“The idea was already brought up by VISTA students last year, when Utrecht became the first city in the Netherlands to admit intermediate vocational education students to their introduction week,” Margriet Schreuders, director of Maastricht University’s Student Services Centre, reacts. “And I really understand. Being a student is not just an exclusive right for UM or Zuyd Hogeschool. Moreover, it fits in seamlessly with minister Dijkgraaf’s philosophy that intermediate vocational education students should be given a position that is more equal to that of higher education.”
The first “explorative discussions” between UM and VISTA on a managerial level have been carried out. The ‘student representatives’ from the intermediate vocational education institute will soon pay a visit to the students of the Inkom Working Group. Although nothing has been set in stone yet, Schreuders expects that a limited group of VISTA students will indeed participate in the introduction in August.
Wilma Lautenbach, senior consultant at VISTA also emphasises the “gradual” approach of a joint INKOM. Considering the difference in age (often younger than the average UM student), not everything will be done together, she says. Will VISTA students then form their own groups, or will they be mixed with Zuyd and UM students? According to Schreuders, that is still completely open. “This edition will be a pilot. We will see what works or what needs to be different next time.”
It is not just the educational institutes themselves, but also local politicians who are expressing the desire for a joint introduction week. Alderman Johan Pas from Studentenstad is an advocate, as is D66 Maastricht, PvdA Maastricht and VOLT Maastricht, who had submitted written questions on the topic. It is still too soon for a student from VISTA to join the Inkom Working Group, as the alderman suggests, says Schreuders. The Inkom Working Group 2023 – five students from UM and Zuyd – has already been composed; the constitution drink is on 17 March. That is also when the theme will be announced.