The campaign to recruit 100 teachers received many queries. There is a lot of interest in our great University of Applied Sciences. We are grateful for that. Below are the most frequently asked questions and, of course, the answers.

Teaching qualification

I don't have a teaching qualification yet; can I still apply for a lecturer post?
Yes. To NHL Stenden, expertise in your field of study and communication and social skills are at least as important. If you are willing to obtain the teaching qualification, NHL Stenden will facilitate this.

 What support can I get for developing teaching skills and how long does this take?
During your first six months with us, you will go through a quick start professional development process of a number of half-days. We will take you on a journey through NHL Stenden as a lecturer and you will be given the space to formulate and develop your own learning questions. In addition, you will learn on the job from day 1 and you will also get a buddy within your team. You will often start your didactic course in the following academic year. This takes about 10 months and you will be allowed the time needed for this. It is concluded with a Basic Didactic Skills Qualification (BDSQ).

Can I obtain my teaching qualification within NHL Stenden?
NHL Stenden has developed its own course for the Basic Didactic Competence, fully in line with our educational concept of DBE. You can get your certification from us after successful completion.

Role of the teacher

Do lecturers have a role in landing assignments from the business world?
Yes, one of the roles of a lecturer is that of networker, as a linking pin with the professional field. In line with our educational concept DBE, as a lecturer you are always in contact with the professional fields for which we train and you are aware of relevant issues that should be given a place in our education.

The position you offer is teacher-researcher. To what extent does research play a role in this position?
As a teacher-researcher, you are involved with research in several ways, ranging from stimulating students' research skills and supervising research assignments and graduation to participating yourself in research projects at one of our lectorates.

If I am soon to be a teacher-researcher, will I be expected to publish research on a regular basis?
In the regular lecturer-researcher (B) position this is not yet a requirement. If you specialize more and become a Lecturer Researcher (C) then that can be part of the agreements you make with your supervisor about this. This is then always linked to one of our professorships or research units.

How are the teaching materials created within NHL Stenden? As a teacher, do you develop them yourself or are they made available?
The curriculum of a program is often developed by a team of teachers from the program. This is done on the basis of the intended learning outcomes of the program and the national program profile. Each teacher, of course, develops and updates material for their own classes or workshops and workshops within those frameworks.

How much freedom do you have within your task allocation? Are there fixed hours that you teach and fixed hours that you coach students?
Freedom in the execution of work is something employees at NHL Stenden appreciate. Of course, as a teacher you have to deal with a schedule. Before the start of each academic year/period you indicate your availability for the roster in consultation with your team/team leader. If you also supervise students in their internship or graduation, you plan this yourself in the agreed period.

How is the adequacy of the curriculum tested to ensure a good start in the job market?
A curriculum is developed on the basis of the learning outcomes derived from the national study profile of the program in question. In each domain, there is a regular national review of whether the study profile is sufficiently in line with the labour market.

In addition, all programs have a work field advisory committee that is often actively involved in the development and implementation of education.

What does the sentence mean: at NHL Stenden lecturers do not stand in front of students, but rather next to students?
Our educational concept DBE invites students to do their own research in order to gather knowledge instead of the teacher giving it to them. In this sense, the teacher has been given more of a guiding/coaching role.

How do you, as a teacher, get room to learn and 'innovate'?
Room to learn and innovate are inherent in our educational concept. This is a continuous process because having the courage experiment and make mistakes is not always easy. In our BDB course, reflection on this aspect of being a teacher is essential.

Master’s programme

I don’t have a master’s degree; can I still apply?
Our current lecturers have a completed master's degree or are studying for this. We also expect our new lecturers to have a master’s degree or be willing to follow a master programme. But truth be told: in the event of matching ability, preference will be given to someone with a master's degree.

I don’t have a master’s degree; will I have the time to obtain this while working as a lecturer?
If you are appointed for 5 days a week, approximately 40% of your working week may be spent on your studies. The rest of your time will be spent on your other duties. In addition, we also expect you to work toward your master’s in your spare time.

What is a master's degree and how soon do I have to complete it?
A master’s degree is a university master or a higher professional education master. This is usually completed within 2 to 2.5 years.

Do guest lecturers also need a master’s degree?
Guest lecturers have specialist professional knowledge and/or unique experience in our professional fields. In that case, a master’s degree is not a hard and fast requirement.

Business/teacher combination

Can I become a lecturer in addition to my current job?
For many of our programmes, we are looking for people active in the professional field. NHL Stenden prepares the students for professional practice by means of our unique educational concept. By combining your work and education, you can share your current experiences and developments with them.

In addition to being a lecturer, I would also like to continue working in the professional field. How can that be arranged in terms of hours? Will I be working for NHL Stenden on certain days of the week so that I am available for other work on the other days?
In your employment contract we agree how many days you will work for NHL Stenden. You can then arrange with your team on what fixed days of the week you will be available. That way it is immediately clear which days you will be working at the university of applied sciences and which days you don't! There may, of course, be situations in which you will be needed at other times, but this will always be arranged in mutual consultation.

