The University of Twente, ITC and the Saxion Hogeschool have reached an official agreement on the housing of international students. They will co-operate on the acquisition, management and division of living space. A central point of attention for these three institutes is that these students should have the proper facilities when they come here.
At this moment there is a huge shortage of suitable living space for students in Enschede, in particular for international students and staff. By dealing with the problems jointly it will be possible to improve the distribution of the available housing. The possibilities to enlarge the supply are also under investigation. The new approach should lead to a structural improvement of the present situation, which has also developed because of the growing numbers of international students.
The co-operation between the institutes shoud lead to a solution in the long term, the agreement states. The housing supply has to be enlarged structurally, in the city and on the UT-campus. The housing departments involved will look at the available and potential options together.
The existing situation is blocking an effective distribution of rooms, they feel. Despite the shortage there are also unoccupied rooms. A more flexible distribution of rooms should be encouraged. Examples are, making block reservations or subletting when a Dutch student goes abroad himself. The problem can, however, not be solved from one day the next, according to the departments.
When expanding the supply the criteria relevant to different groups of students should be taken into account. The living needs of exchange students (short term stay) are different to those of master and PhD students who will usually stay in guest accommodation for four years, often with their family.
