Short news
Students, lecturers, researchers, and other employees of universities and colleges will protest in Amsterdam on December 9 against cuts to higher education. This strike has been called by trade unions. Lecturers will continue to be paid if they strike. Students are allowed to miss classes, but exams will not be rescheduled.
TU Delft has drawn up rules for the strike day. The university wants to give students as much opportunity as possible to participate in the demonstration. Education will continue, but students are not required to attend classes, “except in cases of patient care, compulsory practicals, tests, and education that takes place on that day and is considered compulsory,” the university writes on its intranet. Exams will also continue as usual.
Cancelling classes
The university asks employees to consult with their manager if they wish to participate in the protest. Lecturers may cancel their classes, but must communicate this to their students as soon as possible via Brightspace. Exams will also continue as usual for lecturers. ‘If this means you are unable to participate, please consult with your manager to find a suitable solution,’ the university said.
Most universities adhere to the same rules. They have made agreements about this with the umbrella organisation UNL. The universities continue to pay the wages of strikers, according to a UNL spokesperson. However, it is important that when teachers cancel their classes, “students still receive all the material within the duration of a course,” according to the spokesperson.
The university has drawn up more rules regarding the strike. Read the full intranet message here.
- The Keuzegids (choice guide) is published every year and aims to objectively and independently help students make their study choice.
According to the Keuzegids Universities 2026 published on Thursday, the Open University’s bachelor’s programmes generally score the highest. TU Delft’s score has changed little compared to previous years.
With a score of 58 points, half a point higher than last year, TU Delft is on a par with Erasmus University. Only the two Amsterdam-based universities receive a lower rating.
In its press release (in Dutch), the Keuzegids uses symbols to indicate how well an institution scores in a particular area. It is striking that TU Delft does not score particularly well in any of the areas. However, one area stands out negatively: earth and environment.
Clinical Technology is Top programme
Only the Clinical Technology programme call call itself a Top Programme in the coming year, the designation awarded by the Keuzegids to the best programmes in the country. Anyone wishing to compare all programmes can purchase the Keuzegids on the website. TU Delft staff and students with a campus licence can view it free of charge.
The Keuzegids is based on the National Student Survey (in Dutch). In this survey, 91,000 university students (approximately one in four) gave their opinion on the content of their programme, the lecturers, the assessment, the atmosphere and the preparation for their career. In addition, the Keuzegids takes into account how many students progress to the second year and how many graduate within four years.
HOP, Olmo Linthorst/Delta, Kim Bakker
“The perfect moment to make plans together and build up energy for 9 December.” According to the organisers, that’s the reason to come to a mobilisation lunch at Pulse next Monday. The lunch is a first step towards a new strike in higher education on 9 December. On that day, there will be a demonstration on Dam Square in Amsterdam. It is a moment to coordinate, get informed and share concerns, according to the organisers.
- The meeting will take place on Monday 1 December in the Pulse education building (Hall 4, accessible from the IO square) and will last from 12:30 to 13:30. In order to know how much lunch to buy, the organisers ask you to register on the website.
Higher education in the Netherlands is at a turning point, they write in a specially created LinkedIn group. They speak of increasing pressure and cutbacks that are making teaching and research more difficult. “At the same time, we see growing investments elsewhere. […] When we “connect the dots,” it becomes clear that universities can only fulfill their public mission when we invest in them — not dismantle them.”
Frequent action
Since the now outgoing cabinet announced its intention to cut spending in early 2024, higher education has taken frequent action against the cuts. For example, on 24 April, TU staff and students downed tools and demonstrated on campus. And just over a year ago, when some 20,000 people gathered at the Malieveld to make their voices heard.
Although, according to the organisation, this had a major impact, it is not yet enough in view of the coalition negotiations. ‘This is the perfect time to translate our perseverance into results. […] The demolition must stop. The recovery begins now.’
This article was updated with information about the two new collaborations on 24 November at 2:25 PM.
Students believe that TU Delft is not honouring previous promises regarding collaborations with Israel. Action group “Delft Student Intifada” has therefore announced a new protest for 3 December to exert pressure and demand more clarity about these collaborations.
