Amsterdam, Netherlands - SEO Economisch Onderzoek

more than 10,000 people (in fte). They are also multi-sector HEIs, with education and researchbeing conducted in all key disciplines: humanities, the social/behavioral sciences,economics/business, law, the natural sciences and medicine. In its academic profile, the UvApresents itself as an inspiring, broadly-oriented international academic environment, which isopen-minded and strongly engaged with society. The VU has included in its mission the aim forhigh quality, fundamental, innovative and socially oriented research. The two universities ofapplied sciences, HvA and INHolland, both emphasize their aim to provide practice-relatededucation, to ensure that their students are educated in correspondence to what the labor marketdemands. They also underscore their cooperation with employers in the region.The research curriculum of UvA is influenced by strengths and characteristics of the region.While research at UvA has a broad orientation, it also has a degree of specialization and focus inresearch programmes in which the university has a strong international reputation and for whichexternal funds can be attracted and/or which make a substantial contribution to the transfer ofknowledge to society (valorization). Especially the latter part has a strong regional dimension. Anumber of research initiatives and programmes benefit from particular characteristics andstrengths of the Amsterdam city. Examples are the Netherlands Institute for System Biology, theresearch programme Urban Studies: Global Flows, Local Environment, Organized Diversity, andGovernance, and the Amsterdam Centre for Service Innovation (AMSI), which conducts researchand provides education in the field of innovation in the services sector. The research curriculumof VU has not been constructed with explicit reference to strengths or characteristics of theregion, although the university underscores that there is a clear interaction between the region andthe particular content of research programmes. The VU has particularly strong ties with firms onthe Zuidas business district, of which also the VU is a part. For instance, there is a strong linkbetween research conducted in the economics and law faculties and the professional and financialservices sector located on the Zuidas. The interconnectedness of the VU with Zuidas businessesprovides a unique environment for open innovation and is a prerequisite for the internationalcompetitiveness of the Zuidas. A number of research initiatives strongly reflect this interaction,such as the Duisenberg School of Finance (DSF), the Zuidas Law Academy, and the Zuidasmaster programme entrepreneurial law. Furthermore, the city of Amsterdam frequently consultsthe VU to promote attention for topics related to public governance and urban studies, as well asto the clusters in which Amsterdam is considered to have a competitive advantage: trade andlogistics (airport Schiphol and the Amsterdam harbor), life sciences, and ICT and creativeindustry.In developing its educational and research portfolio the HvA has taken the regional characteristicsmore explicitly into account than UvA and VU. Educational programmes and research initiativesare often based on topics from the municipality’s social strategic agenda 2004-2015, a policyaction document grounded on a number of themes of Amsterdam city life, such as the workingcity, cultural city, sporting city, caring city and safe city. Examples of research initiatives andprogrammes in recent years are internships for students at the Directorate of Justice of themunicipality of Amsterdam, the City Academy (Academie van de Stad), the research programmeMantelzorgers in Amsterdam (research into care and voluntary help), research institution DeKarthuizer, and the project Krachtwijken. INHolland has founded its educational and researchportfolio on a number of key pillars, which are: societal engagement, social responsibility, highquality education, diversity and internationalization. Entrepreneurship plays a key role ineducation and research at INHolland. In all departments of INHolland, so-called ‘working fieldcommissions’ (beroepenveldcommissies) (for a large part made up by representatives frombusinesses) have been appointed to promote entrepreneurship. In connection to this, INHollandhas recently decided to combine its education and research efforts (currently scattered across 16departments) into six or seven key focus areas. The aim is to create synergy through cooperation71