Education and science

Within international supply chains, knowledge of customs procedures and managing compliance risks in the supply chain is becoming increasingly important. Using this knowledge, organisations and processes can be set up to ensure compliance and to optimise logistics and financial performance. In the Netherlands, we have unique trajectories to prepare future customs professionals from government and the business community with the customs and international trade expertise they need for their roles. Fontys University of Applied Sciences has a four-year, part-time, English-language Bachelor’s programme in ‘Customs and Trade Compliance’ , while the Rotterdam School of Management (part of the Erasmus University) offers a Master’s programme in this field. The English-language Master’s in Customs & Supply Chain Compliance even has a Picard recognition from the World Customs Organisation and is the first programme to meet the requirements of the European Commission’s Customs Recognition Programme. Innovation and knowledge of supporting information systems play an important role in these part-time university programmes, in which government employees and experts from the business community study alongside each other.