Elanna – Hanze University Foundation

Elanna Veldkamp is a Hanze University of Applied Sciences alumnus and has been working for the Hanze University Foundation since 2014. She’s a global citizen, having spent most of her life in Australia, Canada and now the Netherlands.

“My first assignment for the Hanze University Foundation was actually when I was a student at Hanze UAS in 2010. Linda Maat came into our classroom and requested us to make a communication plan for the Foundation. Fast forward four years later, after graduating with a Master’s degree and having worked in Haarlem for a while, I started job hunting in Groningen and was able to catch up with Linda. Within a few weeks I was working at Hanze UAS!

My job has so much variety: raising funds for educational institutions and student scholarships through fundraising events, managing international educational projects that really contribute to the development of a nation, meeting delegations and experiencing different cultures while traveling to various countries for training sessions or other activities.

I didn’t grow up in the Netherlands so it’s nice to be able to introduce visiting students and lecturers to the Dutch foods and traditions in a similar way that I learned about them. If just a small group is visiting we’ll sometimes cook dinner together at my house. That’s always special. And of course I also enjoy it when there’s an opportunity to visit them in return and to learn and experience the different cultures in West and East Africa. I’m really proud that Hanze UAS invests in improving higher education worldwide. It’s great to have such meaningful work. The themes that we work on: renewable energy, healthcare, entrepreneurship and IT, really represent Groningen and they are also the drivers for sustainable growth in ddeveloping countries.”