Willem de Kooning Academy
CREATING PIONEERS
HANDBOOK FOR
EXCHANGE STUDENTS
2013-2014
Table of contents
1 Introduction 3
2 General information 4
2.1 The Netherlands
2.1.1 Geography
2.1.2 Landscape
2.1.3 Climate
2.1.4 Royal Family
2.1.5 Language
2.1.6 Traditions and customs 5
2.1.6 Holidays
2.2.Rotterdam and WdKA 5
3 Rotterdam University and WdKA 6
3.1 the “Rotterdam Education Model”
3.1.1 Knowledge-driven education
3.1.2 Practice-driven education 7
3.1.3 Student-driven education
3.2 Study Career Coaching
4 Study courses and course structure WdKA 8
4.1 Electives 9
4.2 Minors 10
5 Incoming students 11
5.1 Exchange
5.2 Academic Calendar 2013-2014
5.3 Registration 12
5.3.1 Procedures
5.3.2 Academic requirements
5.3.3 Linguistic requirements
5.3.4 Housing
5.4 Facilities
5.4.1 Libraries
5.4.2 Computers
5.4.3 Copiers 13
5.4.4 Lockers
5.4.5 Telephone
5.4.6 Sports
5.4.7 Student Cafeteria
5.4.8 Social Life
5.4.9 Festival and events
5.4.10 Supermarket 14
5.4.11 Market
5.5 Transport 14 5.5.1 Public transport
5.5.2 Bicycles 15 5.5.3 Travel by car
5.5.4 Travel Agency 16
5.6 Residence permits and visa requirements
5.6.1 visa
5.7 Insurance and medical information
5.8 Cost of living 17
5.9 How to get there
5.10 Your way into Rotterdam
5.11 Forms 18
6 Contact
7 Contactpersons for international students 19
8 Useful telephone numbers 20
FORMS
1 Introduction
“It is our mission to help our students become the creative pioneers the economy demands and to prepare them for their international professional careers."
We are pleased that you are interested in our academy for your study-abroad experience!
Right at the heart of the design city of Rotterdam is the Willem de Kooning Academy. Its striking complex of buildings houses many workshops and studios where students can work on a very wide range of challenging projects. Students work individually or in teams and are supervised by tutors and visiting tutors. The Willem de Kooning Academy runs technical workshops from beginners to advanced level.
Students at the Willem de Kooning Academy need to have visual intelligence and a high level of determination to succeed in their studies and in their profession. Our students do not wait for things to come to them, but will show initiative and take matters in their own hands. By working on realistic assignments and professional products, our students learn where they fit in and what their professional role is. This helps them develop a vision of what they can do in their chosen professions, where they wish to be in life and how they will be able to support themselves with their work. By the time our students have graduated, they have worked with other students from different departments on very complex projects. This allows them to build their networks and to work in a multidisciplinary team on projects that are important within the international context of today’s professional practice.
"Creating pioneers" is the Willem de Kooning Academy’s mission. Pioneers because the academy is not there to reproduce what already exists, but to put the applications and techniques available in the near future into practice now. Our students themselves are the creative pioneers the creative sector so badly needs. The Willem de Kooning Academy’s role is to help our students to become pioneers.
The city of Rotterdam is very attractive for students. It is a dynamic city bustling with activity. Attractions, festivals, concerts, theatre performances and events take place the whole year round in the modern city centre. It has a wide range of museums, cafés, restaurants and other places of entertainment.
We hope the information in this guide will help to answer some of your questions, as well as help you with the practical side of preparing your study abroad. If you have any suggestions, comments, etc., please contact us at
We hope to see you soon at Willem de Kooning Academy.
International Affairs Office
2 General Information
2.1 The Netherlands
The Netherlands today is one of the world's most prosperous countries. A highly developed system of social welfare ensures that everyone in the Netherlands has an opportunity to share in this prosperity.
2.1.1 Geography
The Netherlands is one of the most densely populated countries in the world. Some 17 million people live in an area of approximately 37,000 km². About 60% of the people live in the western part of the country, which is called Holland. This name is often used to refer to the Netherlands as a whole.
