Afbeelding
“I’ve always liked IT so it was an obvious choice of study, but what drew me to NHL Stenden was the international atmosphere and how broad the programme is. From web development to robotics, you cover everything. And the best part is that it’s not just IT that’s being taught, it’s also the business side of IT, and we work on our improving ourselves as individuals. The programme really lives up to my expectations and continues to impress me every day. I have everything I need. From the ease of access to any resource I need to the openness of the lecturers. If I ever have any issues, I can simply go to a lecturer and ask my question without any shyness or feelings of inferiority. It's very different to what I was used to at school back in Romania. Here it’s more of an equal relationship like you might have with colleagues in a company.”
Practice makes perfect
“The educational concept, design-based education, means for us that about 90% or our learning is through practice. Theory goes hand in hand with practice and for IT this is especially important as it means you get lots of practice so as to be able to grasp certain key aspects of programming. The practice takes place in project form and it’s something I particularly like about the course. Each project takes a whole term, so two months, and is divided into two parts: documentation and development. The first-year projects for IT are carried out with the lecturers so we can get used to the way of working. From the second year on, you work closely with real clients, companies with IT questions. Working with businesses means you are well aware of what’s going on in the field and keeps you up to date with the latest trends.”
Broad network
“One project I did last term was for the Maritime Institute. We researched methods for deterring hackers from spoofing AIS systems (think of AIS as some sort of an advanced GPS for seafaring vessels). If I didn’t attend this university of applied sciences, I probably wouldn’t have worked on a problem like this. I like how diverse the programme is and how broad NHL Stenden’s network is. I’m currently looking into internships and would like to work for an automotive company such as BMW or Tesla. I had quite a few questions and I was able to direct them to actual NHL Stenden alumni who work there. It's helped me fill in a lot of gaps.”
“I’m really enjoying my time at NHL Stenden. The overall atmosphere is pretty chill, you can get great grades if you put in the effort, and everyone is friendly to each other. Each day feels refreshing and even I still keep finding out new things, from extra-curricular activities such as the sports programmes at HBO Sport to being able to rent bikes from the university.”
Find out more about Information Technology on the programme website.