University newspaper Delta reports that the new communication policy of the University of Delft is based on image research conducted last spring by an Amsterdam marketing consultancy. This research led to interviews with representatives of business and education, journalists and high school students. These interviews produced a two-sided image: the university is considered `generally respected,' but also `bureaucratic, obscure and inaccessible.'
For example, people in education see the University of Delft as `conservative and stubborn,' with `an air of authority.' At the same time, few can explain why Delft's university is so prestigious.
According to the same research, corporations feel the Netherlands need a top-ranking university, which should be the University of Delft. But to accomplish that, the gap between corporations and `the technological universities in general and the University of Delft in particular' will have to be closed.
The University of Eindhoven is in the early stages of an image improvement project. The goal of the branding project, which will take two and a half years, is to improve the `brand' University of Eindhoven, university newspaper Cursor reports. The project was initiated because the image of the university was found to be underdeveloped and inconsistent.
The university will not simply hire a consultancy firm, apart from an initial image assessment. `On the contrary, we want to involve as many people in the community in the process as possible,' a policy officer of the university emphasizes.
UT Director of Communications Arwin Nimis explains that branding is simply a matter of consistently placing emphasis on your best assets. `We've been doing that for three of four years: the University of Twente is an entrepreneurial research university that does very well in international rankings and is very good at generating spin-offs. That is also the basis of our communication plans.' Nimis does not expect major changes in the university's public relations policy any time soon. `However, we are at a crossroads: the new university plans are almost finished, we have a new Executive Board and we will soon get a new chairman. The university plans have a major influence on the way the university will present itself.'
Nimis does not rule out any adjustments in their profiling strategies. `But even new university plans do not change the kind of university you are. Once the plans have been approved, we will talk to the new Executive Board.' Whether the University of Twente will also do an image assessment `remains to be discussed,' Nimis concludes.
Trans. Jeroen Latour
