Saxion University of Applied Science

Mission Statement

Saxion wants to use its talent for a sustainable, digital and safe society. Our belief  is that for the world of tomorrow, we must together change thinking, learning and doing, with attention to climate, biodiversity, scarcity of raw materials and well-being of humans and animals. Only in this way can we maintain our broad prosperity, with a healthy and good existence. Saxion wants to be a place that breathes talent for the future in every way and to set the tone with talented lecturers, leading practice-oriented  research and the most modern training courses. To respond to current and future demand in the labor market, we continue to innovate and broaden our educational program. We want to maximally contribute to personal and professional growth of our students and of society. Society expects our knowledge, practical solutions and professionals that make a difference in the coming decades. We want the new generation of students to develop themselves and  build a beautiful future. We want to be the best possible connector of talent and future. Therefore it is our ambition to be among the best universities of applied sciences in the Netherlands.

International Role

Societal challenges that our students may focus on in their careers after their education occur worldwide in a changing dynamic and at all kinds of levels. What happens regionally, nationally, Europeanly, globally or in the relationship between companies from our region with partners in a specific area or country? For example, we work in the EU on safety and economic development, while climate and energy are global themes. Saxion wants students to find the best possible connection between their own development and the playing field where they will apply their knowledge and skills. Developing intercultural cooperation skills helps students to successfully contribute to international cooperation and solve societal challenges such as sustainability. Those who find this international orientation early on, will later find more possibilities and opportunities in that growing playing field. Saxion will therefore continue to work in the coming years on creating added value for the region through international orientation in education and more international cooperation in research. We will work together with the other participants in the European university initiative E³UDRES² at a European level. This offers opportunities for the development of students and lecturers. In this way, we not only stimulate the quality of Saxion education and research, but we also contribute to the ambition to further shape the free educational space within Europe. For bachelor programmes that are aimed at the more internationally oriented sectors and with a shortage of employees, we are developing English-language programmes. In this way, we increase the opportunities for the region to attract and retain talent. Because we know that the Dutch language is essential to work as effectively as possible in the regional business community, we are building the language bridge at Saxion itself by also teaching international students the Dutch language.

National Role

With the expansion of our range of courses, we are aligning ourselves as closely as possible with the profile of each area in our region. This means focusing on technology in Enschede and on safety and digitalisation in Apeldoorn. In Deventer, we are paying extra attention to sustainability, circularity and spatial development. The field of work in Apeldoorn requires a larger range of courses. Saxion will grow there in the coming years to a fully-fledged third location. In addition, we want to increase the flow of bachelor students to our master's programmes.

Main Focus

Our Interior Design program trains students to become socially involved and pro-active designers that can creatively translate a client's needs and wishes into a valuable interior design. They are taught in various areas of interest, such as interior architecture, spacial research, sustainability, entrepreneurship, materials and lighting. This not only renders them creative, but professional as well. With the user in mind, we enable students to communicate with all relevant stakeholders in order to create innovative designs.

Both students and staff work closely together with companies and professional designers and benefit from their expertise. The Saxion Interior Design course has strong connections with its field of work. This enables valuable possibilities for knowledge exchange, networking, internships and employment.

Momentarily, our courses focus on the Bachelor of Arts degree in Interior Design.