Business Informatics study at Amsterdam University

From 1992 till 1995, I studied Business Informatics at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences (HvA or back in those days HES Amsterdam), Netherlands.

This study was a fascinating intersection of two rapidly evolving worlds. While everyone was talking about the ‘business’ of the future, we were getting our hands dirty with the technology that would actually build it. Our classroom was a unique blend of management theory and the gritty reality of computer science. We learned about supply chain logistics in the morning and were writing database queries in dBase or crafting reports in Clipper by the afternoon.

The technological landscape then feels almost prehistoric now. We worked on bulky desktop PCs with monochrome green or amber monitors. The internet was in its infancy, a cryptic realm of text-based Usenet groups and Gopher servers, accessible only to a few. Our ‘networking’ often involved physically swapping floppy disks. Windows 3.1 was the new, exciting graphical interface, but much of our real work was still done in the steadfast MS-DOS command prompt.

What made the program truly special was its pragmatic, hands-on approach. This wasn’t just abstract academia; it was about solving real business problems with technology. We developed software prototypes, designed relational databases for mock companies, and learned how to translate user needs into functional technical specifications. It was about becoming the essential bridge between the boardroom and the server room.

Looking back, 1992 was a pivotal time to be immersed in this field. We were witnessing the dawn of the digital age, standing on the threshold just before the World Wide Web exploded into public consciousness and changed everything. The fundamentals I learned there, systems thinking, problem decomposition, and the marriage of process and technology, have been the bedrock of my entire career. It was a time of raw, unformed potential, and our education was about learning how to shape it.

I launched my entrepreneurial career early, founding my first venture in Eastern Europe in 1994 while still a student. I successfully ran the operations on the ground for several years after graduation (1995) before returning to the Netherlands in 1998.