MBO Students Don’t Find Their Way to Application Week: ‘Time to Get Involved’ | internal

However, many application weeks are not a real storm among MBO students. Groningen, Leiden and Maastricht together have just under 150 MBO registrations, while KEI Week, EL CID and INKOM have thousands of participants. Utrecht UIT-week also says that the number of registrations is small, although there has been an increase compared to last year.

In Zwolle, more than four thousand MBO students participate. MBO students have been welcomed there for years. A separate familiarization day is organized for them. LEIP Leeuwarden says he’s “curious about the numbers”. This year, unlike last year, an active promotion of MBO students has been arranged.

One possible reason for the disappointing number of MBO enrollments is that MBO students are often somewhat younger when they start school. In addition, they often choose education nearby. They do not have to move to a new city and get to know a new environment. Application weeks are dedicated to this.

“We think there is enthusiasm, but many students don’t know it yet or don’t feel welcome yet,” says Rens Brands, member of the JOB MBO General Board. According to him, there is still a feeling among MBO students that induction weeks are a thing for universities and HBO students.

The Experience Center for Inclusive Education (ECIO) recognizes this picture. “I can imagine Introduction Week is still very much geared toward HBO and college students,” says program director Joyce van der Wegen. She believes it is important that MBO students also actively participate in the organization of induction weeks. “For inclusion, it is important not only to be invited to the party, but also to be able to dance along.”

Some Application Weeks already include MBO students and MBOs in the organization. For example, INKOM is looking into whether juvenile or security training could play a role in the future.

It is also a matter of time, as the MBO Council stresses. “We’re talking about a relatively new initiative,” says a company spokesperson. According to her, the fact that MBO students are now welcome for induction weeks is a “good start”. “But Rome wasn’t built in a day either, so you need time to make this a part of student life at MBO.”

This is witnessed by KEI Week in Groningen, for example. “With HBO Students, it took a few years before the number of participants from HBO and college students was the same,” says the organization. “We expect that this will also be the case with MBO students.”

Interest groups emphasize that engaging MBO students is important to making education more equal. “A good start to your studies and a good relationship with the city in which you study have a positive effect on students’ well-being,” says Van der Wegen. “Students who cannot participate in the preliminary weeks start their studies with a 1-0 deficit.”