Open Universiteit, which welcomed its first students in September 1984, is an independent government-funded institute for distance learning at university level in The Netherlands and Flanders. Open Universiteit develops, provides and promotes innovative higher distance education of top quality, in collaboration with networks and alliances. As the prime university for lifelong learning, it addresses the wide-ranging learning needs of people during their course of life, plus the need to achieve a considerable increase of the knowledge level of the community at large. We seek to be an institution that is strongly anchored in the Dutch higher education system through its educational, research and innovation activities, and that also operates successfully in the field of lifelong learning. We consider our institution to be a pioneer in open higher distance education and a leader in educational innovation, both in the Netherlands and internationally. In the market of lifelong learning, we wish to establish firm footing.