'The Netherlands' literally means 'the Low Countries'. The name refers to the fact that about half of the country lies below sea level. It would be under water if it were not for the system of dykes and dams that prevent the land from being flooded. This constant battle against water is reflected in the popular saying 'God made the world, but the Dutch made the Netherlands.'
2.1.2 Landscape
The country has a large river delta: the place where the rivers Rijn (Rhine), Maas (Meuse) and Schelde (Scheldt) run out and flow into the North Sea. The landscape is flat; there are only a few small hills in the centre and in the south. Stretches of forest are only to be found in the centre and the east. More typical features of the Dutch landscape are the broad sandy beaches and dunes that draw many Dutch and foreign tourists to the North Sea coast.
2.1.3 Climate
The climate is typical of a maritime west coast: unstable but moderate, with mild winters and cool summers. Days with temperatures below minus 5 degrees or above 30 degrees Centigrade are unusual. Clouds and wind are common features. The annual rainfall is moderate but unpredictable; therefore, a raincoat and an umbrella are essential. Because of the fact that the weather is very unpredictable, it is a topic of never-ending discussion.
2.1.4 Royal Family
The Dutch royal house is the House of Orange Nassau. This dynasty has been connected with the Netherlands since the 16th century. Prince William of Orange (1533-1584) is the ancestor of the royal family. As from April 2013 King Willem Alexander is Head of State of the Netherlands .
2.1.5 Language
Dutch, a Germanic language, is spoken everywhere in the country. In addition, Friesian (a related Germanic language) is spoken in Friesland, one of the northern provinces.
The Netherlands is internationally oriented. Many Dutch people speak at least two foreign languages; nearly everyone understands and speaks English.
The Dutch tend to be well informed about world affairs, which becomes evident when looking at the wide news coverage offered by the Dutch media. Books and periodicals from other countries are used extensively in higher education and a growing number of courses and study programmes are taught in English.
2.1.6 Traditions and Customs
One of the first things that foreigners in the Netherlands will notice is the fact that the Dutch have a great respect for privacy. As a consequence you are expected to introduce yourself: it is up to you (the stranger) to make the Dutch person aware of the sort of contact you want. After that, your Dutch acquaintance will introduce you to other people.
You will also notice that Dutch people use their 'agendas' (diaries) a lot. Do not be surprised if you have to arrange a date for next week, or even later.
All Dutch people expect to be treated as equals. Whenever a Dutch person feels that he is treated in an arrogant way, he will express this by saying so or by shrugging his shoulders with indifference. His intention is not to be impolite, but to put mutual relations in their proper perspective or clarify them.
The Dutch have a very direct manner of speaking, especially when expressing their opinions. They avoid superlatives and tend to be negative. Compliments are rarely given or they can hardly be recognised as such. The Dutch like to criticise all kinds of things. This may sometimes seem worrying; however, to the Dutch this is often a sign of interest.
2.1.7 Holidays
In the Netherlands, not all holidays are celebrated in an equally exuberant manner. Christmas, for instance, is often celebrated in the family circle. Queen's Birthday is, however, a feast that is celebrated in the streets. Ten thousands of people go out into the streets to enjoy the delicious food, the various bands and the stalls selling all kinds of (second-hand) goods.
1 January New Year's Day
30 April Queen's Birthday
5 May Liberation Day
5 December Sinterklaas
25 & 26 December Christmas Day & Boxing Day
Variable dates Good Friday, Easter Sunday and Monday, Ascension Day and
Whit Sunday (Whitsun) and Monday
2.2 Rotterdam and WdKA
Rotterdam is one of the largest ports in the world, the second city and the industrial heart of the Netherlands and the economic, social and cultural centre of the Rijnmond (‘Rhine Estuary’) region. In addition, Rotterdam is a city of modern architecture, events, leisure and recreation. More than one million people from 162 countries live in the Rotterdam region.
