How to better align the provision of professional education with needs

A survey conducted by Utrecht University (UU) among 4,291 of its alumni in early 2021 revealed that over 60 percent of them want to take a course or degree programme to develop themselves professionally in the next two years. Their main reasons for it: learning new skills, seeking deeper knowledge and inspiration, and staying up to date with the latest developments in their field. They would choose UU because of the quality of its programmes and its link to scientific research.

This spring, the UU website listed more than 265 courses for professionals. They range from free online courses to study days, entire courses, drop-in classes, and Master's programmes. The university also offers in-company training, whereby lecturers design a course on request and deliver it in the workplace.

‘In the first few years, we just wanted to get something started,’ says Desiree Verberk, who was the programme manager for Education for Professionals at UU until September 2025. ‘We realised how important education for professionals is for the future. We wanted to encourage programmes and lecturers to start a programme for professionals, and we asked them: “What goes well with the research and education you already provide, what do you enjoy doing, and what do you think is relevant to practice?”’

According to Verberk, an open structure was deliberately chosen, which ensures that UU reaches a wider audience and that the range of courses on offer reflects UU's broad spectrum as a university. At a business school, the range of courses on offer would be much more limited. ‘As a result of this approach, we let a thousand flowers bloom. Perhaps now is the time to look for more structure.’

Lecturers' antennae
At the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, the Director of Education for Professionals, Robert Favier, is busy bringing order to this situation. Favier sees a growing need for professional education. In his field, compulsory further training has become a hot topic, and when it comes to sustainable livestock farming, the university has a wealth of knowledge that is eagerly awaited in practice. ‘It's good that teachers have the freedom to devise courses, but we need to know whether the industry is waiting for this offer. Many of our teachers have the antennae to know what is needed in their network. We should focus more on that.’

Mirko Schäfer, Research Leader at the Data School, is someone who puts these needs into practice. ‘I noticed that many organisations were struggling with artificial intelligence. So, we asked organisations what their employees needed to learn about this. Based on our experience, we were able to develop a course that met the demand and provided more depth based on our research.’

He would like the university to take a much more entrepreneurial approach in this regard. In his view, social needs, not lecturers' interests, should be prioritised when choosing which courses to offer. Schäfer: 'Before we offer a course, we explore the market and organise design sessions and feedback rounds with stakeholders. Then, we continuously work to improve the course. That is an investment for the Data School, but such a course does meet the needs of the target group and is an effective way of sharing the university's knowledge with society. I have made a considerable investment in this course. The university should offer more scope for this, and the costs involved can be included in the price of the course.'

From liberalism to populism
'The good thing about Mirko Schäfer is that he has a keen sense of what is necessary and combines that with his own expertise,' says Paul Adriaanse, Director of Professional Education at the Faculties of Humanities and Law, Economics & Governance. ‘We must keep a close eye on what we want and add something to what's already on offer on the commercial market. And we want to do that on a non-profit basis.’

According to him, it is always necessary to assess whether there is a market for a certain course. He mentions the recent course From Liberalism to Populism, which is quite popular among journalists, councillors and policymakers. In five sessions, lecturers in Political History outline ideologies and analyse their significance in the current political climate. ‘The course responds to current events. Many professionals find it useful in their work, and UU has the expertise in-house.’

According to Maryse Chappin, interim research director of Education for Professionals at the Faculty of Geosciences, lecturers realise this too. This spring, the faculty invited its lecturers to submit proposals for courses. ‘This allows them to disseminate their research more widely. When submitting their proposals, they realise that the course must be interesting and relevant to professionals.’ Chappin believes that she can help policymakers in the field of sustainability, particularly civil servants, project developers, urban planners and landscape architects whose professions are affected by climate change.

Another form of professional education is known as ‘drop-in education’. In this type of course, professionals share the lecture halls with regular students for about ten weeks. Until recently, many courses in the Social Sciences were open to external participants. ‘However, we want to limit that offer to a few courses,’ says Madelijn Strick, Director of Education for Professionals. ‘We are looking for courses that are designed to allow professionals to attend lectures alongside Bachelor's or Master's students.’

The added value lies in the exchange of experiences or collaboration, she says. Several faculties offer this type of mixed classroom. One example is Tackling real-world problems through Interdisciplinary Collaboration. Students work together with professionals on assignments linked to one of the university's four strategic research themes.

Reputation and quality
Desiree Verberk said earlier in this article that the time has come for more structure in the range of courses on offer. Various faculties are now looking for a more thematic approach. The Faculty of Social Sciences recently decided to organise its professional education programmes around the themes of education, healthcare, youth, cultural change in organisations, and artificial intelligence & data science. ‘We believe this will enable us to streamline our programme offering,’ says Strick.

The interviewees would like UU to seek a more distinctive image for its professional education programmes, which would involve investigating how the university can use its expertise to contribute to society's needs. Despite the streamlining, 'diversity in the range of courses on offer remains a conscious choice. That can also be a strength,' states Paul Adriaanse.

A recent survey of professionals asking what they look for when choosing a course shows that the reputation of the university and the quality of the programme play a decisive role. Respondents associate UU with scientific expertise, reliable degrees and high-quality lecturers. According to this survey, this could also serve as the desired umbrella for professional education. Utrecht University's offer should focus on concepts such as academic excellence, flexibility and personalised education that is practical and future-oriented. This should be evident in every course.

This is an article from DUB's Lang zullen we leren! (Long may ww learn!) magazine, which was made in collaboration with Utrecht University's Continuing Education programme. The magazine can be found in several buildings of the university but all the articles from the magazine are also available online. Over the next two months, DUB's website will feature several of those articles and stories, as well as publish a few additional online-only articles about continuing education. You can find all the articles related to the magazine here.