Bachelor in International Horticulture & Management

Aeres University of Applied Sciences offers a degree programme in international horticulture and management for students interested in a career in one of the following professional profiles:

• Horticultural advisor
• Sales/ account/business management in the horticultural sector
• Entrepreneurship and business management
• Researcher in the horticultural sector

The flowers and food sectors in most economies worldwide are undergoing rapid change. The development of new products, the increase in demand in non-traditional markets and the relocation of production to areas with a favorable production climate, both in the physical and in the business sense, are contributing to a form of globalization that is specific to these sectors. There is hardly a field in business activities where the interests of production and those of sales and marketing are so closely linked.

Agricultural production in Europe faces important challenges on how and where to produce for increasingly demanding consumers and a competitive market. The future managers and advisors in the sector need more than ever first-hand knowledge about innovative techniques in horticulture and plant breeding, and international business management skills.

Graduates of this course will have first-hand knowledge of practice in the Netherlands, one of the leading EU countries in horticulture and plant breeding. Therefore, a middle manager in the flowers and food sector needs to be aware on the one hand of the primary process in horticulture, the issues that are paramount for that sector, new developments stemming from research, and on the other hand the marketing and sales process, including the logistics that are paramount for these perishable goods. To this, the successful manager will add international awareness and experience of international setting in which both the production and sales will take place, aided by proficiency in handling cultural differences.

Qualification

After successfully completing this one-year programme, graduates will receive the Ingenieur degree (bachelor’s honors degree) in Management and Agribusiness .

Competencies

Successful graduates will be competent to work in the following areas of expertise:

• Live and breathe plants and their enormous potential for contributing to human well-being and nutrition, while respecting the sustainability of the ecosystems that provided the original material
• Handle the business process in large-scale production units, or in the inputs industry, in order to provide a balance between flexibility and continuity
• See, and transfer to others, the possibilities of physical, fiscal and economic environments other than one’s own
• Provide leadership and motivation to partners and colleagues, or employees, for a wide variety of backgrounds in such a way that respect is given where it is due

Talent to grow. That is what Aeres University of Applied Sciences stands for. Our university is rooted in the agricultural and educational higher education. We focus on education, research and sharing knowledge. This is how we contribute to the development of innovative professionals. Professionals who are capable of taking responsible decisions in a complex world, with a natural talent for acting sustainable.

Aeres University has three faculties: Dronten, Almere and Wageningen. We used to be two separate universities, but we fused in 2013. We share the same vision and mission, but we each have our own profile and identity.