International Development Management - VHL University of Applied Sciences

11/05/2022

Meet fourth year International Development Management student Maarten Lammers:

"Currently I am halfway through my second internship for my studies in International Development Management. Since January I have been working with the organisation Blue Star Trinidad & Tobago on their eco-tourism project called Vrindavan.

The raison d'être of Blue Star is to promote people's well-being through powerful exercises in which people reconnect with themselves and the planet through practicing the ancient art of yoga/meditation.

Together with a small team I have been busy coming up with a plan for the further development of the 52 acre site, situated in the middle of Trinidad. With the main focus of the plan being on how to implement sustainable tourism on the site.

Going into the site with the team for maintenance work has definitely been a special experience! I am looking forward to the second half of this internship."

09/05/2022

Let's go outside! 😎
Marchel Ratering of Vaccinatiecentrum.nl is explaining about health and safety abroad to our first year International Development Management students. Getting the right vaccinations for the right country is important! Prevention is key 😊

22/04/2022

Meet Vanessa, third year student of International Development Management, studying the Major Sustainable Value Chains. She went to Nicaragua for her internship in the field of coffee, cacao and chia ☕️🍫😍

𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑?
I found the organization on Instagram, but got in contact with them after visiting fairtrade company Daarnhouwer with our class. In the introductory presentation Daarnhouwer mentioned Cosecha Partners and I thought "hey I know them, this is my chance to get connected"

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆?
Cosecha Partners is a pioneering social enterprise in Nicaragua, connecting smallholder farmers to specialty food brands. They focus on supplying organic inputs and regenerative agriculture/ fairtrade training to coffee, cacao and chia farmers. Recently, they started a project with Macadamia nurseries, which they aim to hand out to coffee farmers. These are supposed to be planted in agroforestry systems with the coffee, as a climate smart solution against changing climate patterns

𝑯𝒐𝒘 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒅?
I have never been solo travelling outside of Europe so this was a challenge. Luckily, my organization provided me with a "buddy" who helped me in finding accommodation. Other than that I checked the foreign affairs website for safety and health advise. Also, for travel tips, I joined traveller groups in that area to learn about how things are done at the borders/transportation in the country.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒊𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒍𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒘?
I get to travel the country quite a lot as the cultivation areas are all in different spots in the North. The nature is incredibly beautiful. But I also got to see other parts, for example the volcanos more south, as the company has a hybrid working structure and I was allowed to also work online to see more of the country.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒅𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒊𝒕?
From my field visits I learned that the field description "sustainable value chains" sounds very glamorous and people might think it's just a field visit here and there but in reality it's totally not. Yes, I expected some kind of tough reality but seeing the physically hard work of the farmers and processors do, and some of the living conditions they return to after this work, proved to me for real how unfair these people are treated in the chains. For a day, I also worked like a farmer in fermentation times and it was probably one of the most exhausting things I have ever done.

𝑾𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆?
I feel like there still needs to be done a lot of awareness raising and advocacy for the Sustainable Value Chains concept. Having seen the impact Cosecha Partners has on their farmers, I really want to get into networking so that huge companies engage more in Corporate Social Responsibility and Due diligence practices. They could be linked with social enterprises like Cosecha Partners and help them scale up their impact even more while also improving their own sustainability performance.

19/04/2022

To all our internationally oriented students!

𝑨𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 2𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒓 3𝒓𝒅 𝒚𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒓'𝒔 𝒅𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒂𝒅 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒑𝒚?

Then we would like to invite you - on behalf of the European University INVEST and HVHL - to participate in one of the five futureproof minors.

When you register, you contribute to solving urgent problems together with other international students and researchers. The study and assignments are about specific challenges in sustainable development that the world faces.

You can choose from five INVEST Bachelor Specialization studies in Greece, Bulgaria, Finland, Slovakia or the Netherlands.
The study will start at the end of August 2022 and you can register until May 2022.

Go to

Integrated Environmental Management towards Sustainable Landscape Development Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences organizes Integrated En...

04/04/2022

Last week, International Development Management had a lot of interested students visiting at our stall and listening to our presentations during the Van Hall Larenstein open evenings! If you are still doubting if IDM is for you, please join our 'student for a day' program!
👉Go to https://www.vhluas.com/information-and-contact/information-for-students/orientation-days to sign up!

