Ten educational institutions, one goal: supporting student teams
Ten educational institutions across the province of North Brabant signed an agreement to improve accessibility to student teams.
Published on July 3, 2025
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Ten educational institutions across the province of North Brabant have signed an agreement to make student teams accessible to over 100,000 students. The effort is facilitated by BOOST, an agency founded by students themselves. This covenant integrates students from vocational schools, universities of applied sciences, and research universities.
The participating institutions are Summa, SintLucas, Ter AA, Koning Willem I College, HAS Green Academy, Breda University of Applied Sciences, Avans University of Applied Sciences, Design Academy Eindhoven, Eindhoven University of Technology, and Tilburg University. The signatories collectively support the vision of making educational boundaries more fluid and enhancing student interactions across disciplines.
BOOST's role
As the central figure orchestrating this collaboration, BOOST functions as a development agency dedicated to supporting student teams in North Brabant. Founded by five students, it leverages its unique position at the convergence of education, industry, and government to foster student-driven innovation. BOOST promotes integration across educational levels, facilitates active knowledge exchange, and offers financial support. The Province of North Brabant previously funded the agency through a €2.8 million grant.
To catalyze student innovation, BOOST provides two key types of grants: the Innovation Grant, which offers up to €40,000 for large-scale projects, and the Kickstarter Grant, which awards up to €1,500 for early-stage initiatives. Such funding is pivotal for students to experiment with concepts that could have regional and global impacts, from developing groundbreaking technologies like fast-charging electric vehicles to crafting sustainable solutions for future societal needs.
Collaboration for talent creation
“The future of education lies in blurring the boundaries between secondary vocational education, higher professional education, and university education,” says Ewout Hulscher, education manager at BOOST. “Students need to meet, collaborate, and learn from each other. This covenant lays the foundation for a growing ecosystem of multidisciplinary teams in Brabant, in which the talents of the future are formed.”
“It’s great that BOOST is committed to all students of all Brabant educational institutions. So many educational institutions working together, that’s unique in the Netherlands. All students get the chance to participate in a team or start one themselves. In this way, we build the talent and economy of the future together,” said the province's economy, talent, development, and finance deputy Martijn van Gruijthuijsen.
