Culture and heritage are the sinews of a society. In an era marked by rapid change, ambitious and critical cultural leaders are required to foster the cultural core of a sustainable society.

Culture defines humanity. Managing the valuation and transmission of culture through policy, entrepreneurship, and education across generations is therefore a key responsibility for a sustainable society. In our modern society, culture has to be negotiated as it is shaped by digitisation and new media, ethnic and cultural diversity, changing audiences and economic circumstances, dwindling public funds, and a loss of shared historical awareness. The mission of the Research Master's track Cultural Leadership is to train its students to conduct academic research into processes of cultural leadership. We equip them with essential scholarly expertise as well as analytical and strategic skills, so that they may carry culture forward in a critical, sustainable, and creative manner, and ultimately become cultural leaders themselves.

In order to broaden our students’ outlook on their own cultures and provide them with the opportunity to exchange ideas with peers, we have joined forces with Roma Tre University. Students spend the second semester of the first year in Rome. This period ends with a Spring School at the Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (KNIR).