interview Koen EN

“BUas is not a very big university of applied sciences, it is a small-scale institute and I like that. Still, it has all the hustle and bustle of a university of applied sciences, with lots of people around, attending all sorts of different degree programmes. A beautiful campus with enough space for everyone and with good facilities. What’s great is that the Built Environment programme has its own floor in the Frontier Building, so it won’t take long before you know everyone. Lecturers know your name and the doors to the lecturer rooms are always open. If you show initiative, they’re always there for you.

Within the programme we work on real-life assignments. Clients, such as a municipality, come to us with real problems, which we then get to solve. We are given a free rein in this, but we receive good guidance from the lecturers. We have been working on the cycling routes in Breda. Breda is still very much car-oriented. How can we get people to choose their bikes over their cars? To this end, we explored the infrastructure leading to the city centre. After a couple of weeks of research, making new designs, and consulting with the municipality, you get to produce a very nice report, as early as in your first year, that the municipality can actually use. This is just awesome.”