‘Red Carpet’ project kicks off
15 Dec 2010
International students who respond to the call to ‘Study in Holland’ often find themselves facing lengthy and complex procedures before finally being able to start their studies in the Netherlands. Sometimes the obstacles even prove too much. The ‘Red Carpet’ programme, set up with financial support from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, seeks to eliminate this problem.
The scheme aims to guide international students through the rules surrounding registration and the issue of residence permits in a clear and structured way, whilst at the same time identifying – and eliminating – all sorts of unintended obstacles. That includes the administrative loops in which students get stuck, for example in instances where they have to provide a Dutch citizen service number that they don’t have.
The Red Carpet project will kick off in January 2011 and is expected to conclude at the end of 2011. It is a multifaceted and extremely meticulous undertaking, requiring a step-by-step approach and the greatest possible care. After all, if information is not completely accurate or up-to-date, it will be the end users who pay the price. Nuffic Director-General Sander van den Eijnden explains the background of the project below.
No roadmap
According to Van den Eijnden, "Some three years ago, we asked Frits Grondsveld of Verdonck Klooster & Associates to document the administrative procedures that students have to go through in order to study in the Netherlands. It turned out to be a long and complicated process. There wasn’t even a single, clear guide on how to register and get a residence permit for study purposes.
In short, there was no roadmap. And that’s not all. Many websites were found to contain outdated, incomplete and incorrect information. There was lots of overlap, as well as gaps in critical data. Basically, everyone had their own way of doing things – and that wasn’t doing anyone any good in terms of the bigger picture.
For Nuffic, all this formed the incentive to convene a group of implementing organizations, namely: the IND (the Immigration and Naturalization Service), DUO (the Education Executive Agency), the SURF foundation, Studielink and Studiekeuze123. These parties agreed to our proposal to create unity and coherence in the information we provide.
We then approached the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science about submitting a proposal for a project centring on student registration that would be something along the lines of the Dutch Tax Administration’s campaign ‘we can’t make it fun, but we can make it easier'.
The ministry approved the idea, provided we got the research universities and universities of applied sciences on board, too. Having managed to do that, we were able to initiate the ‘Red Carpet’ steering committee."
Thinking ahead
Though the project has yet to kick off, the project committee is already thinking a few steps ahead. "We may even be able to go beyond simple information provision", says Van den Eijnden. "For example, why not all sit down together and set up a scheme enabling foreign students to get a public transport pass or arrange for housing before they set out for the Netherlands?"
Look for updates about the Red Carpet project in upcoming editions of the Nuffic News. Once the project gets started in January 2011, we will also be posting information on our website.