Part of the team that designed the programme after it was approved. Photo Resource The new bachelor’s curriculum was critically examined by the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flandres (NVAO) accreditation panel on Wednesday, 6 November. Approval was given at the end of the day. The so-called Test New Programme (TNP) was positive, with conditions. That means that some t’s still need crossing before the start.
The TNP is the final test for a new educational programme. The programme already passed the macro efficacy test. This test checks whether the employment market needs graduates from the new programme and whether starting a new programme is necessary.
After the positive result was received in an Aurora classroom, the panel revealed how they believe the programme can be improved. Ethics and communication skills should be added to the tests more explicitly. Moreover, more attention should be paid to social organisations and NGOs in the preparations. These recommendations will be implemented and submitted within a month. Formally, the new bachelor may only start when the NVAO board makes that decision, but it always follows the panel’s advice.
Bridge builders
After the verdict, Dean of Education Arnol Bregt spoke. He thanked the panel for their favourable verdict. ‘We are very happy and look forward to improving the programme further based on these recommendations.’ He went on to thank everyone who worked on developing the new programme over the last few years.
Bregt says the WUR programme differs from other data science programmes in the Netherlands because this programme combines data science with life sciences. ‘We aim to train creative bridge builders.’ Assistant Professor Lukasz Grus, from the new programme’s task force, is also happy with the result. ‘We will receive more information on what precisely we need to finetune. That is perfect; it can only serve to improve the programme.
The new bachelor programme is expected to launch in September 2025.
