TU Delft rector gives cabinet ‘red card’

Tim van der Hagen, rector magnificus and chairman of the TU Delft, expresses his disapproval of the cutbacks in higher education on LinkedIn.

He was supposed to go to the national demonstration in Utrecht. Now that that has been cancelled, he and other university representatives will go to The Hague on Thursday afternoon 14 November to talk to a number of Members of Parliament, he writes.

Kaalslag

They still want to make their voices heard, Van der Hagen said. ‘As a cabinet, you cannot base your complete policy and economy on innovations without (continuing to) invest in them. That will result in a wholesale destruction of universities. Knowledge will be lost; the cork on which our economy floats. And tearing down is always easier than rebuilding. Therefore a red card for this cabinet.’

He will ‘personally hand out’ that card in The Hague, the rector said. His post is accompanied by a picture of Van der Hagen in a dark blue TU Delft hoodie. With his right hand, he is holding out a red card into the air.