Saxion University

Saxion University is located in the East of the Netherlands on three campuses, in the old Dutch cities of Deventer, Enschede and Apeldoorn. Saxion University of Applied Sciences were established through a merger of Hogeschool Enschede and Hogeschool IJselland at the beginning of 1998. Its legal predecessors date back to the early 1900's. Saxion University is registered as a public funded university of applied science, in legal terms Saxion University is established as a Foundation under Dutch law.

Saxion University of Applied Sciences offers a range of Bachelor programs, Master programs, certificate short courses and preparatory courses of intensive English, attracting a student population of approximately 22,000 students, mostly from the eastern region of the Netherlands. The international student population amounts to approximately 2,000. The educational offer is fully subject to all government quality assurance mechanisms. Experience and scale combine to makes Saxion University a strong and active education provider, not only in the Netherlands but also overseas.

International education programs were started in the 1990s, with a current set of business, technical and environmental courses at Bachelor and Master levels. International programs are taught in English and comprise mostly business, technical and environmental studies. International students number about 2,000, following both Bachelor and Master programs in 22 different pathways.

Next to the educational programs Saxion has six research centers through which applied research is being conducted. Research is mostly commissioned by business, governments and subsidy programs. Spatial planning and sustainable development are important areas of research within Saxion, especially the Centre for Urban and Environmental Development. The main focus of the work is both on the content of sustainable strategies as on the question how effective collaborative arrangements can be designed to create sustainable societies.

The Centre for Urban and Environmental Development is mainly involved in WP3 of the SURF project. Its contribution is focused on two themes:

• Spatial planning, including participation and bottom-up collaboration
• Competitiveness
  
  

Both themes are studied within the context of sustainable development as an integrated concept.