Defensity College received 206 applications last month from students who want to gain work experience at the Ministry of Defence, compared to an average of 110. It was announced at the end of June that Princess Amalia will be taking a course there. By no means all those interested can be accommodated.
Princess Amalia will combine the work-study program with her bachelor’s degree in Dutch law at the UvA. Her choice clearly also inspired other students. The number of applications at Defensity College increased by more than three quarters in the weeks following the news about Amalia, according to figures requested by NU.nl.
Defensity College is very happy with that attention, but the success also has a downside. It means that the college has to reject more students. “And that is sour,” says Lieutenant Colonel Pieter van der Peet, commander of the college. “We have room for a maximum of 450 working students and we are now at the ceiling.”
Approximately ten students leave every month, which means that ten new students can also join every month. “We want to prevent it from becoming too big,” says Van der Peet. “We want to maintain the community feeling.”
Defensity College trains students to become soldiers. The students change workplaces every six months, allowing them to get to know different parts of the Ministry of Defence. Anyone who wants to work at the college must first write a letter of motivation. This is followed by an interview and the candidates are subjected to a psychological and medical examination.
Especially need for students with a technical profile
The work-study program is currently mainly looking for students with a technical study, such as ICT, Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. Students of educational science, pedagogy or HR are also more likely to be accepted. In short: all profiles that Defence needs and has vacancies for. The idea is that these students can later work at the Ministry of Defence.
Van der Peet emphasizes that those who are not accepted also have other options within Defence, such as the Service Year, the Social Service or an internship. He also points to the National Resilience Training, in which citizens can develop basic military skills.
Amalia will start her period as a working student in September. Earlier this year, she completed her bachelor’s degree in Politics, Psychology, Law and Economics (PPLE) at the UvA. According to Van der Peet, it is not yet clear at which workplace she will start. “That is currently being worked on.”