Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences

Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences was founded in 1987 by Dutch businessman H. Nijkamp in the Dutch Hanseatic city of Deventer as Hogeschool Wittenborg. Initially, the school focused on Dutch-language programmes in banking, insurance, and real estate management, providing hundreds of graduates to these industries in the Netherlands. In its early years, the school's main source of students was military personnel leaving the armed forces due to the abolition of national service in the Netherlands. In 2002, Wittenborg partnered with BTC, an international family consultancy, and began developing its international, English-language business programmes. The institution gained state accreditation from the Dutch Flemish Accreditation Organisation (NVAO) in 2006, marking its emergence as an international management institute. In 2010, Wittenborg moved from Deventer to Apeldoorn, establishing its main campus within the Aventus building, a move supported by the City Government of Apeldoorn as part of its ambition to attract more higher education institutions. In February 2013, the institution officially changed its name from Hogeschool Wittenborg to Wittenborg University of Applied Sciences. In 2015, Wittenborg expanded with two additional locations: one in Apeldoorn at Spoorstraat 23 and one at the Dali Building in Amsterdam. In 2017, the university further expanded internationally by opening a campus in Vienna, Austria. Today, Wittenborg has established itself as one of the most international institutions in the Netherlands, with degree programmes accredited by both NVAO and FIBAA, and has been recognized by the Dutch Minister of Education as an example of an institute that has successfully implemented internationalisation across its whole profile.