Wittenborg Celebrates 30th Anniversary with Style

Wittenborg’s 30th anniversary gala went down a blast with guests, alumni, students and staff this weekend at the Apeldoorn City Hall. It was a celebration of all the institution’s successes, the past 30 years and the countless students who have graduated from its programmes.

There was dancing, heart-pounding African music, meeting up with old friends, making new friends, breathtaking gala dresses, snacks, drinks and even a photo booth where more than 700 photos were taken in the end!

Most of all there was dancing.

Students from different nationalities also showed of traditional attire which was a hit with the crowd.

The guest list included the 'who’s who' of the Netherlands’ international higher education sector, among others Freddy Weima, the director-general of Nuffic (the Dutch agency for the promotion of internationalization) and Paul Zevenbergen, managing director of the 

Dutch Flamish Accreditation Organisation (NVAO). Also in attendance was the ambassador of Bangladesh to the Netherlands, H.E. Sheikh Mohammed Belal. Guests were welcomed at the city hall 

by local councilor, Johan Kruithof.

Guests were entertained with a special Viennese Waltz performed by members of staff, including Wittenborg’s Chair of the Executive Board, Peter Birdsall and CEO Maggie Feng, who trained for weeks. Alumni came from as far as Hong Kong and Shanghai and students and staff from Wittenborg Amsterdam and Wittenborg Vienna was also in attendance.

Weima, in congratulating Wittenborg, said that international experience adds an invaluable dimension to a student’s training. “International cooperation can really help international relations and peace processes. I think we have to meet the world to understand the world.”

In his speech, Birdsall recounted some of the highlights of Wittenborg’s early years. “The seeds of our internationalisation were sown in the 1990’s in Deventer, and coupled with the entrepreneurship of higher education led to the exciting but sometimes bumpy ride that many of us providing English-taught higher education degrees have faced.”

Also at the Gala was the deputy vice chancellor of the University of Brighton, Professor Chris Pole, members of Wittenborg's Advisory Board, members of the Gelderland provincial legislature, David Pho who is the former education attaché of the Beijing Embassy in the Netherlands, Chris Dutton who is the deputy head of Brighton's School of Service Management and Sport, and representatives of Saxion University of Applied Sciences

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WUP 13/11/2017

by Anesca Smith

©WUAS Press