Its population of 220,000 makes Eindhoven the fifth-largest city in the Netherlands. Student life in the small town is dominated by the Eindhoven University of Technology.
Eindhoven’s history begins in 1232, when the town was but a small collection of houses in the middle of nowhere. The city grew slowly, but steadily, until the Industrial Revolution sparked explosive growth of the population. Today, Eindhoven’s local economy is dominated by engineering and high-tech. The only companies from Eindhoven of international relevance are engineering giant Philips as well as its subsidiaries and spin-offs such as NXP Semiconductors and ASML.
Enrolling around 10,000 students, the Eindhoven University of Technology (or TU Eindhoven) is the main reason why students flock to the city. It is a relatively young university - founded as recently as 1956 - and considered one of the leading universities of technology in Europe. The TU closely cooperates with local tech companies, allowing for a lively exchange of research and practice, and numerous internship opportunities for its students.
Fontys University of Applied Sciences operates a small branch campus in Eindhoven where they offer English-taught Bachelor programmes in ICT (Information and Communication Technology) and International Business and Management Studies.
Around 700 students study at the Design Academy Eindhoven. The school offers a two specialised programmes in Design; a 4-year Bachelor and a 2-year Master.
Eindhoven is compact enough for virtually any distance in the city to be walkable. If not, as everywhere else in the Netherlands, hop on your bike and make use of the cities dense network of bicycle paths.
Although a small city, you will be surprised to learn that Eindhoven’s airport offers more than 70 connections within Europe, most of them typical summer vacation destinations served by low-cost carriers. For international students covering larger distances, you can alternatively fly to/from Amsterdam, Brussels (Belgium) or Cologne/Bonn (Germany).