Annual reports
Breda University of Applied Sciences renders account, among other things, in its annual report.
Annual report
Downloads of the full annual report 2025 and the annual reports of previous years are listed below the summary. Unfortunately, the full annual reports are only available in Dutch.
Summary annual report 2025
Strategy
In 2025, the final year of implementation of the BUas+ strategy (2022–2025), a refocused strategic direction was prepared which took effect from 2026: Human-Centred and Future-Forward. This strategy rests on three pillars: Future-Ready Professionals, European University of Applied R&D, and Caring Community. Our mission remains unchanged: ‘empowering young professionals on their journey to shape a better world’, with a refo-cused vision: ‘educating and innovating for well-preparedness in a fast-changing world’.
Education+
The educational vision was updated in 2025. The focus has shifted from what is taught to the knowledge and skills that students can demonstrate. Four BUas-wide learning outcomes – Soft Landing, AI, Climate and Internationalisation – have been integrated into all degree programmes. Since September 2025, students have been able to design their own learning pathways.
The Community for Teaching and Learning (CTL) has been given a physical space on campus at Innovation Square, where it has further developed around three pillars: Professionalisation (Landscape), Knowledge Shar-ing, and Educational Innovation and Reflective Practice Research.
In 2025, several programmes successfully completed NVAO re-accreditation or a three-year review. In addition, the M Imagineering, B Leisure & Events Management, and M International Supply Chain Management pro-grammes received the Certificate for Quality in Programme Internationalisation.
Research & Development+
BUas is committed to establishing itself as a European University of Applied Research & Development (R&D). A new R&D governance structure is set up in 2025 and an R&D Director took up the post on 1 February 2026.
The total R&D budget grew to €8,973 in 2025 (2024: €7,735). Research output increased (including 334 publications), and media exposure rose to 1,076 mentions.
In 2025, three inaugural lectures were delivered by Jessika Weber (Digital Transformation in Cultural Tourism), Carlos Pereira Santos (Applied Data Science and Artificial Intelligence), and Jörn Fricke (Leisure in a Social Context) respectively.
Connection with industry and societal institutions
In 2025, the KreativEU project was launched, with BUas acting as lead partner for Work Package 5 – which focuses on AI & Sustainability – within a European alliance of eleven higher education institutions (2025–2028). BUas’ Industry Board grew to 30 members, and BUas Startup Support (BUSS) supported no fewer than 384 student entrepreneurs.
BUas+ community, internationalisation, student & staff well-being
Student and staff well-being and sense of community remain key priorities. In terms of well-being, efforts have focused on improving the quality of our support and on a targeted, holistic approach to social safety. Through Uni-Life (over 2,200 student profiles), more than 35 active clubs and a wide range of community events, BUas actively invests in a strong sense of community. A new language policy, together with the provision and pro-motion of (additional) Dutch language and culture courses for international students and staff, further strengthens this group’s sense of connection with BUas and the wider region.
As of 31 December 2025, BUas employed 837 staff members (671.7 FTEs), a deliberate reduction in preparation for anticipated future cost savings. Of these, 68.1% were deployed in the primary process (i.e. teaching). Sick-ness absence fell to 4.5% (2024: 5.0%).
AI and Climate & Sustainability
In the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI), BUas achieved several milestones in 2025: the adoption of the AI Ethics Policy, the implementation of Claude as the institutional AI platform for all students and staff, and the development of a Vision of Teaching and Learning with AI. BUas remains committed to training staff through AI Fundamentals and AI Advanced courses.
The strategic theme of Climate and Sustainability has been further embedded within the organisation. The focus is on BUas-wide projects in the fields of education, research and operations that contribute to our ambi-tion to be a climate-positive organisation.
Governance and risk management
BUas’ governance complies with the Sector Code for Good Governance in Universities of Applied Sciences (Branchecode Goed Bestuur Hogescholen). The Supervisory Board continued to exercise active oversight in 2025, and both the Supervisory Board and the Participation Council were closely involved in strategy, budgeting and policy. The main risks relate to the shrinking student population – due to demographic trends, the ‘Internation-alisation in Balance’ legislative bill, and a shortage of student accommodation in Breda – and cybersecurity. Mitigation measures have been formulated for each risk and are currently being implemented.
Key financial figures
In 2025, the financial result was a loss of €1,210, with a budget deficit of €1,333. The positive effect of more favourable student numbers, lower expenditure on strategic projects and higher interest income compared to the budget was offset by the absence of price indexation in government funding from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) and the obligation to make a one-off payment of CAO compensation following the conclusion of the new CAO HBO 2026. All financial figures in this annual report are presented in thousands of euros, unless otherwise stated.