What is a hybrid teacher?
A hybrid lecturer is a lecturer who combines working in the field or as an entrepreneur with part-time teaching.

Application process

Within what time frame are you looking for new lecturers?
We are constantly looking for new lecturers. Keep an eye on our website and create a job alert to always be the first to know about new vacancies.

Can I submit an unsolicited application?
We are constantly looking for lecturers, so keep an eye on our website for current vacancies and register with the Career Center for a job alert: https://nhlstenden.easycruit.com/career-center/login .

I know that you have received many responses to the open vacancy and the specific vacancies and that your response time is therefore longer than usual. Can you tell me when I will hear something?
In total we have now received more than 1800 applications! We are of course very happy with that, but it does take us much longer than usual before we can inform you about the possibilities. It also means that we have to disappoint people.

If you have sent an open application we will inform you in the coming days and weeks whether you can join a current vacancy or whether we will invite you for a closer look after the summer or whether we have to disappoint you.

You have lots of potential new colleagues. Are there any fields for which you are still looking?
Here (Dutch only) you will find all our current vacancies until the summer! The fields in which we are definitely still looking for people are mainly in the ICT and Creative Technologies domain.

I have been a teacher in secondary education for years. Does it make sense for me to apply?
Secondary education is of course the field of our teacher training programs. We would like to see you there! Do you have experience in (secondary) education as well as in one of our other fields, such as ICT or Technology? Then your application is also welcome!

Are you only looking for hybrid teachers?
No, we are looking for teacher-researchers with a wealth of experience in the fields we teach. Is it a part-time position? In that case being a hybrid teacher is particularly suitable.

 As a new teacher, can I also bring my own expertise?
Please do! One of the reasons we like to work with people from the fields of our programs is that, in addition to their passion for developing aspiring professionals, they are especially happy to bring their knowledge to their new role as teacher-researchers. In this way, you can enrich our curricula.

Employment conditions

How much does a lecturer earn?
You will find more information about this in the relevant vacancies. You can also check out the collective labour agreement for higher professional education for the different salary scales.

You have several locations in the North. Can I choose which location I want to work at?
A vacancy text always states which location is the home base of the particular course.

As a teacher, do I have to work at multiple locations?
We always like our teacher researchers to be flexible and broadly deployable. In consultation, you will work at multiple locations with always a fixed home base. This may change over the years.

What does the induction process for new teachers look like?
We try to guide new teachers as well as possible during their first year. This means that we pay a lot of attention to informing you about who we are, what you can expect from us and what we expect from you. Your buddy, your supervisor, your team (and your students) are important factors in this. From HRM point of view, we offer an information platform, tailored professionalization and we facilitate your introduction to the rest of the organization through an introductory afternoon.

Type of appointment

What is the minimum and maximum number of hours that NHL Stenden can offer?
We have a lower limit of 3 days a week (0.6 FTEs). We believe it is important that, in addition to your lessons, you also have time to connect with your team and continue to develop as a lecturer. Most vacancies that are posted online range between 0.6 and 1.0 FTEs.

 I would like to become a freelance lecturer, without a contract with NHL Stenden. Is that possible?
The vacancies on our website are all for positions at NHL Stenden. You cannot apply for these vacancies as a freelancer.

Do all 100 teachers have long-term prospects of permanent employment? Or do you only recruit to cover this peak now?
We are not only recruiting for the short term, but also structurally in order to be able to absorb the natural outflow of teachers in the coming years. If the two parties mutually agree on a good position, there will certainly be the possibility of a permanent appointment soon.

CV

I have an extensive CV and am of a correspondingly mature age. Can I still apply?
At NHL Stenden we are looking for people who can empathise with students, connect with our professional fields and teach our educational concept DBE. That has nothing to do with age, but all the more with your mindset and personality. We are also committed to being a diverse and inclusive employer. The principle underlying this is the match between the qualities and capabilities of our staff and the needs of the organisation.

I have a foreign diploma. Is this valid in the Netherlands?
Within the European Union guidelines have been drawn up for the mutual recognition of diplomas. You can read all details about this on the Nuffic website.

Webinars

Two webinars were organised in May and June 2021. Working at NHL Stenden' and 'Being a Teacher & Becoming a Teacher' were attended by more than 550 potential colleagues. Watch both webinars here. 

About NHL Stenden

I would like to know more about the different academies. Where can I find this information?
The website www.nhlstenden.com contains a lot of information about our academies and study programmes.

Several institutes in the North are looking for new teachers. Why should I, as a prospective teacher, come and work at NHL Stenden and not, for example, at the Hanzehogeschool?
You can indeed work with students at all universities of applied sciences, but with our educational concept DBE, our international profile and our own way of doing things. We are just that little bit different!

International/language

When will you start recruiting international colleagues?
At the moment there are a few international vacancies, but more opportunities will probably follow after the summer.

I don't speak Dutch, what possibilities are there to become a teacher?
NHL Stenden has several international programs where teaching is in English and the language of instruction is mostly English as well.

Can I work as a researcher if I do not speak Dutch?
This is a possibility in our international programs and lectureships.