Dutch educational system

The Netherlands is a worldwide leader in the green sector. The sector builds on a renowned green knowledge and innovation system, which includes 14 green educational institutes. These institutes play a key role in the development of qualified human resources for the many specialized domains of the highly internationalized sector.

Public-private collaboration

The Dutch green educational system is characterized by a unique, strong public-private collaboration between education, research, green businesses and policy. This cooperation is strongly supported by the public-private network organisation Groenpact (‘Green Pact’), initiated in 2016.

The aims of Groenpact:

a strong Dutch knowledge and innovation system
a contribution to solving the major challenges of our time
a strong and competitive Dutch green sector

Interactive levels of education

Another important asset is the strong connection between the different levels of the educational system, and the opportunities for students to enter a next level of education.
Dutch green education institutes also have a strong international orientation, following the ambitions of the sector.

This is reflected in:

the high quality of their internationally oriented curriculum
the number of courses offered in English
their involvement in international educational cooperation programs, training professionals from abroad, and international research collaboration
the number of Dutch students going abroad and foreign students coming to the Netherlands for study and internships

For more information on the Dutch educational system, see a short video (Study in Holland’ in 100 seconds – YouTube’).

Different education levels

The Dutch green educational system represents different levels and related institutions. Students can study agricultural and other green subjects, such as agriculture, food production, horticulture, nature and environment. Levels range from (pre-) secondary vocational education and training (VET) up to university level.

In the Netherlands, green education is primarily offered at:

9 institutes for secondary vocational education and training (VET) (in Dutch: MBO) – offering vocational education and training (EQF levels 2-4)
4 universities of applied sciences (in Dutch: HBO) – offering higher professional education (EQF levels 5-7)
1 research university (in Dutch: WO) – offering academic education (EQF levels 6-8)