Poncelet, too, consciously chose Venlo for the freedom. “I hate compulsory courses if I don’t think I need them.” He laughs. “The first thing I got here were the lectures I’d failed in Belgium. But because I now had a goal, they were no longer a problem.” For his graduation project, Poncelet is developing a business model for his own mini brewery. That’s the theoretical side covered. He also brews beer, but just for the fun of it. “To be honest I still consume more than I can produce.”

Close-knit community

Van den Boogaard describes the atmosphere at UCV as warm, open and helpful. “The staff are always ready to help you, very caring. Knowing one another personally makes studying together that much nicer.” Poncelet: “It has the atmosphere of a startup. Your problem is the same problem others are facing.”

For both, a particular highlight was studying abroad. Van den Boogaard went to New Zealand, keen to build a new life in another world, if only briefly. Poncelet spent a semester in Hong Kong. “I was able to study international entrepreneurship there.”

“We formed a close-knit community from the very first year,” Poncelet says. Van den Boogaard: “You were on an equal footing with the lecturers, ate lunch and had breaks in the same room.” Did this mean they weren’t strict enough? “That wasn’t necessary, because the students were generally very motivated.”  

Small campus

Each year a new cohort arrived, which felt strange to the older students. “It felt like they were invading our territory”, Poncelet laughs. Van den Boogaard: “When I got back from New Zealand I thought, my God, what’s happened to my little campus? There were all these faces I didn’t recognise; it was like a whole new world.”

And Venlo? It can hardly be described as a student city, but that has its advantages. “You don’t have the restlessness of a big city”, Van den Boogaard says. “Entertainment doesn’t automatically come to you, you have to create it yourself. In our first year students were throwing house parties every week.” Poncelet: “I much prefer going to a bar where the staff know you and pour you a glass of your favourite beer. That’s a scenario I love.”

Unique CV

For her graduation project, Van den Boogaard is doing a consumer survey with the aim of promoting a healthier lifestyle among people with low economic status. She has a clear idea of where she wants to go from here: first a master’s in Health, Education and Promotion at Maastricht University, then a master’s in Global Heath or Neuropsychology. After that, who knows – perhaps a PhD abroad. “I’m not done yet”, she says firmly.

Poncelet is happy to see what comes his way. Perhaps he’ll first work with startups, to get a feel for it. He also wants to teach others how to make beer at home, in their own cellar or kitchen. And together with his brother he will continue with his beer brand BBB – Belgium Brothers Brewery.

Both are adamant that studying at UCV gives you a unique CV, which in turn makes you stand out on the labour market. Van den Boogaard: “We’ve had a more open-minded education and learnt to view problems from multiple perspectives.”