Breaking down plastics No one knows if it can be done, but Professor Frank Hollmann’s group of biocatalysis is going to try anyway: breaking down plastics with enzymes. Hollmann’s group in the Applied Sciences Faculty is one of 10 partners in a 3.18 million euro project called Bizente – one of more than 20 projects…
Cambridge: all lectures to be online-only next academic year In the corona crisis, Cambridge University is looking more than a year ahead. Until the summer of 2021, all lectures will be online, the top university has announced. It is the first top university to make a decision about this. Most other institutions are not yet officially…
Million-dollar deal with Elsevier on open science Dutch universities and research institutes have reached an agreement with scientific publisher Elsevier on open access to publications and open science. Dutch researchers can now publish in open access in 95 percent of the Elsevier titles. Their articles will then be freely accessible to everyone, including interested outsiders.…
Public transport advises to stay away Will there be place in public transport as the lockdown is gradually being opened up? Due to the corona crisis, the use of public transport has dropped by 90%. However, due to the introduction of the 1.5 metre measures, capacity has also been slashed by 75%. Thus far,…
Want to study abroad? Want to study in Paris, Berlin or Barcelona for a few months? The question is, when will that be possible again? Dutch universities are considering postponing the international exchange for a while. The University of Amsterdam has already made the decision: students cannot go abroad on exchange after the summer holidays.…
Kooy Prize for research fast helicopters Laurent Declerck MSc received the Kooy Award from the Kivi Department of Defense and Security for his graduation work on so-called compound helicopters, last April. This new type looks like a hybrid between a helicopter and an airplane. Because of the fixed wing, the aircraft can reach a higher…
Low turnout student council elections Despite the fact that the elections for the student council were as always held online this week, the turnout is low. 27.9 percent of TU Delft students voted for the council for the academic year 2020-2021, compared to 35.4 percent in 2019. There has been a downward trend for some…
Graduates get 535 euros back Anyone who graduates between September 2020 and the end of January 2021 will receive three months’ tuition fees back. For university students this is 535 euros. The Ministry of Education assumes that, without the corona crisis, many of these students would be ready sooner, but this will not be determined…
‘Students not in rush hour anyway’ Most likely, universities and colleges will be allowed to open their doors in mid-June for the necessary laboratory courses and exams. However, as few students as possible should use public transport. Students should not travel during rush hour anyway, writes State Secretary Van Veldhoven of Infrastructure to the…
RUG silent about freedom at Chinese university The University of Groningen is working with a Chinese university that is losing its academic freedom. A Groningen Works Council party is sounding the alarm, but the board does not want to respond to the issue. The RUG and Fudan University have offered a joint bachelor’s programme…
