Brabant hospitality for international talent
TU/e performs well when it comes to retaining international students. Many find jobs in the Brainport region after graduating. For the ambitions of the high-tech industry, it would be beneficial if even more alumni chose to stay and live here. Columnist Edith Snelders argues that it’s time to bring some of that trademark Brabant hospitality into play.
Recently, at a gathering for international alumni working in the Netherlands, I spoke with several TU/e graduates. Most of them had found suitable jobs. However, not all of them were working in the Brainport region.
About half of TU/e’s international graduates remain in the area to live and work. That is significantly higher than in other student cities, but still not enough to meet our regional ambitions.
One alumnus explained why he ultimately left: “I always kept the option open, but towards the end I didn’t feel at home enough in Eindhoven to stay.” Research shows that this sentiment is more widespread: graduates leave or stay depending on their social environment. Of course, the availability of jobs and housing also plays a role. We as individuals have little influence over those last two factors, but we do have influence over the first.
What I often hear from international students, is that it takes real effort to adjust to life in the Netherlands. Our directness can come across as blunt, and making spontaneous plans is often a no-go. And then there’s our lunch culture. In many countries, lunch is the key social meal of the day. Here, it tends to be more functional. Sharing meals and meeting up spontaneously are often essential for building social connections in other cultures.
Of course, we don’t need to change our culture, but we can do more to include our international fellow students in daily life. By actively involving them in (study) groups or inviting them more often to social activities, we get to know each other—and each other’s cultures—better. And let’s be honest: by 2026, the chance that you’ll work exclusively with Dutch colleagues is virtually zero.
Our province is known as the most sociable and welcoming in the Netherlands. Let’s live up to that reputation. And at the very least, let’s not give international students a social reason to start their careers somewhere else.
Edith Snelders is head of office for Alumni Relations and University Fund Eindhoven. The views expressed in this column are her own.
This column was translated using AI-assisted tools and reviewed by an editor.
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