The Class Regional Forum – Netherlands & Belgium

The Class Foundation is a non-profit organisation founded in 2011 with the aim of helping the student living sector to attract and retain the brightest young minds. In promoting this mission, we hope to pave the way to social and economic success for university cities across Europe.

Together with our industry-leading community, we set out to rethink the places where students live, work, and learn. We are focussed on uniting both public and private stakeholders, such as HE institutes, PBSA providers, city and council leaders, and external suppliers to make student accommodation more affordable, accessible, and available in Europe.

In November 2021, The Class Foundation challenged over 350 delegates from higher education, real estate, technology, investment, co-working, co-living, and of course, student living to look ahead at the forces – both within and outside our industry – that are accelerating our transition to a brighter, more equitable future. The following themes were identified as focal points for this year's agenda.

• Student Mobility
• Policy Reform
• Sustainability
• Well-being & Community
• Social Value
• Market Strategies

Market Update | The State of Student Living: The Dutch and Belgian student housing markets are characterised by a severe shortage of PBSA. In the Netherlands, only 12% of student accommodations are privately owned and operated, whereas in Belgium the figure is even lower at 9%. Because the Netherlands has been embroiled in a housing crisis for over a decade, students have been relegated to the bottom of the priorities list, after other residents such as young professionals and families.

In Netherlands, the housing crisis at large has pushed student housing specifically down the list of priorities. Furthermore, commercial PBSA remains shrouded in stigma for being expensive. When it first came on the scene, commercial student housing took off in the Netherlands. However, in recent years, tenders have become exceedingly harder to get.

Is Belgium experiencing similar challenges, or are things different south of the border? What impact will the Dutch National Action Plan have regarding the future of PBSA in the Netherlands? We unpack these pressing questions in our session in Amsterdam on 16 June, and invite you to join this insightful conversation.

Focus Theme | Policy Reform: In what ways do housing policies influence students' access to housing, and in turn, their success in university? Delve into the complex intersection of governance and systems change to discover how policy-makers and operators are disrupting yesterday's conventions in pursuit of wider availability, quality, and affordability of student housing options.

11.00am – 12.45pm | Site Tours

2.00pm – 2.45pm | Networking Lunch

2.45pm – 3.00pm | Welcome Remarks

3.00pm – 3.30pm| Keynote Address

3.30pm – 3.50pm | Policy Reform: A Dialogue

3.50pm – 4.15pm | Break & Reception

4.15pm – 4.45pm | Data Insight

4.45pm – 5.30pm | Panel Discussion

For sponsorship enquiries, please reach out to Mell via [email protected].

Host or Publisher The Class Foundation