Global Project and Change Management

Find below an overview of the GPCM curriculum, the compass of your learning journey. In the first two years you will learn all about the basics of becoming a project and change manager. You will learn about new perspectives and world views, acquire the basis knowledge and skills needed to find your personal interests to build on in years 3 and 4. In the final two years you will have the opportunity to choose your own profile and develop your own learning pathway.

During your studies, you will find out which topics spike your interest, and that you can incorporate into your projects. Every year the issues you work on become more complex, which helps you gain more autonomy.

The workload is roughly 40 hours a week, 20 contact hours and 20 hours for individual assignments, group work and homework. In this document you can find the learning units, modules and learning outcomes per year/semester.

In the first two years, you will engage with three distinct dimensions: world, professional, and me. 

World

You will gain a comprehensive understanding of how the world works, why society is structured the way it is, and why people have one ideology or another. You will learn about the SDG Agenda and its history. You will learn about globalization, and how it impacts your own perspective, and also how it affects businesses, the economy, geopolitics, social behavior, and cultural influences. You will also think critically, why are thinks the way they are? And, how could the world operate differently? You must understand how the world functions, before you can create a better reality. 

Professional

You will learn how to take action as a professional in the world; acquiring the essential skills required to become international project managers and change makers. You will learn how to lead real projects tackling global sustainability issues, from the beginning to the end. You will learn on how to conduct academic research which will help you gain valuable knowledge for effective communication with stakeholders. You will learn how to communicate professionally, how to write an academic article, how to develop a business plan, gain analytical and operational skills. From day one you will work on real-life issues for real-life clients active in different sectors. Explore some project examples of our students here. 

Me

You will discover and develop your professional and personal identity. This journey is all about your personal growth, helping you to become the effective impactful professional you aspire to be. You will focus on your values in relation to sustainability. You will learn how to give and take feedback, be self-reflective, and challenge your own mind set. You will become aware of your own paradigms. Topics like personal and character development, building resilience and self-reflection will be addressed. Get an insight in Resiliency Labs here(opens in new tab). 

Key elements

• Earth Charter and the SDG Agenda
• (Introduction to) Project Management
• Qualitative and quantitative research
• Sustainable business and marketing
• Financial literacy (management/budgeting/investing)
• History of globalisation
• Geopolitics
• Diversity and inclusion
• Social justice
• Intercultural competencies
• Economics
• Environmental economics
• Academic writing and presentation
• Rhetoric and communication
• International business relations
• Future trends and scenarios / Emergent futures
• Personal development and resilience labs
• Sustainable development change
• Theory U (change management)
• Inner Development Goals

Skills 

Critical thinking skills, Complexity awareness, Connectedness, Perspective skills, Sense-making Academic writing skills, Research skills, Appreciation, Inclusive Mindset and Intercultural Competence, Creativity, Optimism, Mobilization skills, Communication skills, Academic writing skills, Self-Awareness, Perspective skills, Resiliency 

The final two years of the curriculum is divided into four semesters of half a year: Minor Managing Projects in a Globlized World, Minor Value Creators, Free choice semester, Internship & Capstone. You have the flexibility to choose the order, except for the internship & capstone semester, which will take place lastly.  

Minor Managing Projects in a Globalized World

Multidisciplinary projects are the vehicles that make change and innovation possible. In this minor you will work in small and diverse collaborative project teams on a complex project assignment for an external client in the Netherlands or abroad. Countries where we do projects include Uganda, Kosovo, Ghana, Romania, Hong Kong, Philippines and Chili, to name a few. The assignment will be broadly related to one or more of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s). Besides the application of knowledge and project management skills, emphasis is placed on developing ‘Twenty-First Century skills’, such as collaboration and leadership, critical thinking, problem solving and creativity. Read more about the minor here and discover projects from students who participated in the minor here. 

Value Creators

During this semester, the project you work on will have a transdisciplinary approach. Instead of working on a project linked to one client or one organization, you will address issues that involve multiple stakeholders. You will act as an independent change agent consultant, integrating the needs and expectations of multiple actors and networks. For example, if you care about the issue of sustainable mobility in a city, you may engage with policymakers, urban developers, local businesses, transport and infrastructure agencies and companies, and citizens. Find examples of societal value created by students here(opens in new tab). 

