The University was founded in 1961 as the Technische Hogeschool Twente. After Delft and Eindhoven, it was the third higher vocational institute of technology in the Netherlands to become a university. Accordingly, in 1986, it changed its name to Universiteit Twente (University of Twente). The Dutch government’s decision to locate the new institute in Enschede, the main city of Twente, had much to do with the north-eastern province’s rich industrial history. Another important consideration was the fact that the local economy needed a boost to compensate for the dwindling textile industry.