Annual reports
Breda University of Applied Sciences renders account, among other things, in its annual report.
Annual report
Downloads of the full annual report 2024 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 2024
As a specialist higher education institute, BUas strives to be a leading international knowledge institute with innovative, high-quality education and research and a strong relevance for business and society. The year under review was the third year of our strategic direction 2022-2025: ‘BUas+, More than a University of Applied Sciences’.
Strategic priorities
In the second half of this strategic period, we are committed to ensuring that the themes of AI and Climate and Sustainability are further embedded as transversal themes in our education, research and community.
Internationalisation and well-being continue to be our other strategic themes. We have opted for a European focus in expanding our international profile and in that context, we have joined the European consortium of universities of applied sciences and research universities called KreativEU in 2024. In the year under review, BUas was closely involved in the political debate on the recruitment of international students with the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. In addition, offering Dutch language and culture courses and ensuring proper student housing for international students will be a priority in the coming period.
The strategic programmes in the areas of flexible education, community organisation, and R&D remained intact. At the end of 2024, we started the process of updating our strategic direction, working closely with both internal and external stakeholders to further strengthen our positioning, profiling, and strategic ambitions to future-proof the organisation.
Education+
State-of-the-art education is at the heart of our organisation. Digitisation is no longer a separate project, but a reality that helps us offer relevant and effective education. To reinforce this, we are building the Community for Teaching and Learning. This community focuses on collaboratively exploring what truly works in our day-to-day operations, within a culture of ‘reflective practice’. The movement towards more digital forms of education and a broader application of blended learning remains part of ongoing educational innovation.
Further concrete steps were taken to make our curricula more flexible, with the aim of increasing student ownership of their own learning pathway. This year, several pilot projects have been launched under Education+ to help academies gain experience in designing flexible learning pathways. As of the 2024-2025 academic year, a uniform annual schedule has been introduced for all bachelor's programmes, allowing students to attend curriculum components across different domains and programmes.
In addition to the further development of the existing portfolio and curricula based on the needs of industry and society, BUas initiated new master programmes. At the end of 2024, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science approved the Master AI Translator, which will be further developed in 2025. The development of the international Joint Master Innovative Design of Themed Entertainment and Attractions for Sustainability is progressing well.
In 2023, BUas, the province of Noord-Brabant, and the municipality of Breda agreed to jointly invest in gaming. Exploratory talks with various external parties were held in 2024 to establish a Game & Tech Centre in combination with permanent student housing on our campus.
Research & Development+ and connection with industry and societal institutions
Our R&D is organised in professorships, incorporated within the five academies and in the BUas-wide Research and Graduate School (RGS). Within R&D, lecturers and researchers work together with national and international partners, industry, and government, with research findings being fed back into education. The focus is on three cross-domain and two transversal themes: Experiences, Places & Flows, and Digital Realities; and Artificial Intelligence and Sustainability Transitions.
In the year under review, BUas appointed its second transversal professor, on the theme of Applied Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. BUas continued to advance its ambition to be a front-runner in leveraging AI for education, research, and operations, with ethical considerations taking priority. In addition to the AI Fundamentals training offered to all employees, efforts were made to develop a Talent Management programme to position our organisation as an attractive employer for AI talent.
In the run-up to the new strategic period (2026-2029), BUas adopted a new R&D vision at the end of 2024. This vision outlines the aim to create an innovative ecosystem in which R&D and education reinforce each other and jointly focus on tackling the complex challenges of our time.
BUas+ community, student and staff well-being
Well-being and community building are important pillars in our strategy. BUas attaches great importance to being a diverse and inclusive community, where all students and staff feel at home, safe, seen and heard. In 2024, efforts were also made towards the strategic pillar of Community Organisation, aimed at increasing professional autonomy within (education) teams and strengthening the flexibility and innovative capacity of our organisation. BUas continued its Leadership programme for management and team leads. The Employee Experience Survey was conducted in January 2024. The results showed room for improvement in the areas of inappropriate behaviour and pressure of work. This has been addressed through open discussions and targeted actions.
For every initiative that supports student well-being, process improvements were made to ensure integrated cooperation and services, along with clear communication to both students and the organisation. The fact that the student counsellors are developing into a hybrid team contributes to this. In 2024, preparations were made for the establishment of a Friends of BUas Fund, with the aim of offering financial assistance to students in need and those with special talents.
BUas focused on an integrated approach to social safety, taking a proactive stance with an emphasis on communication and prevention. This approach addresses the needs of both students and staff. We also updated our Code of Conduct and the associated ‘rules of conduct’. Also last year, the Uni-Life platform went online, which allows our students to get in touch with each other – even before they start their studies – and build a greater sense of belonging and community.
As part of integral safety, BUas was also audited by Surf Information Security and Privacy Protection to further improve our information security and privacy protection.
Financial key figures
The financial result in 2024 was € 121, with a negative budget of € 2,504. The more positive financial result is the outcome of additional governmental resources, the phasing of strategic projects and more interest income in relation to the budget. All financial numbers in the annual report are presented in thousands of euros, unless stated otherwise.