Free choice semester

In this semester you have the opportunity to deepen and widen your knowledge in an area of your choosing. You are free to do anything that is in your interests, such as journalism, design, or learning a new language. You may pick from 150+ partner universities(opens in new tab) abroad or opt to stay in the Netherlands. If you have already decided to pursue a Master’s programme, you could choose to do your pre-Master’s (if required and possible) in your free choice semester.

Internship & capstone

During your final semester, you will have the opportunity to participate in a research-based internship. This allows you to apply your professional knowledge and skills as an international project manager. This internship will involve writing your thesis and developing a research-based professional product. You can opt for one of the three tracks: Academic, Professional or Entrepreneurial. Each track is designed to support your interest and future aspirations. 

The Capstone serves as the concluding component of both the final part of the internship and of the GPCM study. Over the course of three weeks, you will demonstrate all competences acquired throughout the programme, showing your capability to be a project and change manager within your chosen professional field.

Education for Sustainable Development

The honours bachelor's degree programme ‘Global Project & Change Management’ aims to contribute to the realization of the Sustainable Development Goals Agenda and to the transition towards a more sustainable world by offering education for sustainability. We do this by integrating all the cross-cutting skills and competences throughout the learning outcomes of our curriculum. All learning activities and experiences in the programme contribute to five interrelated domains (Global Citizenship, Systems Transformation, Leadership, Research and Innovation, and Multi-Value Creation) that contain the conceptual essence and narrative from the Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)(opens in new tab) pedagogical frameworks, and the expectations and requirements from the local, national and international work field. 

Interdisciplinary Education

Due to the complexity of today’s world, we offer you education that prepares you to live, work and learn in such an evolving society. Unique for our programme is that we no longer provide education that is fragmented and viewed from different subjects (thematic areas). We apply interdisciplinary teaching methods, where learning is structured around themes that cut across multiple subjects. By exploring these issues through an interdisciplinary lens, you can develop a deeper understanding of the complex challenges and opportunities facing our world today. For that reason, we work with three different dimensions in which you can develop your knowledge, qualities and skills: Word, Professional, Me. 

Sustainable Development Goals

The degree programme Global Project and Change Management serves the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)(opens in new tab) - a set of 17 interconnected global goals designed to be a shared blueprint for peace and prosperity for people and the planet, both in the present and in the future. The curriculum is based on the SDGs as a contextual framework. 

Inner Development Goals

We employ the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) Framework(opens in new tab) as a method for inner development to cultivate the necessary qualities and skills required to effectively tackle the global challenges outlined in the sustainability agenda for 2030. The IDGs Framework represents 5 categories and 23 skills/qualities (see image below). 

Networks

We are continuously improving our curriculum. We do this in collaboration with international networks that are actively supporting our programme and our students, including UN Academic Impact (UNAI)(opens in new tab), Wellbeing Economy (WEAll)(opens in new tab), UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (UNSDSN)(opens in new tab), UN Habitat(opens in new tab), Earth Charter International(opens in new tab), Inner Development Goals Initiatives(opens in new tab), Vereniging Hogescholen (SDG HBO coalition)(opens in new tab). 

Accreditation

Global Project and Change Management has obtained the special accreditations Sustainability and Small Scale and Intensive. The certification is carried out by the NVAO (Nederlands Vlaams Accreditatie Organisatie), an independent organization for Dutch and Flemish (Belgian) education. The full report can be found on the website of the NVAO(opens in new tab).

Top rankings

The Selection Guide for Higher Education (HBO Keuzegids) - an independent consumer guide that assesses and compares the quality of all study programmes - has ranked the study Global Project and Change Management as a Top-rated programme. This means we are one of the best Bachelor of Business Administration programmes in the Netherlands. This assessment is based on student opinions from the National Student Survey 2023 (NSE) and study success figures from the Netherlands Association of Universities of Applied Sciences (VH). 

Our programme received from Elseviers’ Weekly’s Best Study Programmes a golden medal. In the National Student Survey (‘NSE’) students are asked to assess various aspects of their study programme. Best Study Programmes 2023 compares survey results in the same sector. A programme gets a medal if they achieve a significantly-better-than-average score on at least five items. A top ranking for three years means a gold medal. 

Global recognition

A close collaboration with our networks has contributed to our programme being highlighted as best practice at international level and recognized by the United Nations among the 73 top programmes in the world educating for sustainable development. A lot of our students have become Earth Charter Young Leaders and Ambassadors.

