IWCN partnering with Innovation Cluster Drachten and Emden University of Applied Sciences on Interreg project

From July 2023 onward, IWCN will be working together with the Innovation Cluster Drachten and Emden University of Applied Sciences to bring a promising Interreg project to life.

The main objective of the project is to strengthen the educational and professional ecosystem for local companies and international talent in the northern Dutch provinces and northwestern border region of Germany.

IWCN’s role will be to inform the international participants and the companies working with them about the steps they need to take in order to obtain the appropriate permits. We will also provide intake sessions akin to our two hour personal advice for participants in order to help companies and potential talent agree to terms.

The project is coordinated by Interreg, an initiative to facilitate cross-border collaboration between border regions, namely the northern Netherlands and northwestern Germany. Part of the idea behind interreg is the recognition that regions that share a border often have more in common in terms of education, labour and life style than cities within the same country. Friesland in the Netherlands has more in common with  East Frieland in Germany than with the Randstad, for example.

Emden University of Applied Sciences will provide motivated students who are interest in doing a traineeship in Europe. The programme will introduce non-EU students to the Dutch labour market, where they can complete traineeships or internships and work on their theses based on their experiences gained a the companies in the Innovation Cluster Drachten.

Job opportunities for non-EU trainees are comparatively easier to come by in the Netherlands than they are in Germany, due in large part to the availability of English-language opportunities in the Netherlands. One of the goals of such collaboration is to attract and retain skilled workers in these region.