29/03/2022

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒅𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒐? 🌎🌍🌏
At our bachelor International Development Management, students travel all over the world for their internship, minor or thesis. If you want, you can be abroad during half of your study program! 🤩
Below is the map of internship locations from the past years. When you start your search, you receive this map and can click and explore any location you like!
More information? Come to one of our Open Days! Go to https://www.vhluas.com/openday

21/03/2022

The past 8 weeks, for our Module Project Management, we took care of 120 plants that we received as seedlings. 🌱
After 8 weeks of ❤️ and care, they are almost ready for sale. The plants we offer are supposed to be potted outside and have gorgeous flowers. 🌺🌹🌼
The plants are sustainably made, this means that no fertilizer or chemicals were made during this project. The species we have grown are listed below, if you want to see the plants, visit our Instagram page: VHL_projectplant. https://www.instagram.com/vhl_projectplant/

Verbena Peruviana Venture (neon)
Verbena Peruviana Venture (white)
Petunia Grandiflora (surfina purple vein)
Petunia Grandiflora Amore (king of heart)
Calibrachoa Parviflora Cabaret (dark rose)
Calibrachoa Parviflora Cabaret (dark blue)
Scaevola Aemala (fancy blue)
Sutera Diffusus Megacopa (copa)
Bidens Ferulifolia (bee happy red)
Sanvitalia Speciosa Santiago (great)

The price of the plants is listed below (euro) and there are specials deals available for even more beneficial prices!

1 plant for 2,99
3 plants for 9,99
10 plants for 19,99

If you are interested in buying one or multiple plants, please reach out to us by Instagram or text: 06 83234875.

Planty regards,

Mila, Mieke, Lois, Djurre and Kjel😄

18/03/2022

𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘂𝗽 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗜𝗡𝗩𝗘𝗦𝗧 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝘂𝗹𝗴𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗮!

On May 9, the INVEST summer school will start. The theme this time is "Ensuring Quality of Public Services in Sustainable Regional Development".

The first two weeks (𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟵-𝟮𝟬) will take place digitally and consist of lectures and preparatory work. From 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟵 𝘁𝗼 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 𝟲, you will go to Plovdiv, Bulgaria, where you will follow a program including 4 thematic panel sessions (Quality in Education and Training; Social Services and Integration; Social Innovation and Sustainable Regional Development; and Social Entrepreneurship), visits to companies and living labs, and various intercultural activities.
The program is delivered by teachers from the 5 partner institutions from Bulgaria, Finland, Greece, the Netherlands and Slovakia). Participation in the summer school (incl. travel, accommodation, and the educational program in Bulgaria) is free for the -maximum 5- chosen participants. The minimum requirement for participation is that you are currently a third or fourth year bachelor or a master student. You will receive 5 ECTS for participating in the summer school.
𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗱? Then read more on https://www.invest-alliance.eu/en/Home/NewBees ... and register there as well. If you still have questions after reading the website, please contact Jannet Lavalette, [email protected] or Korrie Hoekstra, [email protected].

10/03/2022

4rth year student Jamila about the last phase of her study International Development Management, her thesis. 🌍🌟

"Last week, I arrived in Uganda for my final part of my studies in International Development Management. I am excited to collaborate with the organization Advance Afrika to conduct research in the Northern part of Uganda. For my research, I will be participating in the project called 'Bridging Opportunities for effective and Productive Livelihoods for Youth Prison (ex) inmates in Northern Uganda. I am looking forward to learn and delve deeper into the livelihoods of youth (ex) inmates and to learn about ways how to increase their participation and entrepreneurial opportunities and to not fall back into their old habits.

Today, I visited the head office of Advance Afrika and met part of the team who are based in Kira, a district near Kampala."

07/03/2022

Since the breakout of the war, two International Development students felt that they wanted to do something. With much enthusiasm they have came in contact with an initiative that works closely with a family in Poland.

Within the Netherlands they are now collecting blankets, fleece, pillows and sleeping bags that are in good condition. These will be send to a family who is setting up a refugee camp on the Polish boarder.

Besides the collection points in Amsterdam, Utrecht and Breda they have now set up a location in Arnhem where they will collect these materials: Apeldoornsestraat 4, 6828AB Arnhem.

Their question to you all:

Do you have blankets, fleece ect. or do you know people who might have some that they can spare to the refugees, bring them to our location this Friday between 14:00 and 17:00.

We would appreciate all the help, and sending the message around would benefit our cause.

Thank you in advance!! Collectionpoints are mentioned in the picture.

25/02/2022

This week 26 of our students International Development Management celebrated passing for their propaedeutic year Van Hall Larenstein, University of Applied Sciences. Despite Covid-19 they enthusiastically finished their first year and an interesting internship. Well done and congratulations! 🥳😀

18/02/2022

Finally prospect students were able to come to Velp, the Netherlands to really see what our study program is about! With a big team of students and lecturers we welcomed them! 🤩
From an upcoming student who signed up for IDM:
"𝘋𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘖𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘍𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘺, 𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘭𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘵 𝘷𝘢𝘯 𝘏𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘓𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘪𝘯."

Do you want to visit us in person? Go to https://www.vhluas.com/information-and-contact/information-for-students/open-days for more information.