During a one-and-a-half year period, five students will work several days a week on developing new software. They will also be given tuition on programming theory. If they complete the course successfully, the participants can start immediately in one of the business units of Nedap. In close cooperation with the University of Twente and Eindhoven University of Technology, Nedap is structuring the educational program on offer at Nedap University.

The influence of software on society is constantly increasing, due to the influence of digitisation. 'If we want to get a market moving, this increasingly means that we need to develop new software,' explains Ruben Wegman, CEO of Nedap. 'For example in the form of software which supports the Nedap hardware , but also by launching full software solutions in the market. The influence of a software developer in the development of technology is crucial in this. Increasing numbers of new graduates are interested in software development jobs. This was the reason for founding Nedap University.
And in Helma Hoving of the University of Twente Professional Learning and Development we have found the perfect partner for the development of the educational program. We want to train young professionals to be fully fledged software developers, who are able to hold their own in our rapidly developing profession, and be able to develop innovative applications which really matter.'

Co-creation in market-oriented talent development
Geert Heijenk, Information Technology course director at the University of Twente: 'The University of Twente wants to train enough people in Information Technology at an academic level to be able to meet the huge demand from the professional field, both nationally and regionally. This cooperation with Nedap will make it possible to achieve this for people who have already completed a relevant course in another area.'

Strict selection process
The first class of students at Nedap University consists of five people with diverse backgrounds: from biometric sciences to technical medicine and mathematics. The students first had to pass a strict selection process. This is because the course is intended only for people who have the clear potential to become extremely good software developers. Wegman: 'The students have to be very strong and confident, because we make high demands on our employees. For example, the work of software developers is not simply programming software, they also have to bear in mind aspects such as user-friendliness, for example. They also have to be able to provide feedback to their fellow developers and be able to convincingly sell the functionalities developed by them. For this, a student needs a good mix of a theoretical foundation, practical insight, the ability to handle freedom, and a future developer must demonstrate entrepreneurship.'

Liesbeth Wijers, the first student at Nedap University signs her contract with Ruben Wegman.

The University
Nedap University focuses on new graduates who want to become software developers. The course program sits on three pillars: theory, practice and the mastery of skills which are inseparably linked to the business culture at Nedap, such as entrepreneurship, creativity and the ability to listen carefully to the market. The theory classes consist of six modules which are offered by the University of Twente and Eindhoven University of Technology. The objective is to get students familiar with all the steps which play a role in software development. This includes all aspects of a web application, from frontend to backend.

Heijenk: 'The field of Information Technology is much broader than just programming skills - which are nevertheless important. We will be providing the students with a broad palette of knowledge and skills, as we do our own students. The role of communication systems and Internet technology, dealing with huge quantities of data and retrieving useful information from it, and the underlying fundamental, often mathematical, concepts which play a role in information technology form part of this.'

At the end of the course, students are given the assignment to build a feature in an application for one of the Nedap business units. The course ends with a presentation of this product to the business unit.

You can find more information on Nedap University at www.lifeatnedap.com.

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