This website presents the Dutch green educational system to international partners and individual students. These partners can be education institutes, government organisations, NGOs or private sector parties.
The website is developed by Groenpact, a unique collaboration between the Dutch green education institutes, the business community, NGOs and governmental organisations, including the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. The main objectives of Groenpact:
- to strengthen the Dutch knowledge and innovation system, for a meaningful contribution to solve the major challenges of our time: food security, water and soil quality, climate change and the loss of biodiversity nationally and globally
- to strengthen the sustainable competitiveness of the Dutch green sector.

Acceleration programme
As part of its international ambitions, Groenpact has initiated the ‘acceleration programme on internationalization of Dutch green education’, focusing on:
- promoting the strategic positioning and visibility of Dutch green education and knowledge partners in Europe and globally
- promoting participation of educational institutes in international cooperation projects and partnerships, preferably in cooperation with private sector parties
- strengthening the quality of Dutch education, practice-oriented research and innovation infrastructure
This will enable Groenpact to keep working on global challenges and to strengthen Dutch economic competitiveness.


Approach
The acceleration programme focuses on ‘speeding up’ with respect to the three abovementioned focus areas. The implementation of the programme is preserved by a Steering Committee (composed of managers of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the different educational institutes and relevant business sectors) and a Coordination Team (composed of representatives of the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, all 14 education institutes and relevant business sectors). The programme is managed on the basis of an annual plan, following priority areas as part of the focus areas.
Initiatives
- The facilitation of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) for cooperation between the Netherlands and other countries with respect to Dutch education, research and innovation
- The organisation of country / regional network sessions for Dutch and foreign education institutes (in close cooperation with the Netherlands Agricultural Network and Dutch embassies).
- The organisation of sessions on international or global themes for staff of Dutch education institutes (masterclasses, training, guest lectures)
- The provision of vouchers to Dutch education institutes (and private sector parties) to facilitate international cooperation and partnerships, sharing information on funding opportunities for cooperation on education, research, innovation
In realizing its international ambitions, Groenpact also seeks synergy and alignment with policy agendas, programmes and financing instruments of the Dutch government, such as the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Do you want to contact one of Groenpact’s partners or do you have a specific question? We’re happy to help.