Understanding Society

Inspirational learning and working environment

With its picturesque grounds, semi-rural setting and compact layout, Tilburg University is a particularly welcoming and collegial campus. Each of the university’s 15 buildings are walking distance from each other, making it easy to stroll between the library or a cafe to an allocated lecture theatre. A friendly and communal atmosphere pervades, with informal socialising taking place in campus cafes, lunchrooms and other social corners. We're proud of our recently renovated Cobbenhagen building, built in 1962, a monument.

An intellectual hub
At Tilburg University, all students and staff are encouraged to engage in intellectual reflection of academic concepts as well as the topical issues affecting the world at large. Weekly lectures, discussions, exhibitions, cultural workshops, concerts and drama productions are held on campus by the Studium Generale. These events are free of charge and open to the general public. The university’s Centre for Science and Values organises regular symposiums and seminars for students, staff and interested members of the public on the role of religion and values today – actively engaging people in this important societal debate.

Encouraging enterprise and entrepreneurship
Tilburg University encourages independent enterprise which makes use of the knowledge available at the university is facilitated and supported by Tilburg University. Our Enterprise Centre offers office space, funding, and professional support services for all Tilburg start-ups – including the opportunity to gain invaluable tips and knowledge from other entrepreneurs. A 'Starterslift' scheme helps new companies bring their products and services to the market. Two new enterprises were introduced to the region by the Enterprise Centre in 2009 – VirtualConcepts and Qurious. Tilburg University also joined forces with the Eindhoven University of Technology to establish the Brabant Centre of Entrepreneurship, a venture that focuses on developing the skills necessary to launch a successful business.

Library and ICT facilities
The University Library at Tilburg University is a truly state-of-the-art facility – even more so after its 2009 renovation. No less than one thousand study spaces are available at the library, 500 equipped with flat screen computers. Students and staff have digital access on and off campus to over 11,000 electronic journals and 125 databases. There is an inter-library loans service, a learning forum for group work, learning resource centre, and ICT Learning Centre. The latest in digital media and ICT solutions are available at Tilburg University. Students and staff are given free Internet access and an individual email account. The campus has three internet cafes with a total of 70 computers, e-learning centres, and a wireless (WiFi) network that provides internet access from virtually anywhere on campus. Students and staff can make use of the computers located in the library, or the 400 computers located in different buildings around campus.

World-class Sports Centre
Ranked the best sports centre in the Netherlands by students, the Tilburg University sports centre caters to every type of indoor and outdoor sports. It’s open daily for students and staff and located a short walk from campus. 45 different sports are on offer including aerobics, darts, diving, golf, pilates, rock climbing, spinning classes, squash, steps, surfing, table tennis, tennis, thai chi and yoga. The university actively supports traditional 'student sports' such as hockey and rowing. Special facilities are also available to students who practise sport at a (semi) professional or national level. This support has paid off: last year the light men's eight of the student rowing club Vidar won gold at the world championships in Lucerne. Two Tilburg University students were among the national crew who achieved third place in the 2009 world championships in Poznan.

Tilburg – an idyllic university town with a business heart
Tilburg is an idyllic university town. Surrounded on all sides by woods and scenic areas, Tilburg is also a 'green' city, awarded the most environmentally sustainable city in the Netherlands. With two major universities and a Rock Academy, Tilburg is home to no less than 30,000 students. Named one of the fastest growing economic regions in the Netherlands, local employment prospects in the area are promising. Over 7,600 companies are based or headquartered in the region, including multinationals Fuji, Sony, Coca Cola, IFF and Iris Ohyama.

Tilburg is the sixth largest city in the Netherlands, with a population of 200,000 inhabitants. Situated just ten kilometres from the Belgian border, it is a short hop by train or car from major European capitals including London, Amsterdam, Paris and Cologne, and right between the two seats of international and European law – the Hague, and Brussels.

A richly historic town with a young, cosmopolitan heart, Tilburg has something for everyone. Students and staff can spend time in any of the city’s one hundred cafes, watch a match at the soccer stadium, visit a gallery or De Pont Museum of Contemporary Art, take in a film, visit the Pop Centre 013, attend a concert at the Tilberg Concert Hall, or spend a day at one of the many amusement parks. All year long the city hosts festivals including the Festival Mundial (world music), City Sounds (Free Dance Festival), the Tilburg Wine City, the Festipet Street Theatre, Culinary Tilburg, the Tilburg Kermis (the largest fun fair in the Benelux) and the Tilburg Ten Miles Run.

Just outside the city are areas of outstanding natural beauty. They include National Park ‘De Loonse en Drunense Duinen’ and the Oude Warande, the last surviving example in the Netherlands of the Baroque star-shaped park design.

When it comes to making the Netherlands home, international students and staff discover a country whose legacy of global trade and tolerance of different cultures makes settling in particularly easy – one of the reasons why the country is home today to no less than 160 different nationalities. The Netherlands ranks 6th in the world for quality of life.

Excellence in education and research
Higher education in the Netherlands has reputation worldwide for quality. Quick to reflect the changes in global educational requirements, the Netherlands was the first non-English-speaking country to offer courses taught in English. Today, around 1,500 international study programmes are offered by Dutch higher education institutions.

An open, dialogue-driven approach is the hallmark of teaching methods at the higher education level. Students debate ideas in class and work in teams on projects, learning the critical skills of cross-cultural communication, cooperation and leadership. Dutch researchers are among the most prolific and widely-cited in the world. 18 Nobel Prize winners are from the Netherlands.

Gateway to Europe
With Europe's largest commercial port and a location in the heart of Western Europe, the Netherlands is widely considered the 'gateway to Europe' – a main entry point into the continent's economic and legal centre.

An excellent infrastructure, high-speed train network, and numerous international airports make travelling in and out of the Netherlands particularly easy. Europe's major financial centres London and Frankfurt, the stunning city of Paris, and the seat of its international and European governing bodies, Brussels, are all a high-speed train journey away. The Netherlands is also home to the centre of international and European public law, situated in the city of the Hague.

The Netherlands – a booming economy
The Netherlands is the 16th largest economy in the world and one of Europe’s most competitive. Progressive, technologically-advanced and globally-oriented, it is among the world’s most prosperous countries, with advanced industries, agriculture and a prominent role in world trade. The Netherlands is the world’s 8th largest exporter, and home to many of the world's most successful multinational companies including Philips, Shell, and Unilever.

International working environment
Dealing with foreigners has always been part of daily life for the Dutch, and continues to be. Today the Netherlands is one of the most multicultural countries in Europe – and the country where English is more widely spoken than anywhere else in continental Europe.

International students looking for positions in the Netherlands can expect to find a multilingual working environment, and a host of international companies in the region who have chosen the Netherlands for their headquarters and are looking for internationally-minded recruits for their organisation.