In March, Dutch students travelled to Budapest. Last week, the visit was returned. The Hungarian group went to recycling company ARN in Weurt and the Amercentrale power plant in Geertruidenberg: two organisations actively working on the energy transition. The visits had a dual purpose: to show students how large companies integrate sustainability in concrete terms, and to help them discover what role they, as young academics, might play in that process.
Matt, student at Corvinus University: "It was super interesting to visit those companies and see how they are working towards more sustainable energy systems. But the contact with the other students is also just really great." Thijmen, student at Radboud University also appreciated the company visits: "Companies also show that they are interested in students and the role we might play for them. That's really cool."
Beyond the company visits, the students discussed sustainability with Marije Klomp, cooked together at the student church, and were introduced to the Radboud transdisciplinary Healthy Landscape research project in nature reserve the Ooijpolder.
Not straightforward, but worthwhile
An exchange like this does not happen by itself. The programme directors of both universities emphasised that the initiative requires entrepreneurship: there is no standard route, no ready-made format. It takes self-organisation, coordination with companies, and alignment between two programmes from different types of universities. That makes planning a challenge — but also makes the exchange richer in substance.
"You can tell and present students all kinds of things, but nothing beats experiencing how it works in the real business world. This kind of initiative is something you have to drive yourself, it doesn't just happen", Sjors Witjes, Radboud University, and Gyula Zilahy, Corvinus University, share.
Personal development was also central to the programme. By actively involving students in the organisation of the exchange, they gained more than knowledge about sustainability in practice — they also developed skills in collaboration, planning and taking responsibility. Skills that will prove just as valuable as academic expertise once they enter the professional world.
Connected for Impact
This exchange fits seamlessly within the university's strategy Connected for Impact: the ambition to act as a catalyst in and for the region, and to build bridges between science, education and society. By bringing students into contact with organisations actively driving the sustainability transition — while connecting them with international peers — that ambition becomes tangible, not as an abstract policy statement, but as lived experience.