Hilversum is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes and smaller towns. Hilversum is part of the Randstad, one of the largest conurbations in Europe, and the Amsterdam metropolitan area; it is about 22 km southeast of Amsterdam's city centre and about 15 km north of Utrecht.
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the "New Meuse" inland shipping channel, dug to connect to the Meuse at first and now to the Rhine.
The Hague is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the capital of the province of South Holland. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam, The Hague has been described as the country's de facto capital.
Utrecht is the fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the province of Utrecht. The municipality of Utrecht is located in the eastern part of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Netherlands, and includes Haarzuilens, Vleuten en De Meern. It has a population of 361,699 as of December 2021.
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek is an independent statutory research organization in the Netherlands that focuses on applied science. It conducts contract research, offers specialist consulting services, and grants licenses for patents and specialist software. TNO also sets up new companies to market innovations.
The Randstad is a roughly crescent- or arc-shaped conurbation in the Netherlands, that houses almost half the country's population. With a central-western location, it connects and comprises the Netherlands' four biggest cities, their suburbs, and many towns in between, that all grew and merged into each other. Among other things, it includes the Port of Rotterdam, the Port of Amsterdam, and Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. With a population of approximately 8.4 million people it is one of the largest metropolitan regions in Europe, comparable in population size to the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region or the San Francisco Bay Area, and covers an area of approximately 11,372 km2 (4,391 sq mi). The Randstad had a gross regional product of €397 billion in 2017, making it the third most productive region in the European Union, behind the Paris metropolitan area and the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region. It encompasses both the Amsterdam metropolitan area and Rotterdam–The Hague metropolitan area. It is part of the larger Blue Banana megalopolis.
The Dutch National Students Association is one of two national representations and spokesman of students in the Netherlands at the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, VSNU, Association of Higher Professional Education, DUO, etc. The purpose of ISO is to improve the quality of higher education, protection of students' interests and representation of 688.000 students in higher education.
Vroom & Dreesmann (V&D) was a Dutch chain of department stores founded in 1887. It was declared bankrupt on 31 December 2015, although its branches were still in operation until 15 February 2016. On 16 February 2016, it was announced that takeover negotiations had not led to an agreement, ultimately resulting in the company's demise.
Inholland University of Applied Sciences is a large university of applied sciences located in eight main cities of the Randstad, the central-western region of the Netherlands and the country's economic, political and cultural hub. With over 37,000 students from more than 100 countries, the university follows the applied sciences mode of education.
Kas Oosterhuis (1951) is a Dutch architect, professor and co-founder of the innovation studio ONL together with visual artist Ilona Lénárd. He was a professor at Delft University of Technology from 2000 to 2016 and has been a professor at Qatar University since 2017. His office, ONL, has realized a number of innovative, contemporary architecture projects including the Salt Water Pavilion at Neeltje Jans, the Web of North Holland at the 2002 World Expo in Haarlemmermeer, the A2 Cockpit in the Sounder Barrier at Leidsche Rijn, Utrecht and the Liwa Tower in Abu Dhabi.
Koningsdag or King's Day is a national holiday in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Celebrated on 27 April, the date marks the birth of King Willem-Alexander. When the Dutch monarch is female, the holiday is known as Koninginnedag or Queen's Day and, under Queen Beatrix until 2013, was celebrated on 30 April.
Holland Casino is a Dutch state-owned company and has the legal monopoly on gambling in the Netherlands, and has fourteen casinos located throughout the country. Profits from Holland Casino go directly to the Dutch treasury. In 2007, profit was around 267 million euros and in 2006 some 263 million euros.
Window prostitution is a form of prostitution that is fairly common in the Netherlands and surrounding countries. The prostitute rents a window plus workspace off a window operator for a certain period of time, often per day or part of a day. The prostitute is also independent and recruits her own customers and also negotiates the price and the services to be provided.
Tio Business School is a private Dutch educational institution, founded by the business community in 1969 in the city of Hengelo. Tio has establishments in Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Utrecht, Hengelo and Groningen.
Saxion University of Applied Sciences is a Dutch university of applied sciences with three campuses in the eastern Netherlands. It provides more than 100 courses in study fields as archaeology, finance, law, engineering, hospitality, business, IT, broadcasting, health and digital media. With over 27,000 students, it is one of the largest institutions of higher education in the Netherlands. Saxion offers bachelor & master education and research focused on living technology.
Ine Gevers is a Dutch curator of contemporary art, writer and activist. Gevers is known for large themed exhibitions in which she explores the relationships between technology, power and identity. She has been called one of The Netherlands' most radical curators.
Margaretha Wilhelmina Francina (Mienke) Simon Thomas is a Dutch art historian, curator and author, working as a senior curator at Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen in Rotterdam. She is known for her works on the development of Dutch applied art and design.
The Spellenspektakel is the largest board game convention in the Netherlands, featuring game demonstrations, tournaments and other game related activities. It focusses on traditional strategy boardgames, collectible card games, pen-and-paper role-playing games and miniatures wargames. Game publishers participate by showing and demonstrating their new releases to the public. Additionally, the Spellenspektakel hosts numerous game stores and player communities. Visitors can try any game on display and buy the ones they prefer. During the 2019 edition at the Jaarbeurs venue in Utrecht, the Spellenspektakel welcomed over 14,000 people.
