This is TU Delft’s financial position

1. How much money actually circulates within TU Delft?

The amount increases every year. In 2019, TU Delft received about EUR 762 million. Much of this money comes from the Dutch Government.

Apart from that, TU Delft’s capital amounted to about EUR 402 million. Part of this is in assets such as buildings. The remainder, about EUR 233 million, is in TU Delft’s bank account.

2. And what is all that money spent on?

The biggest budget item is staff. About EUR 504 million is paid to staff. Apart from that, about EUR 76 million went on university accommodation costs and EUR 101 million on miscellaneous costs that cover things like equipment.

Under the leadership of PvdA (Labour Party) representative Martin van Rijn, the national funding system for higher education and research was dramatically overhauled and redivided to the benefit of the science degree programmes. It was this that brought TU Delft a different financial scenario. TU Delft received over EUR 12 million this year from the ‘Van Rijn’ monies which will be spent in the years to come on attracting more teaching staff and pushing through changes in education. Of the EUR 10.6 million that was paid from the Sectorplan Bѐta/Techniek (science/technology sector plan), EUR 9.3 million remains. EUR 1.3 million has already been spent and the rest will go to scientific research.

3. How did TU Delft close the last financial year?

In contrast to 2018 (in Dutch), TU Delft closed the year in the black: EUR 40.6 million to be exact while it assumed that it would be EUR 14.7 million in the red. This positive liquidity was in part because of monies that TU Delft unexpectedly received in 2019. These could not be spent in 2019 anymore, but will be carried over to 2020. One of the funding sources was the Van Rijn monies amounting to over EUR 12 million that will be spent on recruiting additional teaching staff. The EUR 9 million from the sectorplan Bѐta/Techniek will also be spent over several years and will also help create a positive outcome. These expenses will result in a minus in the next few annual reports.

Other amounts that are explained in the annual report are more for accounting purposes. Three examples are, one, the correction of a value drop of EUR 2.1 million over previous years on buildings. Two, old scientific projects were checked in 2019. These may have been closed in terms of the science, but were not closed financially. And three, an amount to cover the costs of major maintenance was ‘activated’. This means that they were administratively processed in a different way which generated EUR 3.2 million, helping to make the accounts liquid.

4. What is the impact of corona on TU Delft finances?

The corona crisis really only started in 2020 in the Netherlands and has thus had zero impact in 2019, explains Rob Kok of the Finance Department. While the full impact of the corona crisis cannot yet be ascertained, the Executive Board does not expect TU Delft to be jeopardised financially in the short and medium long term.

5. What is the financial future of TU Delft?

In brief, it will be necessary to borrow money in 2023, but TU Delft will remain financially healthy. This can be seen in the solvency ratio that shows the ratio between its capital (plus provisions) and the total capital. Even after taking loans, this will stay above the Government set target of 30%. Even more so, in 2023 and 2024, the ratio is expected to stay at the same rate as previous years.

How can this be done? “That is the art of not borrowing too much and taking the right decisions on things like investments,” says Kok.

One of the biggest costs to be incurred over the next few years is the necessary renovations and the building of new buildings. Maintenance has been postponed for a long time and TU Delft cannot avoid it anymore. The 2018 annual report stated that TU Delft expects to spend at least EUR 650 million over 10 years on constructing new buildings and renovating existing ones. The 2019 annual report cites the same amount, but notes that the student numbers will probably be higher than previously estimated. The accommodation costs may therefore be higher. The estimate does also not include the costs of sustainability measures as these are largely unknown. TU Delft needs to assess what is needed for each building individually and this exercise is not yet complete.

What will be built in the next few years is defined in the campus strategy (in Dutch). While the details may be confidential because of tendering reasons, parts of the plan are known. Building work has already started on the new Echo teaching building. A couple of other educational projects are also listed on the campus development website. The X sports and cultural centre will be given a ‘sustainability facelift’, there are plans for a garage on the Rotterdamseweg, and campus life will ultimately move from TU Noord to TU Middle and TU South.