Tulips, Guus Hiddink and joint master programmes

In the year 1612 Peter Stuyvesant was born, Matthias of Austria became the new emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and in the Battle of Swally the British defeated Portugal. Also in 1612 Cornelis Haga arrived in Constantinople to become the first Dutch ambassador to the Ottoman Empire.

So the year 2012 marks the anniversary of 400 years of diplomatic relations between Turkey and the Netherlands. Guus Hiddink’s tenure as Turkey’s national coach wasn’t as successful as the introduction of the tulip in the Netherlands in the late 16^th century, but the relationship between the two states is still going strong.

The year 2012 brings a range of activities to celebrate this. Several cultural activities, for instance exhibitions with important pieces from both countries, trade missions and mutual state visits. Also in the field of education several activities are planned.
  

Education cooperation between Turkey and the Netherlands

Nuffic’s publication Mapping mobility 2011(2.0 MB) shows that Turkey is in the top 10 countries of origin of foreign students in the Netherlands. Approximately 1,400 Turkish students studied in the Netherlands in the academic year 2010-2011, more than the number of students from the UK or the former Dutch colonies Suriname and Indonesia. Dutch students are also finding their way to Turkey: with about 250 students Turkey is the 17^th most popular destination of Dutch students.

The trend for inbound degree mobility from Turkey is positive: from about 500 in 2006 to more than a thousand in 2010. Most popular subjects for these students are Economics, Engineering and Behaviour & Society.

Since 2004 Turkey has been taking part in the European Erasmus Programme. By now, Turkey ranks 8^th in the most popular destination country for work placements, and is number 10 on the list for study mobility.

Several Turkish universities have cooperation agreements with Dutch institutions. For example, Bilkent University in Ankara runs two joint master programmes with Tilburg University and the Middle East Technical University works together with Delft University of Technology.
 

Strengthening the bonds

During the year, several Dutch organisations will devote extra attention to the cooperation between the Netherlands and Turkey, coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Activities in the field of (higher) education can be found on the website of the Netherlands Institute for Higher Education in Ankara (NIHA).

This year Nuffic will also focus on higher education in Turkey during events like the Annual Conference in March and in publications.