Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences was founded 1 January 1988 with the merging of nineteen Boards of educational institutes in Rotterdam, Delft and Dordrecht. At that time the school had nearly 12,500 students and 1,500 employees making it the largest school of higher education in The Netherlands. Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences has more than 39,000 students and about 4,000 employees. The 15 locations of the school are all located near the east to west metro line of Rotterdam, also known as the Axis of knowledge of the city.