Whether D66 really will be the biggest party will only be known in a few days. But it looks like higher education can look forward to better times, thanks in part to the many voters in the Aula who voted for Rob Jetten’s party.
As usual, voting for the Dutch parliamentary elections can be done on the TU Delft campus. There are two polling stations in the lobby of the Aula. It is a constant coming and going, mainly of students and staff.
Energetic and bursting with enthusiasm, Jackie Frew has been the driving force behind the Prometheus personnel union for 25 years. Her strength? Not only is she very creative, but she is a good organiser and organises activities down to the finest detail. “I have so many ideas. You do not want to know what my head is like.”
Like the faculties, University Services and the Executive Board will have to make significant cutbacks in the coming years. What choices will they make? Almost all support processes will be affected – from personnel policy to catering and from ICT to strategic partnerships.
At the end of September the Executive Board announced that all faculties and university services are required to roll out their plans to reduce expenditures over the next few years. What do the faculties’ cutback plans entail?
The Education Inspectorate’s reassessment into social safety at TU Delft has been delayed. The report will not be published until 2026, under a new Executive Board. This raises the question of whether the inspectorate will be assessing the TU as it was then or as it is now.
The TU Delft integrity and social safety reporting point received 85 reports in its first six months. What were they about and what has been done about them?
It is doubtful that the ‘Future Proof – Nederland in Transitie’ (future proof – the Netherlands in transition) debate in the Aula helped undecided voters decide who to vote for, but it did show ‘that, unlike on TV, politicians do not usually break out in fights’.
The Netherlands Labour Authority will begin a follow-up investigation into work pressure and undesirable behaviour at TU Delft in February. The university must demonstrate improvement in both areas by then, or face enforcement measures.
