A PhD candidate at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering should not have received a ‘no-go’ decision in April 2024. That is the ruling of the court in The Hague. There were ‘many irregularities’. With this ruling, the judge has overruled not only the Committee for Doctorates, but also the Doctoral Arbitration Committee. TU Delft says it will not appeal and wants to consult with the PhD candidate.
Higher education media are losing readers to AI, just like other news websites. Tougher legislation could be a solution, but Gouke Moes, the minister overseeing the media portfolio, isn’t prepared to back them for now. There is also no mention of this in the coalition agreement.
Tim van der Hagen was Chair of the Executive Board of TU Delft for 10 years. He was also Rector for the last eight years. He bid farewell in mid-January. Delta interviewed him about what he has and has not achieved, and what he will and will not miss. He once again apologised for the lack of social safety.
The number of big earners in higher education has fallen sharply in recent years. In 2016, 112 professors, deans and directors received a top income, but by 2024 that number had fallen to just 39. At TU Delft, the number fell from 11 to 3 during the same period, all of whom were full professors.
As the death toll from the protests in Iran continues to rise, Iranian TU students and staff are unable to contact their loved ones in their home country, or can only do so with great difficulty. “The last I heard from my niece is that she went out onto the streets to demonstrate.”
More than twenty years after TU Delft agreed to the construction of a tram line across the campus, it now seems that it will actually happen. Tram 19 will start running in 2026, according to an information board next to the Aula. Test and trial runs with empty trams will start in March.
The 184th anniversary of TU Delft last Thursday revolved around the farewell of Tim van der Hagen, the Rector and Executive Board Chair. It was a celebratory event with plenty of praise and two honours, but also of concern about the situation of the world and that of TU Delft itself.
On Monday, Iranian TU students and staff gathered in the Aula to commemorate Iranians who died during the recent protests in Iran. “We want the world to know that they fought for freedom,” says co-organiser Shima Rajabali.
Dozens of ties link the fossil fuel industry to Dutch universities, action researchers warn in a new report. These include the fossil fuel companies at the Delft Career Days.
