As a new academic year is upon us, the Netherlands is seeing an increase in the number of international students attending Dutch higher education. However, many universities are still struggling with in-person education because of the coronavirus measures.
According to data from the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND), applications for study permits are back on the rise — reports AD.
Before the pandemic, the annual growth of students from outside the EU was 10%. This increase is caused partly by British students needing to apply for a permit as a result of Brexit.
However, in 2020, the pandemic struck and the number of study permit applications dropped by a whopping 40%. 📉
Increase in numbers
This year, 15,110 applications were received at the end of July. Those are more applications than all of 2020 — when only 12,310 applications were received. 🤯
The IND reports most applications came from China, India, the US, Turkey, and Indonesia.
According to Nuffic — the Dutch organization for internationalisation in education — the most popular study programmes for international students from these countries include:
- 💲 Economics and business.
- 🧠 Social sciences.
- 🛠 Engineering.
- 🎨 Arts and culture.
University measures
Universities no longer have to observe the 1.5-metre distance within faculty buildings. However, students must wear masks in the hallways, and classrooms are limited to a maximum capacity of 75 people. This may be a problem for students from larger study programmes.
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