Aeres Group

About Aeres Group

Aeres is a Dutch green education and knowledge organisation with a long history rooted in agriculture, food, animals, technology, and the living environment. Through mergers over nearly a century, it has grown into a broad educational group offering practice-oriented education, applied research, and commercial courses across the green sector.

It serves pupils, students, course participants, professionals, employers, and partner organisations in the Netherlands and internationally. Aeres positions itself as a knowledge partner for the green domain, combining education with hands-on facilities, research, and collaboration to help people develop the skills needed for sustainable and future-proof work.

Core Values

• Sustainability: Aeres consistently links its education and research to sustainable society goals, green transitions, climate adaptation, and responsible stewardship of nature and the living environment.
• Practical learning: The organisation emphasises learning by doing, with education grounded in real-life working environments and applied research that can be used directly in practice.
• Collaboration: Aeres works closely with businesses, governments, educational institutions, and non-profit organisations in the Netherlands and internationally to strengthen education and innovation.
• International outlook: Internationalisation is presented as essential to Aeres’ quality and impact, and the organisation actively participates in projects and knowledge exchange across Europe and beyond.
• Responsibility for people and animals: Across its education and research, Aeres highlights respect for people, animal welfare, and a socially responsible approach to the green sector.

Unique Aspects

• Only Dutch green educator with a continuous pathway: Aeres says it is the only green educator in the Netherlands offering a single continuous learning pathway from vmbo to master level.
• Broad network of locations and learners: The organisation operates more than 20 teaching locations and serves around 15,000 pupils and students, 15,000 course participants, and nearly 2,000 employees.
• Strong international project activity: Aeres participates in European and global projects such as EVECSA and poultry-sector programmes in Cambodia and Bangladesh, linking education with international capacity building.
• Practice-based facilities: Its teaching is supported by functioning facilities such as dairy farms, poultry farms, equestrian centres, and research laboratories, which reinforce hands-on learning.
• Board renewal in 2025: In June 2025, Aeres announced a new Executive Board composition, with Rien Komen becoming chairman from 1 July 2025 and Martine van Tilburg appointed vice-president.