Dear friends,
I would like to inform you that as of January 2018, the name of Foundation University will be changed! Foundation University board members and volunteer lecturers have decided to change the name of Foundation University to Foundation Academy of Amsterdam.
In 2006, I started Foundation University, an institution to offer a tuition-free education for those who did not have a chance to study at a regular university or college. In my quest to make this dream possible, I was quite young and idealistic rather than practical. Calling this dream a University was a great idea, but not a practical one. Even though we offered academically quality higher education, the name choice was not often understood by the wider society. As president of the Foundation, I was often asked to explain why we are called "University".
Eventually in 2017, the law of higher education changed and “university” became a protected word. Through this law, because we offered tuition-free education, we still could keep our name as a University, yet in order to avoid confusion and misunderstandings, the board of Foundation University decided to change the name to Foundation Academy of Amsterdam.
It is not our intention to cause confusion or misunderstanding towards the society, or towards the juridical system of the country in which we function, the Netherlands. In this case we chose to respect the law and change our name. What’s in a name? For us at Foundation Academy of Amsterdam, what matters is the vision, the mission and the practice of our institution.
Today, Foundation Academy of Amsterdam is entering into a new level, an era of maturity, expressing sincerity and trust towards the society. Thus, the word “Academy” becomes more suitable for our mission and vision. Foundation Academy of Amsterdam is an institution for alternative education. We are established with a dream to make the world a better place – at least within our little space and limitations – by offering tuition-free, or very low budget education to migrants, refugees, stateless people and for those who are being discriminated against due to their religion, ideologies or lifestyle, especially in the majority world. We will continue to offer alternative education and help our students to grow in knowledge and critical thinking. Education is a matter of human rights and has to be open and accessible to everyone who seeks it.
Lastly, I would like to express our gratitude to all who have supported us financially. Please continue to do so. Our bank account details remain the same, and even if you use our old name, your gifts will still be received by our bank. It will take 2 or 3 weeks for the account name at the bank to be changed. If you have any questions, feel free to email us at office@foundation.eu.com
Wishing you a wonderful 2018, may your dreams come true.
Sincerely Yours
Dr. Samuel Lee
President
