‘Preparations will start soon in view of the opening of a Groningen branch in 2016’, says Frans Rutten, Associate Dean for International Affairs for the Economics and Business faculty. Rutten has been working on the developing the partnership between Study Centre and Groningen.

The Study Centre, located in Amsterdam, is a facility for non-EU students to prepare for entering Dutch bachelor and master programmes. Two of the trajectories offered by Study Centre – the international foundation year and the English pre-master – include classes about Dutch culture, English language classes and college prep courses. ‘According to the planning, Study Group will propose this spring an agreement to the University of Groningen and Hanzehogeschool’, Rutten says.

Student Hotel

Last year, the Centre estimated that 200 students would be enrolling by the fall 2015 term, which was more than the single location could accommodate. Since roughly 70 percent of the current Study Centre students intend to enroll at the RUG in 2015, that trend is expected to continue steadily enough to create a dedicated Groningen branch. Where the Centre would be located in the city remains unknown.

Students of the Centre in Amsterdam are housed in The Student Hotel, a chain which announced in December that it would also be coming to Groningen in July 2016 with a location in the Ebbingekwartier.