Joep Houterman: ‘Stronger through collaboration’

The Fontys for Society Event brought together more than 1,500 students, current and former staff, alumni and partners at the Rachelsmolen campus on Thursday 10 September. For Chairman of the Board Joep Houterman, the event was more than just an inspiring start to the academic year. It also serves as visible proof of the progress Fontys is making with For Society 2030: more collaboration, more connection and a more united Fontys.

Cooperation was the central theme of his speech. Not only cooperation with businesses, civil society organisations and government bodies, but also within Fontys itself. According to Houterman, progress arises precisely where different worlds meet.

“Often, the greatest gains are found exactly where worlds intersect,” he said during the event. “Between students, lecturers and professionals. Between education, research and professional practice. But also between our degree programmes and services themselves.”

Stronger with Fontys

Houterman also links this development to the recent national campaign by universities of applied sciences: ‘The Netherlands is stronger with graduates from universities of applied sciences.’ In his view, this applies just as strongly to the southern Netherlands.

“North Brabant and Limburg are stronger with Fontys,” he says. “Not because of our size, but because of all the people who work here to develop talent, knowledge and social progress. All our colleagues and students demonstrated this beautifully at the Fontys for Society Event.”

According to Houterman, Fontys’ social value is becoming increasingly visible through intensive collaboration between education, research, businesses, civil society organisations and public authorities. “The major challenges of our time call for connection. That is the essence of For Society 2030.”

A year of change and learning

At the same time, Houterman emphasises that Fontys’ strategic development is not detached from everyday reality. “We’re juggling an awful lot at once,” he says. “There are exciting developments, but also complex processes. Think of the reorganisations within the Marketing & Communications department and the HRM & TP institute. This creates stress for those involved. For some colleagues, this has far-reaching consequences.” According to Houterman, 2026 has deliberately been designated as a transitional year. A year in which Fontys is exploring new directions, experimenting and learning in the field of HARP (harmonisation of support processes, ed.). “That sometimes means the workload is high, which is precisely why I want to pay tribute to all our colleagues. Despite all the changes, they continue to do what Fontys stands for: providing good education, carrying out practice-oriented research and collaborating with our wider community. That deserves a great deal of appreciation.”

Growing into one Fontys

One of the ambitions of For Society 2030 is to further develop Fontys as a single organisation. Houterman sees clear progress in this area. “What I saw during the Fontys for Society Event confirms that feeling. People from all parts of the organisation are meeting each other, striking up conversations and showing an interest in each other’s work. I’ve noticed that more and more colleagues feel: we’re doing this together.”

That is precisely why Fontys opts to hold such an event. Not only to showcase the work of students, researchers and staff, but also to get to know one another better internally.

Tangible progress

Houterman now sees tangible progress across several strategic themes. For instance, he says the research organisation is continuing to develop strongly, partly through the Centres of Expertise and the six knowledge themes in which Fontys is increasingly linking research, education and social issues.

Master’s programmes are also growing. “Fontys has traditionally been known primarily as a bachelor’s institution. We are now seeing our range of master’s programmes continue to develop. The number of programmes is growing, and various master’s programmes are reaching a scale that offers new opportunities. That is an important development for the future of our institution.”

Internal and external collaboration

Joep Houterman sees that collaboration is beginning to bear fruit – both externally and internally. ‘Take international recruitment, for example. We’ve really joined forces in that area, and it’s going extremely well.’

He also highlights the intensive collaboration within the region, including with secondary schools, vocational colleges, universities, local authorities and businesses. One example of this is the collaboration with vocational colleges to make the transition from Level 4 vocational education to higher professional education more accessible and successful. “That is important for talent development, for the region and, above all, for the students taking that step.”

Careful change

Although, according to Houterman, Fontys is undergoing significant change, he wishes to emphasise that changes are being introduced deliberately and carefully. “I don’t believe in ‘big bang’ changes. Major transitions take time. We want to think through changes thoroughly, refine them and introduce them step by step. This also applies, for example, to Talent-Oriented Education.” He believes that whilst developments can sometimes feel as though they are happening quickly, at the same time a great deal of attention is paid to quality, support and due care.

Looking to the future

Before he leaves Fontys, Houterman intends to focus primarily on lifelong learning (LLL) in the coming period – with the same energy as in all previous years. He sees major opportunities in this area, particularly within the Brainport region. “We are currently taking important steps within the Beethoven programme. If we succeed in organising our provision for the semiconductor sector effectively, this will also create a strong foundation for other sectors in the region.” According to him, this ties in with a broader trend in the Netherlands, where lifelong learning is becoming an increasingly important part of universities of applied sciences’ social mission. “I’ve been advocating for this for years, and it seems this government is also set to take steps in this direction in terms of legislation...”

For Houterman, one message remains central to this – the same message that was at the heart of the Fontys for Society Event: collaboration is not an end in itself, but the way in which Fontys makes a social impact. “Don’t ask first what the other person should do. Ask first what you can do to make the collaboration a success. I