All MBO, higher professional and university students treated equally
Groups of students wearing shirts from Fontys, Summa, SintLucas, De Rooi Pannen, Design Academy and TU/e are dancing and chatting together on Stadhuisplein in Eindhoven. At first glance, the Vibes Festival during introduction week mainly looks like an enjoyable day out. But for MBO education professionals and the Municipality of Eindhoven, the presence of MBO students means much more than that. It is one of the successful initiatives aimed at recognising and appreciating MBO students – a goal they have been working towards for almost three years through the ‘Samen voor het mbo’ action plan.
The idea for the action plan arose several years ago following an incident in Utrecht, explains Alide van der Poel, Programme Manager External Relations at SintLucas. ‘During introduction weeks there, MBO students were refused entry to cafés that were reserved for higher professional and university students. That made us wonder: what is the situation like in Eindhoven? We found that MBO education deserved greater recognition here too. And we discovered that the position of MBO students in student life was not yet equal to that of students in higher professional and university education.’
The region’s MBO institutions joined forces with the Municipality of Eindhoven and developed an internship pact and quality agendas. This led to the MBO action plan. The goal? Equal treatment of students, regardless of their level of education. At the same time, the plan aims to make the importance of MBO education and appreciation for it more visible.
Reporting point and discounts
Over the past two and a half years, several activities and initiatives have therefore been introduced. Facilities and additional benefits for MBO students have been brought more in line with those available to higher professional and university students. One example is the discounts at shops, cafés and cultural institutions that Summa students can now access with their student card. ‘The intention is to roll this out to all MBO students in Eindhoven,’ says Joyce Meulepas, Project Manager Equal Opportunities at Summa.For the past two and a half years, there has also been a pilot allowing MBO students to use all sports facilities in the city at the standard student rate. Awareness of the scheme still needs to grow, however. ‘We have already devoted a great deal of attention to it and are seeing participation increase. But we have noticed that word of mouth works best. Now that the pilot group is sharing their experiences with fellow students, more and more MBO students are becoming aware of it,’ says Joyce. As part of the internship pact, every MBO institution has also introduced a reporting point for internship discrimination and misconduct. ‘Students can easily report issues here, for example if they are being asked to carry out tasks other than those they were taken on to do as an intern. We want them to be given work that is relevant to what they are studying.’
A fully recognised student
In addition to creating more equal treatment between students, there is another challenge: improving the image of MBO education. A survey of hundreds of MBO students in Eindhoven showed that the vast majority felt discriminated against and believed they were judged and treated differently from higher professional and university students. Alide: ‘More than ninety per cent of respondents felt this way. MBO students are not always regarded as fully recognised students.’ Brainport Development therefore launched a campaign encouraging parents to focus on their child’s talent rather than automatically assuming that higher education is better. ‘MBO professions are incredibly important to our society. Particularly here in the Brainport region, we need skilled professionals to make all these technological innovations possible,’ says Alide. To communicate that message clearly, the various MBO institutions have launched initiatives such as the MBO Café and the Crafted Festival. ‘Through these initiatives, we want to increase recognition of the strength of MBO education, enthusiasm for vocational education and talent development. And we want to show the opportunities it offers for the future.’
Student debate
The voices of MBO students are now also being heard more clearly. This was evident during the student debate last February, when local politicians spoke with students from MBO, higher professional and university education. ‘It was a great success,’ says Michel Moolenaar, Director of Campus Eindhoven at De Rooi Pannen. ‘The room was full, and half of those attending were MBO students. It is so important to hear their voices and understand the challenges they face.’ Were they nervous about speaking up? ‘I don’t think so. Sometimes we underestimate what our students are capable of. They are willing to speak up, although occasionally they need a little encouragement. Or some help adding nuance to how they express themselves, but that is all part of learning too,’ says Michel.
