Ella Peters

"Studying at Van Hall Larenstein offers many opportunities which are not commonly available in the UK"


Ella Peters is a student International Development Management, majoring in Sustainable Value Chains. "I chose to study abroad as this course is not available in the UK. I have lived in mainland Europe for two years prior to studying and I really love the lifestyle. VHL University of Applied Sciences (VHL) offers many opportunities which are not commonly available in the UK.
I would totally recommend studying here, I absolutely love it!"

First weeks
"When I arrived at VHL I really enjoyed the intro week and it was a really good chance to get to meet people and a refreshing, fun change to UK freshers week.
I attended a really useful lecture during this week which provided lots of useful information, including how to set up a bank account here. Would totally recommend this to future students. The first few weeks were a positive transition back into academic work and the pace was perfect, keeping me on my toes without getting overwhelmed with work! I was really surprised by the style of lecturing, I love it as the lecturers know your name and are more than happy to help you out and share insights with you whenever they can. This was extremely beneficial for my internship (which I have just completed in Bolivia) as network connections are really handy!"

Learning environment
"Overall, the learning environment is very positive and it is an environment I love and thrive off as there is often the possibility to specialise on a topic of particular interest. For example, I am really interested in sustainable fashion production and this is the industry I would like to pursue a career in and so my internship was working for an ethical manufacturer of knit and crochet work (I worked on Fairtrade certification of the company) and I am going to be able to do my next project on sustainable fashion. This really inspires me to work to my best. The teaching style is varied, a nice mix of lectures, workshops, discussions, etc."

English language
"I have not experienced any issues with non-native English of my lecturers, they all have a high level of language skills. Also, most students at VHL can speak some English and so I never have communication problems in (and outside) of school. I prefer to study alone in order to focus better but VHL has plenty of spaces (silent, quiet and a little louder) to work and you can always find a computer to work on so that is something you never need to stress about."

Studying abroad
"I would 100% recommend studying abroad, I feel that my study experience has been far richer than what it would have been at a UK university. There are so many different things to do here; its only six hours on the bus to Paris, beautiful cycling around every corner and lots of opportunities within VHL (going to Tony’s Chocolonely event last month was a highlight). Since visiting the open day, I just knew that VHL was for me and from then I felt very satisfied with my decision to study here. I would encourage students to visit the open day if they have the opportunity as it really confirmed VHL is the place for me."

More information:
Bachelor International Development Management