About us

Mission and core values

Mission

Through realistic assignments from business and industry, we inspire personal and professional growth of our students and staff members, and contribute to the economic development of our region and the quality of the community.

Core values

Commitment
We know our students, are involved in their capabilities and with them join efforts to make the utmost of their talents. We stimulate our students to take a shared responsibility for their learning processes, also involving their parents. 

Ambitious
We collaborate with business in order to maximise learning on the job. Together we provide a sufficient number of highly-skilled workers. We contribute towards solving societal and economic issues and towards regional innovation. In concert with secondary education and higher professional education we build robust continuous learning tracks.  

Professional
As professional team players our lecturers take responsibility for the success of their students, going beyond themselves to help them become citizens with great social responsibilities. We invest in the knowledge and competencies of our teachers with respect to pedagogy, didactics and up-to-date expertise. We incorporate developments in society, business, industry, public and cultural institutions into the practices of our courses.    

Hybrid educational concept

Da Vinci College distinguishes itself through the integration of learning at school and in the workplace. In our hybrid learning environment lectures, assignments and simulated training are combined with authentic tasks and projects set by businesses and apprenticeships. Students, tutors and mentors from companies work together on business assignments. Besides using state-of-the–art techniques, students work on extra development and competencies they will need in the future labour market, the so called 21^st century skills.

Executive Board

The Executive Board is responsible for daily management of Da Vinci College and for the execution of policy, coordination of daily business and for responsible spending of resources. 

P. H. J. (Peter) Vrancken

Since March 2006 Peter Vrancken has been working for Da Vinci College as a member of the executive board, from 1^st September 2012 acting as chairman. Before this, he worked at the Dutch Ministry of Education and Science in various positions and for the Research Institute for Government Expenditure. 

Organisation

Da Vinci College has four educational sectors:

• Technology and Media
• Business and Entrepreneurship
• Health and Care
• Participation

Each sector has a managing director and a number of teaching teams with their team leaders. Teams are the heart of the organisation. Being the leading force of our organisation, the sectors cooperate with each other and with local business and other regional institutions.    

Our location: Leerpark

Da Vinci College is located at Leerpark in the municipality of Dordrecht. Over the past decade it has become an area where innovation and sustainability are paramount. At Leerpark you will find not only educational institutions, small and medium size businesses but also homes, a café, restaurant, hairdressing and beauty salon, garage and many other organisations and facilities. Leerpark Dordrecht is quickly developing into a vibrant area where students, teachers, workers, residents and visitors meet and interact on a daily basis empowering Leerpark’s vision on social sustainability. It’s the people that make this place!

Sustainability Factory

The Sustainability Factory is situated on the Da Vinci College campus in Dordrecht, joining forces of business, education and local authorities. A special building, unique in Europe, where there is an innovative approach to sustainable education in collaboration with business and industry. A new generation of technicians is being educated here, learning practical skills. The profile of the Sustainability Factory focuses on sustainable technology in the fields of Maritime Technology and Energy Transition. Life-long development acquires new dimensions: from education at an early age to retraining, refresher courses, reskilling and upskilling during one’s entire career. The machine pool owned by businesses and Da Vinci College offers opportunities to create high-level products.

Internationalisation

Da Vinci College is a valued and very active member of EfVET, TA3 and Innotecs. EfVET is one of the leading Europe-wide professional associations which has been created by, and for, Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers, a network of professionals fostering connections between researchers, business people, and practitioners in VET and lifelong learning.

TA3 (Trans-Atlantic Technology and Training Alliance) is a consortium of leading community and technical colleges in the U.S. and Europe that promotes learning and innovation across borders, supports regional economies, and promotes the value and importance of a global perspective.

INNOTECS is an International organisation for deans and directors of Technical schools, mainly focused on VET and High school level. Da Vinci College is a holder of the Erasmus+ VET mobility charter

In 2017 our College was the winner of the European Innovative VET award for its integrated approach combining and realizing different perspectives in a new technological and educational learning environment. School and work based learning are integrated, industry, students and teachers acting as co-creators in an innovative hybrid learning environment.  

Dordrecht

Da Vinci College has its headquarters in the oldest city of The Netherlands: Dordrecht. The city is located on an island, surrounded by wide rivers. Approximately one thousand monuments, historic inner city harbours and a fantastic atmosphere determine the character of this age-old port. It was in this city that the independent Republic of the Netherlands began, the predecessor of the current Netherlands.