TU Delft is not being transparent about ongoing projects, the students write, and has even started two new collaborations. The first is ‘Next Generation of edge AI crossing technology fields’, which was signed on 4 August. This project concerns secure European artificial intelligence that runs directly on local devices rather than in the cloud. The partner in Israel is the company Weebit Nano. The second project is ‘E2PackMan’ from the European Consortium for Accelerating Innovations in Electronic Packaging Manufacturing. It was signed on 14 July. This research concerns the creation of smarter housings for chips, for example to fit more in, to protect them better and to connect them better to the rest of the electronic circuit. The Israeli partner is the company Nova.
“No, unless” strategy
The debate about cooperation with Israeli institutions has been raging since 7 October 2023 and has led to numerous protests on campus. This proved to be effective. The Executive Board set up a moral deliberation committee. After months of research, that committee spoke of “(increasing) evidence of potential genocide, or at least a risk of genocide, in the conflict between Israel and Gaza”. Being affiliated with that as TU Delft would entail a major moral and legal risk.
In June, the university therefore launched a “no, unless” strategy and decided to adopt a stricter course. This focuses on institutional rather than individual ties. Delta showed that numerous collaborations still fell through the cracks of this new policy.
Now that negotiations for a new Dutch cabinet are underway, interest groups are bombarding informateur Sybrand Buma with their wish lists. The National Student Union (LSVb), university association UNL and the Social and Economic Council (SER) have done the same. What are their wishes for higher education and research?
The LSVb keeps it short and concise and has four wishes. These are: a higher basic grant, 0 per cent interest on student loans, rent allowance for student rooms and, finally, the abolition of binding recommendation on the continuation of studies for first-year students. The idea is that this will enable politicians to combat students’ financial problems and also reduce the competitive stress on students.
2.6 billion extra
UNL points out that they are educating people who can tackle challenges such as affordable healthcare, climate change and the energy transition. In addition, scientific research leads to new insights. They are asking for an extra 2.6 billion euros per year for research and development (R&D), including at universities of applied sciences, institutes and research facilities.
The SER, in which entrepreneurs, employees and experts discuss the economy and society, advocates ‘space for knowledge and entrepreneurship’. That space requires a good business climate and a focus on labour productivity, ‘including through investments in research and innovation’. One of the recommendations is: ‘Increase public and private investment in R&D and reverse cuts in education and research.’
HOP, Bas Belleman
Thanks in part to external financial support, VU University Amsterdam believes it will be able to keep its Bachelor’s programme in Earth Sciences running in a modified form. However, a major reorganisation will follow.
This spring, the VU announced that it would have to discontinue its Bachelor’s programme in Earth Sciences as of 2027. The programme was not attracting enough students and was becoming too expensive. As a result, 43 employees would lose their jobs and some of the students would have to take Earth Sciences courses in Utrecht.
This was met with widespread protest, including from scientists in Delft. On behalf of their department of geosciences and engineering, TU professors Timo Heimovaara and Sebastian Geiger called the proposed closure disastrous for geoscientific research and education.
New opportunities
On Tuesday, the VU announced that the programme could be retained after all. Thanks to “contributions from external parties”, there are “new opportunities to retain parts of the education and laboratories”, the university writes.
Sebastian Geiger responded on LinkedIn:
“This is really, really good news. I am delighted to learn that the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam continues to offer its BSc programme in Earth Sciences. Having strong and complementary educational programmes in earth- and geosciences across the Netherlands will only be beneficial to our society. I am also thinking of our colleagues
HOP, Naomi Bergshoeff
The British QS World Rankings has published its latest ranking of sustainable universities. TU Delft has dropped 20 places, but still performs best in the Netherlands. The list is headed by Lund University (Sweden), the University of Toronto (Canada), and UCL (London).
Last year, Delft was ranked 15th, but the university has now dropped to 35th place. The universities that complete the Dutch top 3 are Wageningen University (from 53rd to 64th place) and Radboud University, which rose from 355th to 133rd place.
