Information on the opportunities for international education is disseminated by NUFFIC and by individual institutes offering international courses. Some international educational institutes have specific environmental orientations or courses. Others focus on other issues such as social science, communication and health.

EPCEM is a joint initiative of four Dutch, one French and one Hungarian environmental science department. The postgraduate course takes place at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam and is a one-year, fulltime course preparing experts for environmental problem solving with an interdisciplinary approach and an orientation to policymaking. Its aims are:

1. to strengthen inter-sectoral and international networking and cooperation in the field of environmental policy and management;
2. to enhance environmental expertise in European countries; and
3. to harmonize environmental policy and environmental management in Europe.

The IHS is an independent international institute offering post-graduate education, research and advisory services in the fields of housing, urban management and urban environmental management with the overall objective of improving urban quality and reducing urban poverty. Since its establishment in 1958, the institute has worked in the training of urban professionals from Asia, Africa, Latin America, Central and Eastern Europe. Each year, more than 150 professionals from all over the world take part in one of their diploma courses or master degree programmes. Besides developing and conducting training and education programmes in the Netherlands, IHS is engaged in various advisory and technical assistance projects abroad, for clients like the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the UN and the EU.

The ISS is an international institute of higher education on social and economic change with a focus on development processes. As an international academic agency the ISS accumulates and exchanges knowledge and know-how on human aspects of processes of economic and social change.

The ISS has an extensive teaching programme for mid-career professionals from all over the world. The institute provides internationally acknowledged programmes at masters level, it offers short tailor-made courses and programmes at postgraduate level and has an internationally renowned PhD programme in social, political and economic aspects of development processes. Furthermore the institute provides up to date advisory and consultancy services to NGOs, trade unions, governments and multilateral organisations and it undertakes research in development related subjects. The ISS has a specialised library, which focuses on the social sciences (development studies) with a predominant emphasis on developing countries. The ISS forms a platform for dialogue in a multicultural setting and produces various publications.

The ITC was established in 1950, it is an autonomous organisation operating under the aegis of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, and the Minister for Development Cooperation of the Netherlands and closely linked to Twente University. It is the oldest and largest international higher education institute in the Netherlands, and seeks to promote the sound application of geographical information systems technology through programmes of research, education and project services. The institute aims at capacity building and institutional development, specifically in countries that are economically or technologically less developed. The goal of ITC is to sustain innovative geographical information systems management at a global level. Besides concentrating on geological and geographical observation, the generation of spatial information and on the development of data integration methods, ITC provides tools that can support planning and decision-making processes for sustainable development and the alleviation of poverty in developing countries.

The IRC is an NGO that has been facilitating the sharing, promotion and use of knowledge in the field of water and sanitation since 1968. Its mission is to ensure that governments, professionals and organisations be better able to support underprivileged people in developing countries to obtain water and sanitation services. IRC focuses on three core areas of activity:

1. knowledge sharing - with a multi-lingual information base and specialists in key sector themes advocating for sector development;
2. low-cost publishing and dissemination - with a network of information outlets in developing countries helping other institutions and networks by publishing and disseminating their information at low-cost; and
3. facilitating resource centres in developing countries: helping them to become strong knowledge centres in their own country by supporting institutional and staff development.

The emphasis in the programme activities is placed on community-based approaches in rural and urban water supply and sanitation systems and water resources management. These include community management, hygiene promotion, school sanitation, environmental sanitation, water and livelihoods, participatory monitoring, and cost recovery.

InterWATER is a collaborative effort of the Water Supply and Sanitation Collaborative Council (WSSCC) and IRC. InterWATER offers information about more than 650 organisations and networks in the water supply and sanitation sector, related to developing countries.

MSM’s mission is to enhance the performance of the private and public sectors in facilitating economic development in countries in transition. To this end, MSM's International Projects Department (IPD) systematically merges management education, technical assistance and research. The regular management education programmes (MBA, DBA and PhD) can be seen as complementary, concentrating on technical assistance capability including organisational and institutional development, training capacity development and research and policy advice.

MSM has become a key player in educating and training students, in particular those from developing countries and emerging economies. The School is also involved in carrying out various client and country specific projects, including providing technical assistance and consultancy, training, and research both in the Netherlands and abroad.

Nuffic is a non-profit, professional organisation that was established in 1952. It aims at making education accessible all over the world, especially in countries where educational infrastructure is lagging behind. Education is crucial for fostering global socio-economic development, improving the quality of life, and increasing intercultural understanding. Nuffic strives to be the intermediary between the education community of the Netherlands and the international community.

