A guide for International Students in the Netherlands (Holland)

A guide to student groups

Networking, faculty organisations, sporting clubs and socialising. This guide from the Holland Handbook has got it all.

Not many Dutch institutes of higher education have a campus whose atmosphere is created by the fraternities/sororities and student organisations.
But this does not mean to say that student organisations do not influence the atmosphere in these student towns.

Young students become a member of these organisations to find a network, particularly for extracurricular activities and socialising.

Every student town has several student organizations that do or do not have their own buildings and that have their own traditions, rules, atmosphere and culture.

Their great advantage is that you meet many new people in a short period of time and their buildings are a regular place to visit when socialising. This is where their members meet to party or to have a drink with their fellow-students.

But becoming a member often includes going through hazing.

This costs a lot of time, particularly with the so-called Student Corps, where it can take weeks or even months before you are officially a member.

If you are not going to be here long, you might prefer to check out the smaller student organisations that do not have any hazing traditions, or only a short one.

These are often organisations that have been founded by the institutes of higher education themselves, but they are also organisations that are focused around a sport, religion or other common interest.

It would be virtually impossible to list them all here, but you can visit the following website: www.clublink.org for an overview of all the student organisations per city and most international student organisations.

And of course, you can ask anyone at your institute of higher education.

Social groups v. faculty organisations

Aside from the so-called free time organisations (gezelligheidsverenigingen), there are the so-called faculty organisations (studieverenigingen).

Faculty groups also organise many activities, but related to the subject of your studies.

They organise lectures, workshops and, for instance, the sale of text books at a reduced price.

These are faculty-based and can be found via the institute of higher education. They are definitely worth visiting, as they allow you to meet many people for help and advice.

And last but not least, there are a few national and international student organisations that can help you find work placements and temporary jobs as well as fun and interesting activities.

The most important ones are AEGEE and AIESEC.

AEGEE is a general European student organization, while AIESEC is an international organisation for students studying economics.

They can both be found in Amsterdam, by ringing 020 525 24 96.

They have their own web sites as well such as www.aiesec.nl and AEGEE can be found via www.clublink.org

Sports for students

Many sports options are available for students.

All student towns have facilities for the more popular sports, which are sometimes a part of the regular sports organisation.

Unfortunately, sport life in the Netherlands is not at all comparable to that in the US, for instance, where students get to make free use of the facilities or even receive a scholarship if they are a member of a particular sports team.

The Dutch student sports organisations are more focused on sporting together and are less concerned about competition. Membership is often not expensive, keeping it affordable.

One of the most important and more competitive student sports in the Netherlands is rowing.

Most Dutch rowing clubs are student clubs, either affiliated with the larger student organisations, or independent.

Many students take up this sport during their first year and stop after graduating.

Its main event is the Varsity, a huge rowing tournament to which the larger student rowing clubs send their best teams to compete.

While the competition proceeds, thousands of students sit and stand by the water to watch, picnic, drink and party - a party which is continued in the building of the student organisation of the winning team of the so-called Old Four Race.

But there is also soccer, rugby, tennis and more.

You can find out more about these sports and their organisations at your faculty or you can visit the web site of the Dutch Students' Sports Foundation (Nederlandse Studenten Sport Vereniging or NSSS), which represents the interests of student sports.

Many student sport organisations are a member of NSSS, which also organises national and regional sporting events and Dutch student championships. Its website is www.nsss.nl

A night out on the town

Enough about sports.

Being fit is not worth much if you cannot enjoy it.

Going out is an important, if not the most important, aspect of student life.

So where do you go?

Some of the Dutch student towns are the largest towns/cities in the Netherlands and have enough to offer in terms of cafés, restaurants, discos and other places.

The answer to the question of where to go is obvious: wherever you want.

This is still the central theme of student life: finding and determining your identity, acting accordingly and doing exactly what you want, exactly where you want to do it.

Still, the most fun would be to go where you can find other students and where things are not too expensive.

Luckily, there are many student cafés and restaurants and designated student cafeterias, where, at little cost, you can buy a meal.

But don't overlook the (student) "eat cafés", which have a pleasant atmosphere and cheap food.

Go out and investigate, and ask others what they recommend.

This search alone is already half the fun.

( http://www.expatica.com/actual/article.asp?subchannel_id=72&story_id=585 )

Web Links:

Netherlands Organisation for International Cooperation in Higher Education:

www.nuffic.nl

Ministry of Education, Culture and Science:

www.minocw.nl/english

Association of Universities in Netherlands:

www.vsnu.nl

Statistics for Netherlands:

www.cbs.nl/en-GB/default.htm