Symposium: Celebrating 50 Years of Public Administration

Rich History, Bright Future

6 November 2026 | University of Twente, Enschede

About the symposium

This year marks the 50th anniversary of higher education in public administration in the Netherlands. To celebrate this milestone, we organise a symposium on Friday 6 November 2026. This will be held at the University of Twente, which in 1976 launched the first Dutch full-time degree programme Bestuurskunde. In subsequent years, other universities across the country also started offering such programmes and developed new research agendas. They have further shaped the field, enabling the Netherlands to establish a strong international standing in public administration.

The University of Twente, in partnership with the Netherlands Institute of Governance (NIG), has developed a full-day programme with plenary talks and debates, thematic sessions in breakout rooms, and other engaging activities. Together, we will reflect on the field’s rich history and explore its future, while simultaneously creating opportunities for current and former staff, students and alumni of these programmes to reconnect, share experiences and enjoy food and drinks together.

We kindly invite everyone who is interested in the past, present or future of public administration to explore the website to find out what the programme offers and who is coming. We hope that you will join too!