Nuffic’s main areas of activity are:

1. development cooperation: Nuffic helps to strengthen teaching and research infrastructure in the South by facilitating international cooperation between higher education institutions. It supports national strategies for human capacity building by administering fellowship programmes for study in the North;
2. internationalisation of higher education, with a special emphasis on programmes for international student and staff mobility, and on the internationalisation of curricula that prepare students for professional and academic careers;
3. international credential evaluation: Nuffic facilitates access to national and international education and labour markets by helping to eliminate problems related to the international evaluation and recognition of diplomas and degrees; and
4. marketing of Dutch higher education: Nuffic provides accurate, up-to-date information about Dutch higher education. It promotes foreign participation in Dutch higher education and helps Dutch higher education institutions to compete on the world education market.

The activities of the Indigenous Knowledge (IK)-Unit of Nuffic concentrate on linking local and other forms of knowledge. Nuffic publishes a newsletter (the Indigenous Knowledge WorldWide; IKWW) and maintains an electronic communication network (see www.nuffic.nl/ik-pages). Nuffic has created an interactive platform for the exchange of information on IK. At the moment Nuffic collaborates with several external organisations (e.g. the World Bank and Unesco) within the field of IK on a consultancy basis.

The KIT is an independent centre of knowledge and expertise in the areas of international and intercultural cooperation. The aims of the institute are to contribute to sustainable development, poverty alleviation, and cultural preservation and exchange. Within the Netherlands, it seeks to promote interest in and support for these issues.

KIT conducts research, organises training activities, and provides consultancy and information services. Central to its approach is the elaboration of practical expertise in policy development and implementation. A key objective underlying of the Institute's work is to enhance and exchange knowledge of and understanding for different cultures. KIT is an NGO that works for both the public and the private sector in collaboration with partners in the Netherlands and abroad.

The KIT Information & Library Services offer a large collection of scientific and popular books, periodicals, articles and maps concerning developing countries. It also cooperates with partners in the South with the aim of contributing to capacity building in information technology and information management. Finally, KIT Publishers facilitates the transfer of knowledge that emerges from KIT activities and projects.

The SENSE Research School for Socio-Economic and Natural Sciences of the Environment is a joint venture of the environmental research institutes of eight Dutch universities. The scientific mission of the school is to promote an integrated understanding of environmental change in terms of the mechanisms that cause it and the consequences that result from it. To fulfil this mission, the combined programmes of research and education within SENSE are aimed at the development and further improvement of scientific concepts and methods that are required for an effective disciplinary and multidisciplinary understanding of environmental change. Research and education in SENSE are dedicated to developing high quality scientific results that may be applied to practically and critically inform environmental policy perspectives.

UNESCO-IHE is dedicated to scientific research, postgraduate education and training in the fields of water, the environment and infrastructure. The institute is a globally active partner in action in the developing countries, through solution-oriented research, education and capacity building operations.

The institute has teams of specialists in the following departments: Water Engineering, Environmental Resources, Management & Institutions, Municipal Infrastructure, and Hydro Informatics & Knowledge Management.

Clients include multilateral agencies, national governments, bilateral donor agencies, sectoral associations, sectoral ministries and universities. UNESCO-IHE's target group for its courses are mid-career and senior professionals and decision-makers aiming for higher performance levels in engineering, science and technical-management.

Wageningen University and Research Centre (Wageningen UR) has joined its forces in the international field by setting up Wageningen International. Furthermore the services of the International Agricultural Centre (IAC) and the North-South Centre have been merged into the new organization. Wageningen International therefore has become the front office for the international activities of Wageningen UR. It offers easy access to all international products and services of Wageningen UR, covering education, research, capacity development and consultancy services.

Wageningen International has the specific mandate to mobilize the resources of Wageningen UR for the design and implementation of comprehensive programmes for capacity development focused on individuals, organizations and institutions. We offer the following services: technical and process advisory services; open access and tailormade mid-career training programmes; web-based resource portals and on-line learning; policy and sector studies; monitoring and evaluation; project cycle management; and information and knowledge management.

Wageningen International also acts as the Netherlands’ clearinghouse for Agricultural Research & Development profile in Web-based Information System for Agricultural Research for Development (WISARD). WISARD is an information system focusing on organisations, projects, project outputs and technologies in the field of agricultural and rural development and natural resources management.

 

You may contact Wageningen International with your queries, and you will be provided with relevant information and/or brought into contact with the relevant professionals. Where significant, Wageningen International will facilitate integrated and multi-disciplinary approaches.

 

Wageningen International

Lawickse Allee 11

P.O.Box 88

6700 AB Wageningen

The Netherlands

 

Tel. +31 (0)317- 495495

Fax.+31 (0)317- 495395

 

e-mail: info.wi@wur.nl

 

Website: www.wi.wur.nl

 

 

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