Smoother transition from pre-university education to university education

Intensive contact with schools and professors

Radboud University Nijmegen has introduced a comprehensive programme to improve the link between pre-university education and university, at both faculty and university level. This includes teaching days organised by faculties, networks of professors, the appointment of twenty pre-university education teachers each year as tutors for first-year students, online trial study programmes in various subjects etc. Throughout the university there is a cooperative link with other institutions of higher education and forty secondary schools in the region. This involves events such as an annual afternoon seminar for university professors and teachers in secondary schools, communication via digital newsletters and a programme for talented students in pre-university education. There is also a project whereby university lecturers and secondary school teachers who specialise in the same subjects observe each other’s teaching methods.

Providing students with information on research

VU University Amsterdam (VU) is carrying out two projects that enable students in pre-university education to learn about academic research. The 'Extra Talent’ project is aimed at talented students in pre-university education from a number of regional schools. Within the project the students form a ‘community of learners’ together with their teachers and academics from the VU. The members of this community work together to discuss a wide range of issues, which in 2007 included climate change and the reading habits of young people. The ‘Internet Symposium’ project focuses on the subject of chemistry. In that project, students in pre-university education conduct a chemistry experiment and discuss the experiment on a website. The best research wins a prize.

‘Bèta 1 op 1’ (Science One on One)

Ten universities are taking part in the ‘Bèta 1 op 1’ programme run by the Platform Bèta Techniek (Platform Science Technology, PBT). One of these is Delft University of Technology. The aim of the project is to provide students with clearer insight into science and technical studies, by bringing them in contact with students from these degree programmes. Students from Delft University of Technology visit 35 schools in the region, where they carry out a range of teaching assistance activities such as holding classes and coaching pupils during projects and subject combination assignments. Each year, the details of the activities that the students will be carrying out are established in the form of a plan of action for each school. 'Bèta 1 op 1’ has been a huge success at the majority of schools. Due to the subsidies provided by the PBT, the schools are only required to pay a proportion of the students' teaching assistance salary; as of 2010 this will increase to the full salary. Many schools have already stated that they are happy to make that investment.

Junior College Utrecht

Junior College Utrecht was set up with the aim of motivating seventeen-year-old pupils and to induce them to consider studying for a science degree. The college runs two different programmes. Each year, the pupil programme provides fifty talented and motivated pupils from the region with the opportunity to study science subjects at university. The programme is extremely popular. As part of the teaching programme, teaching modules are drawn up for the new secondary school subject of Science, Life and Technology. This year has seen the completion of the first two modules: one on geology and one on microbiology. The most important feature of the modules is that they cover interdisciplinary fields. This enables pupils to learn about the relationships between the sciences and to develop a passion for these subjects.