In April this year, Amsterdam announced plans to build a new technological research institute. The city simultaneously launched a competition offering universities across the globe the chance to be a part of the project.

International prestige

In the last few months, over a dozen international universities have submitted applications. The competing institutions include Columbia University, MIT, Stanford, the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and TU Delft.

Judges have now created a shortlist of the five proposals which they want to see further developed, and one of these plans will be chosen as a final template for the new university.

High hopes

The new institution will be a technology research institute, although its specifics will depend on the outcome of this competition. Its primary focus will be urban issues such as energy usage, health care and waste management.

The university is planned as a collaborative project, which will unite the sphere of education and that of (inter)national business, represented by companies such as Shell, Heineken and the BBC.

Preliminary ideas currently being discussed include plans for a "training ground" where urban issues can be designed and tested, as well as an institution dedicated wholly to fostering investment in sustainable energy.

Organisers also hope that the new university will bring increased economic growth and employment to the city.

Source: Het Parool