Regional Prosperity & Student Voices Highlighted at Regioconferentie Stedendriehoek

22.04.2025

Student Voices, Including Wittenborg’s, Drive Regional Dialogue

On 2 April, De Zwitsalhal in Apeldoorn played host to the Regioconferentie Stedendriehoek — a major gathering of regional leaders, educators, and students focused on shaping a stronger, more innovative future for the area.

Organised by Regio Stedendriehoek, a partnership between eight municipalities — Apeldoorn, Brummen, Deventer, Epe, Heerde, Lochem, Voorst, and Zutphen — the event emphasised the collective mission to strengthen the region’s broad prosperity.

Led by writer and presenter Özcan Akyol, the programme featured talks by Jaap Fluit (Bredenoord), Mariëlle van der Most (Royal Van der Most), and Daan Dijkhuizen (Topicus), who stated: “If you’re truly rooted in a community, you can make an impact worldwide.”

Their words reflected the event’s central themes: safety, digitalisation, and sustainability — pillars of a resilient regional future.

Innovation took centre stage during a live interactive experiment by De Kien, where over 70 attendees helped train a Digital Twin model by choosing between green space, housing, employment and innovation. The results leaned heavily towards green space, which was further demonstrated on 16 April during the Kien Expo(sed) event at the Deventer Schouwburg.

One of the conference highlights was the student panel with representatives from Aventus, Saxion, Zone.college, and Wittenborg, who engaged in open dialogue with Mayor Ton Heerts. Among them was recent Wittenborg graduate Jacques Jordaan, originally from Stellenbosch, South Africa. He completed an MSc in Digital Marketing & Communication and is currently living in Apeldoorn while exploring career opportunities in the Netherlands.

“Studying in such an international environment has broadened my perspectives and shaped my career ambitions to work for international organisations,” said Jacques. “The region has a lot to offer — great quality of life, strong infrastructure, and a growing business environment. But to retain international talent, more networking opportunities, mentorship, and support with integration would be a big step forward.”

Jacques was personally approached after the event by the CEO of Topicus, who invited him to tour their office and discuss potential roles.

“It wasn’t a direct job offer, but a very encouraging sign that local companies are open to connecting with young professionals,” he shared.

Of the event, another highlight for him was speaking directly with regional leaders. “It was inspiring to hear firsthand about their vision for the future and their commitment to improving the region’s business environment. The main takeaway was the emphasis on collaboration and innovation as key drivers for regional success. Mayor Heerts and the other students also highlighted the importance of creating a supportive ecosystem for businesses and entrepreneurs.”

The event also marked the launch of the Economic Board Regio Stedendriehoek, a strategic alliance between business, government, and education to drive economic development and innovation. Wittenborg CEO Maggie Feng was appointed as one of the board’s members.

“Together, we aim to bring business, education, and government closer—investing in our region for the future," Feng told Samen1 afterwards. “At Wittenborg, we’re on a mission to connect international graduates with the Dutch labor market. Our goal is to retain this talent and help shape a diverse and innovative workforce for the Netherlands.”

In the official after movie of the conference, Feng concluded: “I expected that we would have many conversations together about the future of our beautiful region. Hopefully, in the future, we can leave something meaningful behind for the next generation.”

To cap off the day, the region introduced its newest tool for progress: Regio in Cijfers (The Region in Figures). This evolving dashboard offers insights into regional development through real-time data—supporting transparency and informed decision-making.