business plan, selling shares to finance your entrepreneurial activities, developing and selling a product/service, and filing a tax report. All positions and functions such as general manager, Marketing Manager or Finance Manager within the company are filled by students. At the end of the academic year the company is liquidated properly. Over the past years, several Fontys student companies participated in national and international business competitions and were awarded for their successful business. Engineering students at Fontys Venlo take part in the Software Factory where they develop customized software solutions for cooperating companies. Internships/work placements During their studies, all Fontys students do two internships (one semester in the third and fourth academic year). Internships can be done in the Netherlands or abroad. Students chose the company themselves but Fontys also provides a list of local and international partner companies. During both internships students work on a specific company project. They are supervised by one university lecturer and one company employee. Amongst others, these internships are useful for building a professional network and getting work experience which eases getting a job after studies. Partner companies Fontys has partnerships with more than 500 international companies including 3M, Adidas, Bayer, BMW, Coca-Cola, Daimler AG, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Henkel, IKEA, KPMG, L'Oréal, Metro AG, Nike, Inc., Philips, Porsche, Robert Bosch GmbH, Siemens, Sony, Vodafone and Volkswagen. These companies either offer projects and/or internships to Fontys students. Student organizations Fontys has several student associations throughout its campuses: DaVinci – First student association in Venlo founded in 1999 FC FSV-Venlo – Official Fontys Venlo football club playing at Seacon stadium of VVV-Venlo Fontys4Fairtrade – Fontys Venlo sustainability committee working on projects to raise awareness for the environment and sustainability Knowledge Business Consulting (KBC) – student-run business consultancy headquartered in Fontys Venlo providing consultancy services to companies in both Germany and the Netherlands Omnia – Fontys Venlo student association organizing various events on campus (for business-related study programmes) Proxy – Student association of ICT English stream in Fontys Eindhoven (study programme: Information and Communication Technology) Student Sports Venlo – Organizing sports for students such as football, basketball, volleyball, tennis, rowing, fitness and urban dance Notable alumni Elly Blanksma-van den Heuvel – Mayor of Helmond, Dutch politician and former banking manager at Rabobank Pieter Elbers – chief executive officer (CEO) and Chairman of the national flag carrier of the Netherlands KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines) Florence Kasumba –