On Thursday 28th of June, Robert Schuddeboom, Consul-General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Hong Kong, will officially welcome the Netherlands-Asia Honours Summer School (NAHSS) in Hong Kong. The NAHSS is an unique cooperation between thirteen Dutch universities, government ministries, the Dutch private sector and Hong Kong counterparts. Thirty Dutch top students will be connected to a student-buddy from the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK). They will follow a four-week summer course at CUHK before they have a Business Week in Shanghai. The Summer School builds on Asia’s increasing importance and the urgency of acting together immediately to benefit from this region’s growth.
The Netherlands-Asia Honours Summer School offers students the opportunity to learn more about business and culture in Asia. During the four weeks in Hong Kong, students will follow a variety of courses at the CUHK, and work on case studies to come up with recommendations to further improve cooperation. The students have been carefully selected from Dutch universities by a committee consisting of senior executives of Utrecht University, Delft University of Technology, Social and Economic Council of the Netherlands (SER), AkzoNobel and McKinsey.
Pioneering programme
Professor Jack Cheng, CUHK’s Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Vice-President: “This is a pioneering programme in which 13 top universities in the Netherlands have selected the best 30 students to study in Asia in the summer and learn about Asian and Chinese culture. CUHK is proud and privileged to be the hosting university to receive this prestigious group of students. This programme offers the Dutch students the opportunity to immerse themselves in a multicultural environment, gain insights into Asian and Chinese cultures and experience an unique learning environment with some 600 international participants. On top of that, through the buddy scheme and the summer networking events they develop cross-cultural friendships for lifetime with CUHK students.”
Opening reception on June 28
“In addition to my experience as an intern at the UN office in Beijing, this summer course will give me a more practical perspective, an insight in the Asian private sector and a taste of Hong Kong and Shanghai culture and daily life”, says Ties Dams (19), one of the participating students from Utrecht University.
On the occasion of the launch of NAHSS, Robert Schuddeboom, Consul-General of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Hong Kong, will host a reception at one of the supporting companies, ABN AMRO on June 28.
Mr Robert Schuddeboom: “This educational and cultural exchange between the Netherlands and Hong Kong is an in-depth investment in the future. We expect that this pilot will lead to an increasing flow of students from the Netherlands to Asia.”
Strong ties between Hong Kong and the Netherlands
Hong Kong and the Netherlands have had strong bilateral ties for decades. They are both sophisticated societies and gateways to economic powerhouses and they share some key characteristics: open, international and entrepreneurial. NAHSS builds further on the strong connection between the two countries.
Netherlands – Asia Honours Summer School
The Netherlands – Asia Honours Summer School will be organised for the first time this year, with thirty students going to Hong Kong and Shanghai. The goal is to eventually have hundreds of Dutch students become acquainted with Asia each year. This concrete form of public-private partnership, in which the participating companies, universities and ministries all invest together, is unique in the Netherlands. The core team taking the lead in the organization of this inaugural Summer School consists of Utrecht University, Delft University of Technology, McKinsey & Company and AkzoNobel. More information and the list of supporting organizations can be found on the website www.summerinasia.nl.