Skip to main content

Archives: Courses

VU Summer School – The Circular Economy as a Social Innovation

Written by rostanetek on .

We would like to announce the 12th VU Amsterdam Summer School! For students from Aurora-universities, we selected 2 interesting courses. These two-week summer courses are small-scale and cover two interesting themes: the circular economy (this course) and new venture creation (also available in the course catalogue).The course ‘The Circular Economy as a Social Innovation’ is taught in English, and open to Master’s students or students in a Bachelor’s honours programme.

Our Summer School professors are passionate about sharing their knowledge through interactive lectures, group discussions, and practical assignments. We also take care of our students and ensure they have a comfortable stay in the Netherlands. We offer exciting social activities such as city tours, museum visits, and workshops. These allow you to explore one of the most beautiful capital cities in Europe and gain valuable insights into Dutch culture.

The course ‘The Circular Economy as a Social Innovation’
What is the circular economy, and what can it mean for our life, study, and work? In this course, you will engage in active and creative workshops and excursions, next to lectures from circular economy experts. The course will teach you what the circular economy is, how it tackles environmental and social problems, and which social innovations are crucial to transition towards a circular economy. At the end of this course, you will be inspired and empowered to create social innovations for the circular economy.

The course draws on previous work conducted by the (guest) teachers as part of a community focusing on people at the heart of circularity. This community consists of researchers and professionals and is organised by Het Groene Brein. See the course page for more extensive information.

Application and costs
If you are interested, please reach out to the Aurora representative at your own university. The selected students can then be nominated by the Aurora home university via amsterdamsummerschool@vu.nl, before 1 April 2025. You will then have until 1 May 2025 to finalise your registration. The selected students from each Aurora university will receive a tuition fee waiver.

Students can refer to their home university to learn more about the Aurora Mobility grant in order to pay for other costs such as accommodation and travel expenses. Aurora students who are not nominated by their home university can still directly register for one of our 30 Summer School courses. They will then receive the same discount as VU-students.

More information
Would you like to know more? We have answers to the most common questions on our FAQ page or you can sign up for our next live information session.

Of course, we are also happy to answer your questions via amsterdamsummerschool@vu.nl.

VU Summer School – New Venture Creation

Written by rostanetek on .

We would like to announce the 12th VU Amsterdam Summer School! For students from Aurora-universities, we selected 2 interesting courses. These two-week summer courses are small-scale and cover two interesting themes: new venture creation (this course) and the circular economy (also available in the course catalogue). The course ‘New Venture Creation in the Amsterdam Entrepreneurial Ecosystem’ is taught in English, and open to Advanced Bachelor’s students (3rd year).

Our Summer School professors are passionate about sharing their knowledge through interactive lectures, group discussions, and practical assignments. We also take care of our students and ensure they have a comfortable stay in the Netherlands. We offer exciting social activities such as city tours, museum visits, and workshops. These allow you to explore one of the most beautiful capital cities in Europe and gain valuable insights into Dutch culture.

The course ‘New Venture Creation’
The creation of new ventures is one of the most important economic issues of this time, all over the world. It is not limited to start-ups only, but also applies to the development of new activities by existing firms (among them corporates) and spin-offs by universities, company expansions, take-overs, and scale-ups, and much more.

This course follows a double approach. The first approach is the sustainable entrepreneurship approach, dealing with the economic, social, and ecological aspects of new ventures. The second approach is the life cycle of the firm approach, dealing with the changes of the firm and the entrepreneur during the life cycle of the firm. See the course page for more extensive information.

Application and costs
If you are interested, please reach out to the Aurora representative at your own university. The selected students can then be nominated by the Aurora home university via amsterdamsummerschool@vu.nl, before 1 April 2025. You will then have until 1 May 2025 to finalise your registration. The selected students from each Aurora university will receive a tuition fee waiver.

Students can refer to their home university to learn more about the Aurora Mobility grant in order to pay for other costs such as accommodation and travel expenses. Aurora students who are not nominated by their home university can still directly register for one of our 30 Summer School courses. They will then receive the same discount as VU-students.

More information
Would you like to know more? We have answers to the most common questions on our FAQ page or you can sign up for our next live information session.

Of course, we are also happy to answer your questions via amsterdamsummerschool@vu.nl.