Announce from Eurogates

Do you need to improve your English skills in order to be admitted to one of our international Bachelor programmes?

Arnhem Business School offers this course to both European and non-European students who need to improve their English skills in order to be admitted to one of our international Bachelor programmes. The course will be concluded with an official IELTS exam* which has to be passed with a score of 6.0 in order to continue a study at Arnhem Business School. Besides focusing on English, the students are also introduced to our way of education that includes group work and presentations.


The subjects taught are:

• English Grammar
• English Conversation
• English Pronunciation
• IELTS preparation
• Management Training
• Western European Culture
• Project training
• Presentations

Read more: Eurogates. Forum

• The Netherlands: Amsterdam aims to reclaim 'top city' business status

Amsterdam City Council unveiled an ambitious campaign on Friday to reinvent the Dutch capital as one of the top five locations in Europe for international business and expats.  The plan is based on 100 days of talks with business leaders, organisations and government agencies. These discussions established that creativity distinguishes Amsterdam from other cities, the City Council said.

"Viewed from an outsider's vantage point, Amsterdam is clearly ready to reposition itself. This is why we’ve launched the Amsterdam Top City programme. In order to keep ahead of the global competition, Amsterdam needs to renew itself," the introduction to the plan states.

Amsterdam will spend EUR 51 million over the next five years on the project. The five main action areas are developing the best way to use and attract talent; stimulating and facilitating businesses from start to growth; improving the atmosphere: hospitality, freedom and service; creating and using space; and enhancing Amsterdam's international reputation.  Read more: Eurogates.Forum

• England: School bans mirrors in crackdown on makeup

What to do about teenage girls, and their apparent obsession with body image and beauty products, is a source of anxiety for parents and teachers. Some schools have tried to ban certain items of clothing. Now one has gone further by denying pupils the slightest chance to reflect on their looks.

Girls at King Solomon High School in Ilford, Essex, were astonished to go into their toilets three months ago and find the mirrors had been unscrewed and removed. The school believed that up to a hundred of its girls were spending too much time in front of the mirrors doing their make-up when they should have been in lessons. Read more: Eurogates.Forum

• England: How the prudent student can survive at college

A survey by the Guardian University Guide 2007 reveals that Imperial College, London, has the highest priced student accommodation in Britain, charging more than four times the cheapest university-managed flats at the University of Teesside. Undergraduates starting at Teesside this autumn can find rooms from ?32.50 a week.

But at Imperial, based in Kensington, west London, a single room with en-suite facilities is ?144 a week (?624 a month). To be fair to Imperial, it does offer cheaper rooms, starting at ?58 a week, but these are triple occupancy and will hold little appeal.

Total university applications are down this year by 4%-5%, largely because of the introduction of ?3,000 annual tuition fees, but also because of fears that student debt levels outstrip the value of a degree. The National Union of Students reckons that students starting this autumn will graduate with debts averaging ?20,000.  Read more: Eurogates.Forum

• The Netherlands: Immigration Minister Verdonk plans to block former illegals

Minister of Integration Rita Verdonk told Dutch national daily Trouw on Friday that she is looking into ways to make it difficult for people who have been picked up for living illegally in the Netherlands to return, even legally, to the country. A person’s record as a previous illegal resident may in future also be considered when they apply to visit the country, the minister said through a spokesman.

People wanting to visit the Netherlands for work, study or family reasons can still attempt to re-enter the country legally by applying for a temporary residence permit. A measure introduced earlier this year requires people wanting to settle permanently in the country to pass a course in Dutch language and culture.

At present people who have been deported after getting caught living illegally in the country can still apply for a temporary residence permit. Among others, school student Ta?da Pasic from Kosovo, whose deportation weeks before she was due to wrote her final school exams caught the headlines, recently successfully applied for a temporary residence permit to study in the Netherlands. She is to study law in Leiden.  Read more: Eurogates.Forum