Today we visited InHolland School of Applied Sciences Rotterdam campus which focuses on business and prelaw studies. We started our morning by going on a tour of Rotterdam to see the several new buildings and examine the architecture. During World War II, 85% of Rotterdam was bombed so almost all of the buildings in Rotterdam are brand new and there are still many more projects waiting to be built. Our guide who had extensive knowledge in architecture and the city explained to us that Rotterdam was like a “playground for architectures,” and many styles and shaped were being experimented with in these new buildings. However, there were still many pre-war buildings that were still in-tact. For example, we saw many old buildings that were stations that were where people would travel to foreign places such as New York that were now being used as restaurants or hotels.

With respect to the new buildings, they were all very modern with windows encompassing the entire exterior. These futuristic designs reminded me a lot of the business towers in Pittsburgh, which also happened to be an industrial city at first. We could see the shift towards a modern and touristic city in Rotterdam after the war because of the big city feel they are trying to accomplish. Our guide mentioned how in the outskirts of the city a brand new neighborhood with more luxurious houses and business are being built, which requires schools, parks, and churches to be built by them as well. This shift creates an indirection separation between social classes because it pushed those in a lower social class out of these areas and forms unintentional “ghettos.” Such effects of reconstruction may not be over looked because it could cause negative implications and injustice in the future.

There is also an initiative to create more public parks in the area, one of with being a beach. However, they plan to build skyscrapers behind the beach, which would block much of the sunlight from hitting the beach, and may end up being unused and a waste of time and resources to build. Our guide introduced to us the concept of “placemaking,” which is essentially building with the intention of succumbing to societal wants and needs. This is the perfect example of concept to customer because they are ensuring each plot of land has something built on it that has an active purpose in serving the community and is sustainable in some way since the shift to a more sustainable country is such a key detail in the Netherlands, reflecting in the addition of several public parks. The idea of the beach just may be missing the mark with placemaking because it may render functionless in the end, but has potential to be a good idea if modified.

After the tour we went inside InHolland’s main building and learned more about their classes and student life. We found out that the government determines a fixed cost for students to attend any public university as long as they are a European citizen, and it comes out to be around 2300 euros each year. We were all shocked at this price compared to the expensive university systems in the United States. She also mentioned that older students only have to attend classes two to three times a week because they have a strong outside of the classroom focus. She said that they prioritize projects and hands on learning, which was something we also saw at the InHolland Delft visit. I do think that this teaching style would benefit students in Pittsburgh as well, but I see how it may be challenging to make that change now and for the masses to be in board with since everyone learned differently.

To end the visit we played a Netherlands trivia game, which I quickly saw I did not know nearly as much as I thought I did about the country. I placed 20th out of 26, but I had a great time learning through my errors after I got some wrong. When returning to the hostel, I got subway for dinner and did some self reflecting. I can not believe it is almost the end of our trip already. Time has flown by but at the same time I have learned so much about the Netherlands that I feel like I’ve been here forever. I am so grateful for the opportunity to have visited such a welcoming and beautiful country and to have made such amazing friends in the process. This is the last time I will be able to say this, but see you tomorrow Netherlands!