The text on this page was automatically translated and hence may differ from the original. No rights can be derived from this translation.
The subsidy scheme VIS in het HO aims to provide as many students as possible at Dutch higher education institutions with the opportunity to gain experience with an international orientation on subjects and science through virtual international collaborative projects (VIS projects). In these projects, students in the Netherlands collaborate with students at institutions abroad to work on a project together. The subsidy scheme will finance a total of 700 projects between 2021 and 2024 to support the design and development of the projects.
At the end of 2021, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science commissioned Dialogic to conduct evaluative research on the VIS projects (see here for the description of this research). This research tracks the VIS projects through analyses of subsidy applications and online surveys among project leaders (teachers and/or educational experts) and participating students. An interim report is produced annually in October with the current status of the research.
For the 2022 report, the first two cohorts (September 2021 and February 2022) were examined. So far, 104 VIS projects have been funded, with 22 projects completing the design and development phase. The report describes the 104 projects based on their subsidy applications, and the 22 projects based on the online survey among project leaders.
In Round 1, collaboration occurs with institutions from a total of 31 different countries. In Round 2, this number has increased to 43 different countries. The figure below shows the distribution of the projects. For both rounds, the main focus of collaboration partners is in North America and Europe.
Based on this initial report, we identify five key areas of focus for the ministry as the grant provider and for the consortium that provides support and training for VIS projects (visit visinhetho.nl).
- There have been no subsidy applications for VIS projects in the province of Zeeland, and only one in the province of Drenthe.
- Most international collaboration partners are located in North America or Europe.
- No projects report having no obstacles. The main obstacles identified include differences in the semester durations of various institutions and differences in ICT infrastructure.
- There is still limited focus on the digital accessibility of VIS projects (i.e. ensuring the project is suitable for students with visual impairments or other support needs).
- Project leaders indicate having limited experience in integrating virtual exchanges into course material and teaching.
Download the 2022 interim report here. Want to know more? Contact Max Kemman.