It is striking that TU Delft scores highest among Dutch universities. In May of this year, Studenten voor Morgen (Students for Tomorrow) presented a ranking of universities and colleges based on sustainability, in which Delft shared ninth place, behind TU Eindhoven, VU Amsterdam, and Wageningen University.
Critics have long questioned rankings because they do not do justice to the breadth of work that is done at universities. Utrecht University, for example, has decided not to provide data and not to participate.
Do you consider environmental pollution to be a bigger problem than crime? If so, there is a good chance that you are studying or have studied at a university of applied sciences or university. This is evident from Statistics Netherlands (CBS) research into the views of young people up to the age of 25.
In 2018, only 30 percent of young adults considered crime to be a major problem. Six years later, that figure has risen to 49 percent, according to new figures from Statistics Netherlands.
Concerns about environmental pollution were already greater in 2018: that autumn, Greta Thunberg started her school strike, which was emulated around the world. Those concerns have also increased: from 45 to 49 per cent.
Higher education
There is a striking difference between (former) students in higher education and young people who followed vocational education or only completed secondary education. Higher education students are relatively more concerned about the environment, while the other group considers crime to be the main problem.
In the survey of their views, Statistics Netherlands also asked whether young people see problems in the ‘number of people’ in the Netherlands. They are slightly less concerned about this than about environmental pollution and crime.
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Not all CBS figures on young people are broken down by educational level. In the National Youth Monitor 2025, which was also published, statisticians look at the well-being of young people, regardless of the education they are following.
Most young people are doing well, but there is room for improvement. Of those aged 18 to 25, 81 per cent are happy, compared to 90 per cent eleven years ago. Even before the Covid crisis, this had fallen to around 86 per cent, but the pandemic caused a downturn from which some young people apparently still have not fully recovered.
HOP, Bas Belleman
Men are more likely to receive a PhD “with honours” than women, even when there is no scientific reason for this. That is why the University of Twente decided on Wednesday to discontinue this designation. This makes it the first Dutch university to scrap cum laude for PhD candidates. The new rule will take effect on 1 January, according to the university magazine U Today.
Approximately five per cent of PhDs in the Netherlands are awarded cum laude (with honours). Multiple studies have shown that women receive this distinction less often. This was established by the NRC newspaper in 2018. Later, research by sociologist Thijs Bol confirmed the problem. He also observed that the more men there were on the doctoral committee, the greater the difference. Another study showed that the difference could not be explained by the quality of the thesis.
More problems than gender bias
“It is good that people are thinking about the content and assessment of PhDs,” says Martijn van der Meer, chair of Promovendi Netwerk Nederland (the Dutch PhD Network, eds.) According to him, there are more problems than just gender bias.
“Some PhD candidates have to teach a lot, others don’t,” he says. “Sometimes PhD candidates don’t even have an employment contract. Some get more facilities than others. Such differences can be magnified by making a distinction in the assessment.”
You are awarded a doctorate when a committee of professors and experts is convinced that you are capable of conducting independent scientific research, Van der Meer emphasises. “But that is not the same as saying: this candidate is better than other candidates. The question is whether a committee can make a fair comparison.”
HOP, Bas Belleman
Action group BK Scholars for Palestine is calling for the elective course Architecture and Colonialism to be continued. That is the message of a petition that the group is circulating among staff and students.
Architecture and Colonialism covered the role of architecture in colonialism and was taught for the first time last academic year. The course was created after an earlier academic event organised by the group on destruction in Gaza was cancelled by the Faculty of Architecture. Dean Dick van Gameren reported that he had received ‘various signals’ that made him lose confidence ‘that we can guarantee a constructive and respectful dialogue’.
Exhibition shortened
Nevertheless, the course did not run without incident. A planned final exhibition was shortened from two weeks to one day. According to the university spokesperson, this was due to possible unrest. After protests from the students, the exhibition was nevertheless shown for ten days in May, albeit in a modified form. There was extra security, the works were anonymised and all designs were placed behind glass. From 29 September to 13 October, the exhibition was also on display at the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam.
According to the petition, the faculty board has not yet responded to questions from staff and students about the future of the course. The petition therefore calls on the faculty to guarantee the course’s continuation.
