New WRKlab officially opened: “The gap between students and businesses is very small here”

What was merely a ‘crazy idea’ this spring has already become a proven success: the WRKlab, a joint venture between WRK.frl/ and NHL Stenden. On Tuesday 21 November, the brand-new WRKlab premises were officially opened amid great interest from dozens of entrepreneurs, students and staff from the university of applied sciences.

A very special lab has recently opened on the NHL Stenden campus: the WRKlab. In the WRKlab, a collaboration between WRK.frl/ and NHL Stenden, students have a space to work on real-world challenges posed by real companies. At the same time, they get to know Frisian businesses and discover the opportunities for a career in Friesland. For companies, the lab offers opportunities to raise their profile among the next generation of professionals. And because the students work on a problem in multidisciplinary groups, fresh, unconventional ideas and solutions emerge.

Thanks to the ‘just do it’ mentality that characterises WRK.frl/, the WRKlab grew in just a few months from a wild idea into a successful bridge between education and the business world. Robin Kras, HR business partner at Lankhorst, has been involved with the lab since the start. “When students from different degree programmes get to work on your assignment, you’re bound to be surprised by the solutions they come up with. That multidisciplinary approach, that cross-pollination, is for me the great added value of the WRKlab.”

The WRKlab developed so quickly that, initially, it didn’t even have its own premises. Until now. The lab has been given its own space on campus. So it’s time for an official opening! Around seventy students, entrepreneurs, staff from the university of applied sciences and the province of Fryslân were present to admire the new WRKlab. After a welcome speech, the team gave an insight into the thinking behind the WRKlab: “In virtually all our discussions with Frisian businesses, it kept coming up that they would like to collaborate with the education sector, but that this is proving very difficult. We realised: we really need to do something about this.”

The event was not only about the opening of the new premises, but also celebrated the WRKlab’s achievements to date. That is why students currently working on a project through the WRKlab were given the opportunity to talk about the issue they are tackling. Such as hospitality student Lize Tine Wiegman and HRM student Jouke de Haan, who together examined the HR processes and customer satisfaction at solar panel installer AddSolar. Lize Tine: “I’m studying at the hospitality school, so the HR field is new to me. At AddSolar, I’m getting to know a technical company and learning about business processes as well as HR. It’s also great to work with students from other courses. It broadens your horizons.” Jouke: “I’ve realised how valuable it is to meet people from the industry. If you’re looking for an internship, a final-year project or perhaps even a job, I think that always comes in handy.”

The students’ presentations were received with great interest and led to some fascinating discussions. “You can tell that the gap between students and businesses is very small here,” says Hans Rozema, economic policy officer at the Province of Fryslân. “If you want to make the labour market future-proof, you need to enthusiastically and proudly showcase what the Frisian business community has to offer. That is what the WRKlab does very well.”

At the end of the gathering, the new venue was officially opened. This was marked by a cheerful group photo and, of course, a toast. As the glasses were raised, Rinke Bolster offered a fitting closing remark: “To the new venue, to surprising collaborations, and to all the wonderful things we have to offer in Friesland.”