Brief consultation with Margot Diepen from Avans University of Applied Sciences

The Brabant-based Avans University of Applied Sciences – with over 31,000 students, 4 cities, 13 locations – is a large organisation with many programmes, all aiming to assist and inform potential students as best as they can. This is quite a challenge. However, Marketer & Project Leader Margot Diepen has been managing this for 12 years with the student recruitment platform of Summit, which has now evolved into Hippocampus.

Where does this control begin?

One of the most important things is knowing exactly which prospective students you are engaging with and being able to follow up effectively. And this is achieved with Hippocampus. Additionally, we derive many new insights from the system. With this and other data, which you can retrieve very easily, it’s possible to gain quicker internal support for new initiatives within our organisation.

Can you give an example…

Well, online open evenings, for instance. We set these up during the pandemic in just a few weeks, and they have turned out to be surprisingly effective. Many people were glad they didn’t have to after the pandemic, but we decided to continue with them. The data showed that 35% of the online visitors did not attend physical events and also enrolled in a programme. This percentage is as high as at our physical open days.

How do you know this so precisely?

Because Summit adapted the system for us right at the start of the pandemic. This enabled us to see exactly who attended our online open evenings, as Hippocampus had made the Teams links used by prospective students measurable. 

That’s convenient…

Indeed, it is. We have a dedicated project manager who is always accessible and knows the ins and outs. We have about a hundred users, although not everyone uses the same functionalities. Every question, big or small, is answered or sorted quickly. When you've worked together for this long, you know each other inside out.

Does that offer more advantages for you?

You can see this mentality reflected in the product. The integrated mailing programme, for instance, is a crucial tool for us. With this functionality, everyone here can work effectively. As the entire organisation operates from a single point, privacy is also assured. Moreover, we always scan everyone attending our activities. At every location and per course. This not only provides the right data, but the scanning process itself is also very easy. And this is convenient for our student volunteers, who need to carry it out. Hippocampus is just user-friendly for everyone.