What a year it has been, and what a year we still have ahead of us. 

2020 is perhaps the most extraordinary year of my life so far, and also for Nyenrode and just about everyone else.  

Since March, the world and our campus have looked completely different. Many students went home or were even forced to go back home in a hurry. Normally we have around 300 students living on campus, but at the lowest point of the coronacrisis, we could count the number of students on just a few hands. 

In the beginning, emotions were dominated by disappointment about what could have been. Goodbye campus life and Nyenrode Experience! It was up to me and my colleagues at Nyenrode to keep students positive and get them to focus on what we still had. Easier said than done! Still, the students who remained on campus did find their feet again, supported by each other and the beauty of the quiet estate. 

The students themselves also came into action. BScBA students Stijn van der Vat and Tjibbe Steenstra for instance. They wanted to help entrepreneurs who were struggling with a loss of income due to the coronacrisis. With their student collective TheFAC they provide free advice on marketing, strategy, and financial issues. 

Fortunately, we can see a glimmer of light at the end of our “campus tunnel”. Gradually, certain activities have been resumed. We even started planning the introduction program. Unfortunately, this could not take place in its usual form. However, there were small-scale information meetings with small groups of students, to share information about the association, its structure, customs, traditions, and other details.  

Despite all the setbacks, we have to keep focusing on the future. That is why I cannot wait to introduce our new and returning students to what we are still able to do in the rest of 2020.  

Bart Eenkhoorn
Campusdean