The number of so-called ‘weighted pre-registrations’ currently stands at 4,843 bachelor’s students and 4,678 master’s students for the coming academic year. That represents an increase of 699 and 318 students respectively compared to last year.
How many of those students will ultimately take their seats in the lecture halls remains difficult to predict. Pre-registrations provide an indication of future enrolment, but final intake figures will not be confirmed until autumn. However, if last year’s conversion rate is repeated, UT could welcome several hundred additional students next academic year. Last year, UT enrolled 2,034 new bachelor’s students and 1,203 new master’s students.
The management report notes particularly strong growth in applications for technical programmes, ‘mainly due to an increase in international applications’. The Faculty of ET stands out most at bachelor’s level, with more than 400 additional applicants compared to last year. At master’s level, EEMCS shows the strongest increase.
More non-EEA students
What is driving the growing interest? According to the report, one possible explanation is the ‘Beethoven’ initiative, which aims to increase enrolment in technical programmes. The report also notes a rise in applications from students outside the European Economic Area (EEA).
There is speculation that stricter immigration policies in the United States are discouraging students and prompting them to look towards Europe instead. The number of EEA students may still increase, as they can continue to enrol until the start of the new academic year.
UT continues to focus on ‘creating a competitive position in a shrinking market’. This is partly due to demographic decline within the Netherlands. In the eastern part of the country in particular, the subject profiles chosen by pre-university secondary school students do not always align well with UT’s programmes.
The university can also no longer rely on the relatively stable international inflow previously provided by the closure of the Twente Pathway College. To address this, UT intends to invest further in international recruitment, increasing brand awareness, and visiting more secondary schools.