Rotterdam was founded in the mid 13th century after a dam had been constructed in the River Rotte on the site of the present Hoogstraat. Rotterdam received municipal rights in 1340. Over the centuries Rotterdam grew from a fishing village into an international centre of trade, transport, industry and distribution. At the beginning of the Second World War, on 14 May 1940, virtually the entire city centre was devastated by German bombs. This explains why there are scarcely any pre-war buildings in this part of Rotterdam. After the war, reconstruction of what had been destroyed was given the highest priority. Now, more than sixty years later, a new, modern city centre has risen from the ashes. The avant-garde architecture is famous at home and abroad.
Being the 'Gateway to Europe' Rotterdam has a hinterland of 500 million inhabitants. Its international orientation as a port and the regeneration of its city centre has made Rotterdam a business city without parallel. Since the opening of the borders to Eastern Europe, the hinterland has considerably increased in size.
Rotterdam has a thriving and exciting cultural infrastructure, something that is absolutely essential for high- quality education in the arts: you will be able to study in an environment that will continually challenge your talents and capabilities, offer you alternatives, inform and inspire you. Rotterdam is acclaimed as being culturally innovative, internationally oriented, cosmopolitan and multicultural, willing to host large-scale manifestations and interested in experimentation. Of course, WdKA cooperates with various cultural institutions and companies in the city and thus with many alumni, who have found a job and their source of inspiration in Rotterdam’s cultural sector.
3 Rotterdam University and WdKA
The Willem de Kooning Academy and its Piet Zwart Institute are part of Rotterdam University of Apllied Sciences, which has around 30,000 students and 3,000 employees spread over 60 courses and six sites in the city. This seems massive, but as an academy student you'll primarily study at our Blaak and Wijnhaven buildings.
3.1 The “Rotterdam Education Model”
Rotterdam University has chosen to work along a specific education model. This is called the Rotterdam Education Model (ROM) in view of the strong relation between Rotterdam University and the city of Rotterdam and because the model is typical of Rotterdam: Rotterdam University wants to provide attractive and intensive education to its students, in which professional practice plays a central part. Students are clearly put on track and challenged to develop themselves as well as possible: Exceed Expectations! In the Rotterdam Education Model three types of education are distinguished:
3.1.1. Knowledge-driven education
As a knowledge centre Rotterdam University has the duty to provide the students with up-to-date knowledge of concepts and skills in the context of those fields that are relevant to the specific institutes, in a well-structured manner. This gives the students the basis they need to set off well prepared in professional practice.
This type of education in particular gives the students a structured study environment: as a large part of the study is offered in the form of lectures, group work and assignments, the students know exactly what is expected from them. This is in line with the principle that the student is gradually being coached to independent learning.
In this approach a diversity of teaching methods are used. In addition to the ‘traditional’ lectures, tutorials, practicals and training sessions, one could think of problem-based education, self-study assignments, if necessary supported by information and communication technology, cases (= situations taken from professional practice), simulations, games and skills labs.
3.1.2 Practice-driven education
In the study programmes of Rotterdam University the most important thing is that students learn to effectively approach the issues occurring in professional practice. This is done best by means of projects or working in that practice, dealing with real issues from professional practice and by expecting them to focus on results (in co-operation). The intended product must be relevant to professional practice at all times.
In the first years of the full-time study practice will mainly manifest itself in projects of an orienting and investigating nature. The projects are based on a case, preferably from relevant professional practice in the region, either with a real, external client or in a virtual setting. In any case the projects will produce a result that is relevant to the professional practice, a product in the shape of e.g. a research report, a presentation of a possible solution from a problem occurring in practice.
In this approach the principle of ‘outside in – inside out’ is embodied: practice is brought into the education and enriches it. On the other hand, the results of the education contribute to the development of professional practice. In the first part of the study these contributions will be of a relatively simple nature; in the course of the study they will make an increasingly essential contribution to the professional practice.
In project-based education students learn to work together on solutions for practical problems. They jointly work in groups of 6-12 students with a lecturer as project supervisor, whose task is mainly to supervise the approach to the project and the group process.
3.1.3 Student-driven education
The diversity of the student population increasingly requires tailor-made approaches, causing a considerable part of the curriculum to focus on the personal development of the student. It is only in this way that the curriculum can anticipate the wide variety of learning demands, on the one hand caused by a diverse starting situation, but, on the other hand, also by diverse demands with regard to the exit qualifications. Student-driven education comprises: