During the visit, Dutch Minister of Education Jet Bussemaker signed memoranda of understanding with the Chinese government and educators met with prospective students at Tsinghua University.

“China and the Netherlands have a 30-year history of cooperation in the fields of education and science. We have been exchanging students and teachers, and I was one of them when I was lecturing in the 1990s in China,” said Bussemaker.

“China sees our vocational training and the professionals it generates as examples to follow”

The agreements signed will serve to deepen cooperation between educational institutions in the country, increase student exchanges and for the first time include promoting Dutch vocational training.

Minister Bussemaker said the deals put Dutch MBO (mid-level vocational training for 16-18 year olds) on the map.  “China sees our vocational training and the professionals it generates as examples to follow,” she said. “The close cooperation with business it fosters, and the excellent employment perspectives this brings are also prized here. We have good reason to be proud of our MBO.”

Meanwhile members of the the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU), the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (Vereniging Hogescholen), the Netherlands Association of VET Colleges (MBO Raad) and the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) participated in workshops and conferences with Chinese educators.

Freddy Weima, Director General of Nuffic, a non-profit organisation supporting internationalisation of Dutch higher education, confirmed that educators “made agreements with our Chinese partners about intensifying and broadening our cooperation”.  Part of that cooperation will include establishing Living Labs in China.

Dutch educators met with Chinese students at the Xperience Holland Day organised by Tsinghua University to promote Dutch culture, language and education

Launched in 2012, Nuffic aims to open Living Labs in partner countries around the world to bring together lecturers, researchers and students from the Netherlands with those in the host country to conduct research assignments for “real-world workplace issues”. Other living labs are now running in Indonesia, Korea, Russia and Brazil.

“The Netherlands and China have a significant relationship in the education field that continues to grow”, added Weima.

“Chinese president Xi talked during his recent state visit about the Netherlands as a gateway to Europe for China. Dutch education and science can play an important role in this field.”

The delegation also met with Chinese students at the Xperience Holland Day organised by Tsinghua University to promote Dutch culture, language and education.

Speaking with China Daily, Chen Jining, president of Tsinghua University said:  “I’m sure that Dutch students will fall in love with Tsinghua University, not only for its campus but also for its culture and environment. And Tsinghua students will find Dutch universities one of the best places to go.”