The attendees were all alumni who studied in the Netherlands. After attending the two-day Holland Alumni Conference on 26 and 27 May, each of them received a certificate and are now equipped to promote Dutch higher education within their own communities.

The Holland Alumni Conference was organised by Nuffic, with the support of Agentschap NL-EVD, in response to a request from the Ministries of Education, Culture & Science and Foreign Affairs. Jozias van Aartsen, Mayor of The Hague and former minister of Foreign Affairs, opened the conference. The two keynote speakers were Guusje ter Horst, chairperson of the HBO-Raad (Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences), and Sijbolt Noorda, president of the VSNU (Association of Universities in the Netherlands).

Around 76,000 international students study in the Netherlands every year. The length of their stay varies from a few weeks for a specialist course to several years for a full higher education programme. During their stay these students are acquainted with higher education and research in the Netherlands and also, in many cases, with leading sectors of Dutch industry, which is keen to attract foreign students for trainee posts. After returning to their home countries these graduates can still make an important contribution to Dutch business as either customers or employees of Dutch companies abroad.

Many countries have a long tradition of using their alumni as knowledge ambassadors. Almost without exception, international alumni of Dutch higher education have pleasant memories of the time they spent in the Netherlands as students. They got to know the Netherlands as a hospitable and internationally oriented country with a fascinating research culture, and tend to be eager to tell the people at home about their experiences. The alumni network formed by these knowledge ambassadors will offer the Netherlands a significant new instrument for promoting itself in the rest of the world.

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