Cohesion
In the coming period, the MBO institutions want to roll out successful pilots, such as the discounted sports card, more widely. Above all, they want to reach more students and motivate them to participate in activities. One example is the Vibes Festival. And things are already moving in the right direction. At this third edition of the annual introduction festival, many more MBO students are taking part. ‘If we look at the number of Summa students participating in the festival alone, we have grown from 300 to 2,000 and now to 5,000 in three years,’ says Joyce. One of the benefits is that students get to know other students beyond the boundaries of their own educational institution. ‘They go outside as a class, then it becomes a school, and then it becomes a city,’ Michel says with a smile. ‘You can feel the cohesion emerging here. Suddenly, you see that Eindhoven really is a student city. It is almost as if the city becomes a few years younger on the day of the festival.’
Mindset
Collaboration between educational institutions and different levels of education is also increasingly taking shape. Joyce gives an example. ‘Summa is in discussions about how our students could participate in BOOST student teams, and how this could be structurally embedded in education.’ Alide has noticed a shift in mindset. ‘I increasingly see an understanding that a team works best when you bring different disciplines together: a practically minded student alongside a theoretically minded one.’ She hopes to see this change in mindset spread throughout society as well. ‘If you state on a dating app that you are an MBO student, you might simply be ignored. There is still a real hierarchy in the way people view the world.’ That is precisely what this action plan is intended to address. ‘In an ideal world, we would not need an action plan at all,’ says Michel. ‘The fact that we still need one says something about the position MBO students are currently in. So there is still work to be done.’
Importance to the Municipality of Eindhoven
Ralph Wierts, Project Manager & Programme Manager Education & Labour Market at the Municipality of Eindhoven:
‘MBO education is vital to Eindhoven. Our city has a major need for well-trained and passionate skilled professionals. At the same time, we want to give MBO students the space to develop their talents and find their place in the city.
Through the action plan, we have invested in recent years in issues that require a joint approach, such as the image of MBO education, collaboration between education sectors and positioning Eindhoven as a student city. We deliberately do this together, because together we can achieve more than we can individually.
For the municipality, it is important that Eindhoven is an attractive student city, including for MBO students. We want to attract young people to our city to study and give them the opportunity to develop their talents further. We also hope that they will continue to live and work in Eindhoven after completing their studies, so that their knowledge and talent remain in the city.
We consider all students in the city equally important, whether they are studying at MBO, higher professional or university level. We therefore want to offer MBO students a full student experience too, in a way that reflects their wishes and needs.
We also see every day how people from different backgrounds strengthen one another in the workplace. We believe that students from MBO, higher professional and university education can also learn a great deal from one another during their studies.
Collaborating, conducting research and meeting one another helps them discover new perspectives. Moreover, these encounters contribute to stronger connections between students from different backgrounds.’
Importance to Brainport Eindhoven
Lianne van den Wittenboer, Programme Manager MBO-HBO-WO at Brainport Development:
‘Brainport Eindhoven is a leading technology region. We do not just develop smart innovations here; we actually make them too. It is precisely this combination of intellectual expertise and skilled craftsmanship that makes our region strong.
MBO education trains the skilled professionals who ultimately make all these innovations possible: the makers of our region. And demand for these professionals continues to grow.
That demand is partly driven by demographic developments, but there are other factors too. The image of MBO education continues to lag behind. The idea that being “more highly educated” automatically means “better” remains deeply ingrained. International enrolment in MBO education is also difficult because of legislation and regulations, while young people often choose programmes outside technology and engineering.
If we want to maintain Brainport’s strength and growth, we need to invest explicitly in MBO education and in greater appreciation for skilled craftsmanship. The best way to do that is together. This allows us to tell one strong, recognisable story about the opportunities offered by MBO education and technical craftsmanship.
From Brainport, we help make that shared story visible and take it further. Not only for the MBO institutions in Eindhoven, but for the entire Brainport region.Ultimately, we all share the same interest: ensuring there are enough skilled professionals, now and in the future, to build the future of this region.’