From next academic year, Firda students can make full use of all the facilities we offer as Leeuwarden Student City. In the introduction week and the concluding festival of LEIP!, but also in all kinds of sports activities, Firda's mbo students are just as welcome as higher vocational education students.

With over 11,000 MBO students in all kinds of courses, Firda is a 'big player' in Leeuwarden after the merger of ROC Friese Poort and Friesland College, says LSC director Anton van der Sluis. This fits with the ambition to make the Frisian capital a nice city for mbo, in addition to hbo. Moreover, it is increasingly common for MBO graduates to also be students, with everything that goes with it - including a rich student life.

'To make that possible,' argues Firda board chairman Remco Meijerink, 'from now on we will participate fully in Leeuwarden Student City. Our students are equal to young people in hbo and wo. So the step to let them participate in all activities at the same level fits in perfectly with our ambitions. It is quite a difference whether you are 'welcome' in activities or really taken seriously as a student.' This applies to introduction, but also to participation in sports.

The student board of LEIP! includes a student from Firda for the first time this year. Danique Steensma (Marketing and Communication) fully participates in the five-person organisation. It's fun and very instructive, she says. 'You gain a lot of experience.' So is there a difference? No, co-directors Feline Heine and Marte Oude Lashof, students of NHL Stenden, don't notice that at all. That difference between MBO and HBO is outdated and 'old-fashioned'.

Everyone is equal. And even for mbo students who are relatively more often from the region than in hbo, the introduction and playing sports together is a fun way to build a new network. Unlike in previous years, now only students from wo, hbo and therefore Firda will soon be able to order tickets for the LEIP! Week from 24 to 27 August and LEIP! Festival on September 21. This applies to all students from Firda.

'From, for and by students,' says Anton van der Sluis. 'That's what Leeuwarden Student City is all about. And then to feel all in place in Leeuwarden, many contacts are very nice.' Thus, in the introduction, students from very different backgrounds will hang out with each other in smaller groups. In sports, it is no different. 'Then the distinction naturally falls away.'

Abel Reitsma, alderman in Leeuwarden, welcomes this development. 'As a municipality and partners, we are investing heavily in Leeuwarden's attractiveness as a student city. We do this for WO, HBO and MBO students. Good MBO is invaluable for our province and municipality. We need everyone, contributing everyone's qualities. Then we need to know each other.'

In education, working together is important. 'But also in social life,' states the councillor. 'Good mbo is more than learning a trade. Then it is also about a self-aware role in society. One is not less than the other. We have to work together to move forward. That starts every academic year for students with getting to know Leeuwarden, society and each other. That can continue in sports together. We are therefore pleased that from now on Firda will participate fully in Leeuwarden Student City. Together, we will make Leeuwarden a real student city for wo, hbo and mbo'.