University of Twente

The leading research university of the Netherlands is the University of Twente. It is a government institution founded in 1961 as the Higher Technical School of Twente. The status of the university was given to the institution in 1986.

The University of Twente was recognized throughout the world as one of the best research institutions. Published articles and the work of university researchers are of great value in the development of science. In its country, the university is one of the top 20 best institutions. Also in the international rating at the moment is 242 position. On the quality of teaching, he is among the 400 best European institutions. This is due to a large number of foreign experts at a high level.

Especially popular are the following directions, while studying in the Netherlands:

• Engineering and technology;
• Natural Sciences;
• Social sciencies;
• Management;
• Chemistry.

Employers of well-known international companies have a great interest in university graduates. A large number of specialists who were graduated from the university work in such companies as Ten Cate, Google, Microsoft, Siemens and Philips.

Kevin McDonnell

Specialist in International Students of the University of Sussex

Is it difficult for talented students to obtain scholarships? What kind of financial aid is typically available?

Scholarships are available but tend to be modest. They are often awarded for academic or extracurricular excellence. Typically, scholarships offer a discount on tuition or other benefits, with full scholarships covering most costs being rare and highly competitive.

The academic structure of the university includes five faculties:

• BMS — Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences (behavioural, management and social sciences),
• EEMCS — Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (electrical engineering, mathematics and computer science),
• ET — Engineering Technology (engineering technology),
• ITC — Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (geo-information science and earth observation),
• S&T — Science and Technology (science and technology).

The BMS faculty offers the following programs in English:

• Business Administration,
• International Business Administration,
• Industrial Engineering and Management,
• Science Education and Communication,
• Educational Science and Technology,
• Environmental and Energy Management,
• Philosophy of Science Technology and Society,
• European Studies,
• Management Society & Technology,
• Public Administration,
• Communication Science,
• Psychology.

The EEMCS faculty offers the following programs in English:

• Electrical Engineering,
• Embedded Systems,
• Systems and Control,
• Business & IT / Business Information Technology,
• Technical Computer Science / Computer Science,
• Interaction Technology,
• Creative Technology,
• Applied Mathematics.

The ET faculty includes, among others, the Civil Engineering and Industrial Design Engineering programs.

The ATLAS bachelor's program (Technology and Liberal Arts & Sciences) belongs to the university's University College. The master's programs Environmental & Energy Management and Water Technology are taught not in Enschede, but in the city of Leeuwarden, in the province of Friesland.

Prospective master's students are offered a pre-master program — it is available every semester, starting in September and February, comprising approximately 30 credits, and must be completed within one year, with a maximum of two exam attempts per course. Admission to the master's program is only possible upon full completion of the pre-master.

Since the late 1990s, the university has maintained cooperation with Mexican universities, with particularly close ties to Tecnológico de Monterrey (TEC). Active agreements include a student exchange agreement, a Double Degree PhD program agreement, and an agreement on the accelerated master's program in Nanotechnology. Joint research is conducted in the fields of optical sciences, nanotechnology, stem cells, and mesoscale chemistry, including topics related to healthcare and climate.

The partnership with the University of Münster (Germany) is confirmed by a memorandum of understanding signed in 2008, with the first contacts between the universities dating back to 1979 and 1990. Since 2016, the University of Münster has held the status of International Strategic Partner of the university. Active arrangements include a joint professorship agreement and a double degree program — the bachelor's program Public Governance across Borders and the master's program Comparative Public Governance. In total, 88 researchers from the University of Twente have co-authored 167 publications with colleagues from Münster.

The partnership with the University of Waterloo (Canada) is established by a memorandum of understanding signed in 2016. Collaboration takes place at the level of the research institutes MESA+, TechMed, and DSI. 18 researchers from the University of Twente have co-authored 19 highly cited publications with 18 colleagues from Waterloo.

• Only half of the original Cubicus building has survived: the other half was destroyed by a fire in 2002.

The university offers an Honours programme — for the most motivated undergraduate students. Students have access to study abroad programmes and a semester exchange at a partner university.

The university is home to student technical teams Student Teams Twente:

• Solar Team Twente — solar-powered car racing,
• Green Team Twente — designing and building a hydrogen-powered car,
• Electric Superbike Twente — building an electric motorcycle,
• Solar Boat Twente — building boats powered by renewable energy,
• RoboTeam Twente — robotics and artificial intelligence, a joint team with Saxion Hogeschool Enschede,
• Drone Team Twente — competing in international drone competitions,
• Space Society Twente — a student society for space exploration, astronomy, and space engineering.

University students take part in the international competition SensUs — a team-based challenge to develop biosensor systems for diagnosing viral infections.

For all of its activity, the University of Twente is famous for its graduates. Among them, a large number of scientists, researchers, businessmen, politicians, computer scientists, writers, journalists, actors, etc. For example:

• Bas Lansdorp (project manager Mars One, whose goal is the colonization of the Red Planet);
• Anna Theodora Bernardina (Dutch politician);
• Fredrik Teven (retired Dutch politician of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy);
• Johannes Marcell Polman (Dutch politician of the "Democrats 66" party);
• Jacobus Cornelis Haartsen (electrical engineer, researcher, inventor, took part in the development of the Bluetooth specification);
• Dirk-Willem van Gulik (founder of the Apache Software Foundation, author of the Apache Webserver project);
• Albert van den Berg (Dutch physicist);
• Jan Hendrik Butts (Dutch politician, member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy);
• Peter Adrian Flach (computer scientist and professor of artificial intelligence at the Faculty of Computer Science at the University of Bristol);
• Giancarlo Gizardi (Brazilian-Italian programmer, specializing in conceptual modeling).

Famous graduates are so numerous that they can not be listed completely.

The main campus of the institution is territorially located in the park zone of the picturesque Dutch city of Ensked. The University is equipped with everything necessary for comfortable learning and living:

• a sports complex including various fields and grounds for different sports;
• 7 research centers and institutes (Center for Telematics and Information Technology, Institute of Nanotechnology, Institute of Biomedical Technology and Technical Medicine, International Institute of Geo-information and Earth Sciences, Research Institute of Innovation and Management, Institute of Energy and Resources, Research Institute of Social Sciences and Technology);
• Cultural Center;
• dormitory;
• a rich library;
• medical Center;
• cafes and canteens.

University of Twente is a member of such associations as the European University Association, the Conference of the European Schools for Advanced Engineering Education and Research, the European Consortium of Innovative Universities.

To enroll the applicant will need to provide a graduation certificate at the previous place of education. Also a certificate of language proficiency is required (the programs are taught in English).

The University has 5 faculties:

• Behavioral sciences;
• Management and management;
• Technology of mechanical engineering;
• Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science;
• Science and technology.

The undergraduate program has 24 programs, and magistracy - 31. Prior to admission, applicants can take preparatory courses at the university.

The academic year is divided into 2 semesters. In total, the university has about 10,000 students and 850 teachers. Not only local residents, but also foreign citizens (they make up about 21% of the total number of students) can apply for a place.

The cost of studying under the bachelor's program is approximately 12,000 USD per year, and the master's program is 16,000 USD per year. The educational institution participates in the program for the exchange of students and teachers.

• Guardianship services during the studies
• Student supervision