Stubborn, technical and poetic: Zoé makes vocational education shine

Summa's vocational ambassador, perfectionist, ballroom dancer, former junior city poet of Roosendaal, tech enthusiast, idealist, and a bit stubborn. Zoé Rijnders is anything but categorizable. This jack-of-all-trades switched from higher professional education to vocational education (MBO) and has felt completely at home ever since. "I wanted to do more, create more. Something practical, something technical, but with impact," she says. So she traded her white coat in Nursing for computers and wires in International Engineering at Summa.

After three years of university of applied sciences, I knew: this wasn't for me. It was educational, absolutely, but I was looking for a different way of learning, something that truly suited me. When I found International Engineering, everything fell into place. Practical, innovative, and full of possibilities. Exactly what I needed.

While some might see her transition as a step backward, Zoé sees it as a leap forward. "It's a shame that vocational education (MBO) is still often seen as 'lesser,' even though it has so much to offer. As an MBO ambassador, I want to show that you can achieve at least as much this way as through higher professional education (HBO) or university, as long as you have the right environment to grow."

And she's growing, that's what she's doing. Both inside and outside the school walls. "I spend a lot of my time on the TU/e campus these days. I like it there," she says with a laugh. "The cross-pollination between vocational education (MBO), higher professional education (HBO), and university education (WO) is so valuable. But you have to have access to it."

Access, that's what it's all about for Zoé. To networks, to opportunities, to student life. "Your level of education should never determine how much access you get to student life, the support, or the networks it provides. The very fact that you're a 'student' should open doors, not close them."

It is precisely this conviction that drives her as Summa's MBO ambassador and as a member of the new national MBO 2025 Ambassador Team. Together with nine other students from MBO educational institutions in the south of the country, she developed a striking pop-up installation that puts MBO in the spotlight.

Five pillars, five sectors, and one clear message: vocational education (MBO) is indispensable. "Education shouldn't be a matter of status, but of 'what fits.' Everyone learns differently. It's about discovering what suits you and being given the space to do so. Many vocational students have talent, vision, and drive, but in 2025, they still don't have a full voice," says Zoé. She wants to change that. As an ambassador, a bridge-builder, a catalyst for innovation.

"At the same time, I want to contribute to a fairer education system where everyone has equal opportunities. I still have so much I want to achieve, sometimes my head just spins." What's her vision for the future? "I want to use technology to create sustainable, innovative solutions—solutions that matter." It's ambitious, but for Zoé, it feels logical. With style. And a little headstrong.