Prizes Minor Value Creators

Nederlandse Hogeronderwijspremie (Dutch Higher Education Award) Ministry of Education, Culture and Science is the highest award for education teams for MBO, of Universities and Univerisities of applied sciences. In 2021, Value Creators won the 3rd price. 

The Triple E Awards are a global recognition of efforts towards the quest for entrepreneurship and engagement in higher education. Our minor Value Creators was nominated in 2023, and out of 250 submissions we became 4th in the category: SDG Education Programme.(opens in new tab)

Distinctive features

• Quality: top-rated programme
• Small-scale and intensive education
• Ambitious study climate
• Honours Programme
• Broad career prospects (NGO, Business, entrepreneurial, government)
• Strong community
• Personal development
• Working on wicked Sustainable Development Goals challenges
• International project management
• Highly international qualified international staff
• Real-life projects
• Choose own learning pathway
• The pillars of GPCM
• Housing is garantueed in year 1
• Level of education: in between Research University and University of Applied Sciences (HBO+) 
• Hands-on teaching methods
• Extra-curricular activities (such as Green Hub(opens in new tab), Debate Club, Music Band, Glocality(opens in new tab), Tennis, Book Club, Future for Nature, and many more)

Collaborations

HZ University of Applied Sciences(opens in new tab) in Middelburg also offers the programme Global Project and Change Management.

The Global Project and Change Management programme is part of Windesheim Honours College (WHC), an intensive, small-scale, international learning community for talented and socially engaged students who want to study in the field of international development and want to make a difference in the world. WHC is the first professional college in the Netherlands and is based on three pillars:

• Academically challenging: with lecturers from various professional and cultural backgrounds and our strong focus on research, we provide an academically challenging learning environment.
• Community: we believe in close contact between lecturers and students and in a meaningful connection with the outside world to make the world a better place.
• Bounded freedom: we offer a personalized learning environment in which there is space for experimentation, risk-taking, personal initiatives and pursuit of your interests.

For whom?

We are looking for students who want to go the extra mile, who are passionate about global issues, enjoy teamwork, are open-minded, are eager to gain new perspectives and have a solution-oriented drive in approaching challenges. We challenge ourselves and our students to be critical leaders, to work hard and to do that little bit extra. It is important that we are right for each other, not only in terms of programme content, but also in terms of our approach to learning.

The concept

Our approach to excellence is based on the strength of education, delivered by a hands-on University of Applied Sciences. The focus is on the profession – in our case, the profession of the global project and change manager with specialist expertise.

Windesheim Honours College is a residential college, making it easier to build a learning community. Our international community is characterized by a close-knit community of lecturers, students, the College and external professionals.

Read more about Windesheim Honours College

Do you know that by 2030, there will be a demand for 25 million new project managers and changemakers(opens in new tab)? As Global Project and Change Management is a wide ranging study, you will have the freedom to choose career paths from working for NGOs to for-profit enterprises, governments, or setting up your own business. Here are some examples where our alumni are working: 

• Project Manager at Rabobank, focusing on Sustainability Regulations and Commitments in the Netherlands
• Programme Manager at European Comission, for the Directorate-General for International Partnerships at the EU delegation to Mexico
• Co-founder of Ragnarøk clothing, making sustainable fashion
• Advisor at Zwolle Municipality, on circular economy
• Program Manager at Koltiva, making supply chains inclusive and traceable, from seed to table in Indonesia
• Assistant Professor Climate Change Communication at the University of Amsterdam, listen here(opens in new tab) to alumna Christel van Eck's story
• Young Graduate Trainee in Strategic Evolution Policy at the European Space Agency in Paris. Tune in here,(opens in new tab) to explore her journey

Many of our students continue their education by pursuing a Master’s Degree. Research has a strong presence in our curriculum, therefore our students seldom have to do a pre-master and can enrol directly into a Master’s programme. We have a strong network of alumni at other universities and expertise in a variety of fields, so we can help you to make the right decision. Recent graduates have enrolled in programmes including:

• Climate Studies at Wageningen University
• Sustainable Development at Maastricht University
• International Relations at University of Glasgow
• Global Health at Copenhagen University
• Sustainable Entrepreneurship & Innovation at ESCP Business School in Berlin
• International Development: Poverty, Conflict, & Reconstruction at University of Manchester