Wageningen, The Netherlands
Wageningen is a beautiful historic city situated on the north bank of the Nederrijn River, which is the Dutch portion of the Lower Rhine. We’re excited to be currently working with Wageningen on an agreement which seeks to build a collaborative alliance of fellow university cities. The agreement is likely to be signed by the end of 2023.
Massey University and Wageningen University and Research share a long-standing history of collaboration since 1985, particularly in agricultural sciences, food safety and security, epidemiology and veterinary science. Wageningen is also a priority partner for Massey’s student exchange program.
Wageningen and Palmerston North City Councils have been communicating since 2016 when our mayor travelled to the Netherlands, along with delegates from with Massey University and Fonterra, to meet with Wageningen’s mayor and visit the Wageningen University and Research campus. While there they also visited Fonterra’s first wholly owned and operated ingredients plant in Europe, located in the north of the country.
In June 2023 a delegation from Palmerston North was hosted in The Hague by New Zealand Ambassador to the Netherlands, Susannah Gordon, along with representatives from the city of Wageningen and Wageningen University and Research. The meeting included exciting discussions on the creation of a future network of fellow university cities to collaborate on both the future needs of the tertiary sector and wider issues faced by cities around the world.