Queen’s University Belfast Study Visit

On Wednesday 8^th November the Dutch Cycling Embassy welcomed students from Queen’s University Belfast’s School of Natural and Built Environment. The group of around 50 Planning and Urban Design students were visiting the Netherlands for a multi-day study trip which included a day with us in Utrecht.

The morning commenced with Nils Steinhauser welcoming the group from the station and then walking them to the presenting room. After some coffee and tea was drunk, Nils began proceedings by introducing the Dutch Cycling Embassy, the history of cycling in the Netherlands and the related benefits. Ruxandra Aelenei from R.A. Planning then presented on Prioritising Active Mobility in Urban (Re)Development, using Utrecht as a case study.

After lunch, the group then walked to pick up the bikes. Two people within the group unfortunately couldn’t cycle but they were not excluded from participating in the bike tour as thankfully 2 Cargoroo’s were hired for them to sit in. This gave provided them with a true Dutch experience; sitting in a bakfiets. With a large amount of people and bikes, the group split into 2, one with Nils and one with Ruxandra as they headed on the tour around Utrecht. The Tour included showing the group the common route cycled by many students to the science park on the edge of the city.

With the tour and the day finished, yet still time left on the bike hire, some keen group members even opted for an additional tour despite worsening weather conditions. This along with great questions through the day highlighted the groups enthusiasm, they were a pleasure to welcome in Utrecht and we hope they learnt a lot on their trip!