Barnabás Süle

“I was browsing the NHL Stenden website when I saw that there was an Open Day in just a few weeks’ time. I was quite excited about it and asked a friend who was already studying here if it was worth the trip all the way from Hungary to Leeuwarden. She said yes, 100%. So I did – and I loved it!”  

How things really work 

“Looking back, the impression I got back then on the Open Day still holds up. Apart from the fact that I was impressed by how modern the campus looked, I was also introduced to the hands-on, learning-by-doing approach and that’s exactly what I’m experiencing now. I still think about the presentations I went to about the classes we’d be taking on the course and the insights from students who already had their own companies. I was interested in all the classes, from personal and professional development to e-commerce, and it made me feel like I really was in the right place. And then when the students shared their experiences about what it's like to balance running a business while studying, it showed me that NHL Stenden was serious about encouraging us to pursue our passions. It was a glimpse of what was possible if I chose to study here. The good thing is that what I saw during the Open Day wasn’t just for show. It’s how things actually work here and that’s been awesome to realize!” 

Hands-on learning 

“I grew up surrounded by entrepreneurship and wasn’t really interested in studying at first. I just wanted to set up my own company, earn my own money and be an entrepreneur. Finding an entrepreneurship course that was taught in English and that was very hands-on changed that. We’re not just sitting in classrooms learning theories; we’re actively solving real-world problems and working on practical projects. For entrepreneurship, that’s really important. After all, you can’t start a successful business just by reading books. You need to get out there and do things. NHL Stenden is giving me those opportunities, and it’s giving me the skills and experience I need to actually turn my ideas into something real.” 

“Even in the very first week, we had to come up with a business idea as a team. The nice thing is that our idea was such a success, we won a competition with it. Even now, the programme really pushes us to come up with business ideas and create real plans around them. The lecturers have a big part in making this experience educational and valuable and they’re always helpful, positive and open to our questions. We’ve also got a good mix of nationalities in our class and working with people from so many different countries really adds to the learning experience. Of course, we’re still young and learning how to communicate and give feedback respectfully, so conflicts do sometimes come up during group work. It’s a learning curve though, right?”