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Fairytale setting belies a hard-headed approach Nyenrode Business Universiteit in the Netherlands is proud of its independence.

30 January 2006 Financial Times (scanned copy of the article at the bottom)

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The fairytale setting belies the school's hard headed approach to business education. It is in a castle with turret, moat and drawbridge in 500 acres just 20 minutes by car south of Amsterdam. Nyenrode must be one of the most picturesque business schools.

Founded in 1946, it was the first business school to be financed by Dutch companies, including Shell, Philips, Unilever and Akzo. Its corporate links were emphasised when last week it appointed as dean Bert de Groot, 50, a former member of the executive board of the Randstad Holding, one of the largest temporary and contract staffing organizations in the world. Its aim then, as now, was to pick the best and the brightest students, with managerial flair who wanted to blaze their own trail.

"Entrepreneurial management is our mission," says Herman Bruggink, president of Nyenrode.

It is the Netherlands' only private university. This means it has independence in selecting students but must be financially self-sufficient. Under Mr Bruggink's influence, it has embarked on initiatives it hopes will raise funds and increase Nyenrode's international profile.

To mark its 60th anniversary this year it aims to make 60 scholarships, each worth Euros 10,000, available to its masters and MBA participants.

It has targeted alumni, companies and partner organisations to persuade them to fund the scholarships. In return they gain access to the school's vast business network and become a member of the Nyenrode community.

Erik Wuite, business development officer, says the response has been good and anticipates reaching the target by the spring.

The school has also revived its dormant endowment, which stands at Euros 1.5m. It hopes this will reach Euros 10m.

Nyenrode offers a thriving, pre-experience master of science in management programme with a range of electives, a full-time MBA, part-time MBA and a public governance MBA, as well as specialist MBA programmes run for companies.

There are 15 students on the full-time MBA and 22 on the part-time cohort. Mr Bruggink and Jack van der Veen, associate dean of degree programmes, agree these cohorts are small and would like to see them grow.

Nevertheless, says Mr Bruggink, intimacy of classes and attention to each student makes the Nyenrode experience.

Mr Bruggink says: "There is an enormous level of attention for the students, and availability of faculty and staff. We would not like to lose the speciality of Nyenrode . . . to do it better, more intensively - that is why we are here."

The full-time MBA programme takes 13 months and its part-time counterpart 21 months. Participants on both take a module at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in the US.

Nyenrode asks for a GMAT score near 570. However, Prof van der Veen says alongside academic qualities the school wants analytical skills, a hands-on mentality and leadership.

The full-time MBA is intensive, he says, and candidates are pushed to the limit. The programme has undergone review in the past two years and "as a result of that I am pretty happy with the programme as it stands now", adds Prof van der Veen.

He says the school wants to develop its relationship with Kellogg and is looking for international partners to raise its profile on the world stage.

He believes Nyenrode, with its long history of masters programmes and serving the business community, is well placed to embrace the Bologna accord.

"If we cannot deliver our students to the labour markets we are doing something wrong. We have a good knowledge of what is needed on the job market and we designed programmes geared towards delivering people to the labour market.

Nyenrode no longer runs its executive MBA programme with the Simon Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Rochester in the US.

Mr Bruggink says there were insufficient numbers but adds that many applicants to the programme resembled part-time participants.

The university has a turnover of Euros 25m a year, with more than half from executive education, so it is an essential part of the portfolio.

The school offers dozens of tailored programmes as well as general management open programmes and specialised open programmes. While business schools worldwide have seen a decline in numbers attracted to open programmes, Nyenrode appears to have bucked the trend.

Demand for open programmes, especially specialised ones such as governance, are growing, says Ed Peelen, director of executive education. He attributes this to the high quality of programmes and the willingness of the Dutch business community, which holds Nyenrode in high esteem, to work with the university.

Prof Peelen has ambitions to expand the school's executive education profile internationally, perhaps exploring the school's links with Kellogg and potentially with the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad.

Any expansion plans will be helped by the fact that Nyenrode holds accreditation from both Equis, the accrediting body of the European Foundation for Management Development and the Association of MBAs.

The entrepreneurial spirit sets Nyenrode apart, he says.

"What we will do for you is to make your dreams come true, creating a place to work on your passion and that is why Nyenrode is unique."

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