02/2020
by James Wittenborg
©Wittenborg University Press