Alumnus Sander van ’t Noordende donates a quarter of a million to the University Fund Eindhoven

Donor and CEO of Randstad Sander van ’t Noordende aims to allow talent to develop with this generous donation.

The University Fund Eindhoven (UFe) received a donation of a quarter of a million dollars (about 228,000 euros). The donor, alumnus Sander van ’t Noordende, wants to give talents a chance to grow, even if they do not have sufficient financial means. This includes students who cannot afford their studies through no fault of their own, such as Iranian students who saw their currency depreciate so significantly that they could no longer stay here without assistance.

Talent development

Van ’t Noordende’s donation will be spread out over 5 years and is allocated to the Talent Development Fund of the TU/e, which will be established soon. "To gain employment and reach their full potential, people need access to education and training. And that is not a level playing field. I want to contribute and give as many people as possible the opportunity to participate. And I do this as a CEO and as a private individual."

Because Van ’t Noordende makes the donation as a private individual, he pays for it out of his pocket. "I want to have a profound impact on the lives of students. As for how that happens, I leave that to the UFe."

Grateful

Sander van ’t Noordende studied Engineering Business Administration at the TU/e in the 1980s, a department now known as Industrial Engineering and Innovation Sciences. He looks back on that time with warm feelings and is very grateful that he had the opportunity to complete a university degree.

After graduation, he became a consultant. Through a headhunter, he joined Accenture, a company that operates worldwide. He enjoyed it a lot, working there for 29 years. Since 2021, he has been working at the Randstad employment agency, and in 2022 he became CEO. He is proud of the Dutch company that operates in 40 countries. There, too, talent development is a key focus.

"Talent is scarce nowadays. A large part of the global workforce is about to retire. Soon, the remaining part will have to do more with fewer people, for more people than ever before. Certainties we had for decades are now gone."

Emergency fund

One of the components of the University Fund Eindhoven is the Student Emergency Fund. Students affected by war, political situations in their home countries, illness, or other unforeseen circumstances can apply for assistance. They then receive a maximum of 1,000 euros per month for six months. The Iranian students mentioned earlier were also helped through this fund.

Also watch this video about the University Fund

In this video you will see more of what, among other things, is funded from the Health Tech Fund of the University Fund Eindhoven. In December, the fund received a large legacy. One of the projects receiving a contribution is research into a ’smart mat’ for premature babies.