The first alumnus of Fontys ICT: The story of Henri

In 1971, Henri van Kemenade started the higher education programme in computer science at IHBO, the predecessor of Fontys ICT. The first cohort originally consisted of 19 students, but one of them dropped out, leaving 18 students to obtain their diploma. Henri was the first of the group to complete his thesis defence in Eindhoven, and is therefore considered the very first alumnus of Fontys ICT.

The beginning of IHBO in Eindhoven
The lecturers on the study programme were people from Philips. They were part-time lecturers; they taught part-time and also had jobs in the ICT field. The study programme was started in Eindhoven partly because Philips wanted it to be there, as they were wondering how they would find staff in the field of computer science in the future.

The study programme was quite technical, because it was part of the HTS branch. ‘It was a great time, but it was also a time when you saw that an experimental study programme was being started that still had to find its way. I've always found that very appealing,’ says Henri.

The programme consisted of one third mathematics, one third economics and one third IT subjects. The education was very classroom-based, less project-oriented than today's study programmes.

The first classrooms
‘The biggest difference with the past is that when you walk through the door, it's already very different. And that's just the buildings,’ says Henri. At the time, it was a struggle for IHBO to find sufficient accommodation. For example, courses were given in an old factory that had been converted into classrooms. ‘Sometimes very thin walls were used so that you could follow several courses at the same time.’

The main location of the ICT study programme was on Gagelstraat in Eindhoven, where the police headquarters is now located. Philips had some classrooms across the street. Students also spent part of the day at the TH's computer centre and part of the day at Philips' computer centre. In later years, the old town hall of Stratum was also used as a training location. The IHBO's first computer was located in the basement there. ‘It was a 32K mini-computer, which is nothing at all nowadays.’

Career at Rabobank
After graduating, Henri worked at Rabobank for about 37 years, including two years on secondment to an Indonesian state bank in Jakarta. ‘That was a very special experience. The banking system there was more basic than in the Netherlands,’ says Henri.

He helped set up the control of the ICT job and performed technical work, particularly in the area of security. One of his first projects was to improve the way computers were used: instead of entering everything manually via punch cards, he set up his own environment in which programmes could be developed and executed. For the first time, user queries were linked to personal accounts with passwords and access rights. In 1975, I couldn't have imagined what the world would look like today thanks to information technology. At Rabobank, too, I have largely witnessed the development of the bank thanks to information technology. The bank would have been much smaller and looked very different if it hadn't been for ICT.

Henri's story provides a unique insight into the beginnings of ICT education and how information technology has changed our lives and work. Curious about the rest of his story? Watch the full interview on Youtube via the link below.