Hi, my name is Axel Zublena and I am a first-year ICT student at HZ University of Applied Sciences. I come from Lyon, France. In this article, you will find five good reasons to study ICT (Information and Communications Technology) at HZ.
1: Applied Sciences
One of the main reasons I choose to study at HZ is the fact that all the knowledge we learn is applied. During the first year, you will rarely study theoretical skills. In fact, you will frequently get examples of real-world applications of your knowledge, and apply what you have learned in group projects with meaningful goals.
Furthermore, everything we learn is relevant in the professional world. This means that we don’t learn outdated technologies and the technologies we do learn are the industry's standards. After only one year of study, I can already apply to certain entry software engineering jobs.
2: The Program
The year is divided into four quartiles, each lasting between 8 or 10 weeks. The first quartile is entitled “Introduction to Computer Science”, the second quartile “Game Development 101”, the third one “Modern Software Development 1” and the last one “Modern Software Development 2”. These quartiles are broken down into multiple courses: programming & computer science and professional skills. While programming courses are available in universities all around the world, professional skills courses are almost unique to HZ. Indeed, we learn Agile throughout the 4 years of studies couple with English lessons focused on IT.
Also, students usually work from 9 am until 4 pm. This allows students to do extracurricular work and activities. For example, you can discover the history of Middelburg with HZ Cult, play some volleyball with HZ Sport or simply deepen the knowledge gained during lessons.
3:Studying in a foreign country
To study at HZ University of Applied Sciences means that you will live in the Netherlands and speak almost exclusively in English. If you, like me, want to travel the world and have an international professional career, then studying in the Netherlands is a step in the right direction. While the language spoken in the Netherlands is Dutch, pretty much everyone knows how to speak English. And obviously, all ICT courses are taught in English.
Moreover, you will learn the Dutch culture but also the ones from your fellow international classmates. In my class, people come from European countries like Latvia, Bulgaria and Hungary and international ones like India.
4 : The opportunities
If you study ICT at HZ University of Applied Sciences, you will have the opportunity to work with real companies and real customers. For example, in the second quartile of the first year, my group and I worked on a video game for 10 year old students.
The ICT program at HZ gives you the chance to broaden your knowledge with activities like a hackathon, conferences, or the Project Week (a week where you work with older ICT students on a unique project). Moreover, because working in IT also means having some social skills, you can participate in the student association SV Hello World or become a student ambassador for HZ.
5: Studying at HZ
Finally, following the ICT program at HZ University of Applied Sciences means benefiting from the spirit, the experience, and the ecosystem of HZ. Indeed, HZ is a really welcoming school where you can participate in a lot of events, get help on anything (school, housing, and much more) and make friends with your classmates but also your teachers.
Are you interested in studying at HZ? Download the free brochure here!
