Amsterdam students get free hotel rooms to study

A pilot project aimed to relieve the stress caused by home education

As of 3 May, students at Amsterdam’s University of Applied Sciences (AUAS) can enjoy a special, comfortable and corona-proof space to study – a cosy room at the Student Hotel Amsterdam. The Municipality has made available spaces, which can be booked alone or with a peer several times per week.

The trial project costs 30,000 euros to the city authority and should ultimately relieve part of the stress that students experience due to the corona-induced lockdown and the protracted home education.

A change of scenery can boost study performance

For over a year now, Dutch students have been forced to study in dramatically changed conditions – deprived of social interactions and often limited in their access to devices and connections, disturbed by the presence of other family members or roommates, also working or studying from home.

Naturally, the Municipality of Amsterdam has been observing increased levels of stress from local students over the months of the pandemic. With some of them, homeschooling might be detrimental to mental health and cause premature dropout.

To face these issues and to give students the option to take a break from a seemingly dead-end situation, as of the beginning of the month, the city is making available study hotel rooms for those who attend AUAS. A total of 32 rooms can be booked for half a day.

Said rooms offer a quiet place where students can go alone or with a peer, follow online lectures and complete assignments. The hotel rooms are in addition to the existing student workplaces made available by the University, which are mostly for vulnerable students.

The municipal authorities are pouring 30 thousand euros into the pilot project, which will last until 30 May. After the trial ends, Thrive Amsterdam Mentaal Gezond (a social movement promoting mental health and resilience), the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and The Student Hotel will be exploring the effects and the course of the trial. The results will be made public for other cities and communities to explore.