Short news
With money tight, fewer and fewer students are willing to take on a board role in an association or join a student council, states a manifesto that was handed over to the Dutch House of Representatives on Tuesday.
In the manifesto, the Dutch National Student Association (ISO, which has its roots in student representation) and the National Chamber of Student Associations (LKvV) are calling on politicians and universities to make it possible to work for a student board without paying tuition fees.
Since 2016, universities and colleges have been allowed to waive tuition fees for students who stop taking classes so they can work full-time on student councils or boards (whether for a study, student, or sports association). These students remain officially enrolled, so they can borrow money from DUO and keep their free public transport card. It makes doing something alongside your studies a lot more affordable.
But a survey by ISO and LKvV shows that a lot of universities and universities of applied sciences don’t actually adopt the rule. As a result, taking on a board role is becoming something only the ‘happy few’ can afford.
That’s a real shame, say the dozens of organisations backing the manifesto. “Student board members help build a connected student community – and that’s not something we should be cutting corners on,” says ISO chair Mylou Miché.
HOP, Hein Cuppen
We’ve got internationalisation under control, say universities. But then politicians need to drop the idea of a ‘language test’ for bachelor’s programmes.
In the Randstad (the western part of the country, Eds.), all psychology degrees are going back to Dutch – that’s the universities’ promise. Utrecht’s economics bachelor is switching to Dutch too. On top of that, universities across the country want to admit fewer students to English language bachelor’s degrees.
Altogether, this should mean around 2,000 fewer international students in academic bachelor’s programmes compared to the 2022/2023 peak. That would leave roughly 16,766 international first-years. (The drop has already started – there are expected to be about 700 fewer international students this year.)
In return for this ‘self-management’ approach, universities want the Government to scrap the planned language test requirement for existing bachelor’s programmes taught in English. But under the proposed Internationalisation in Balance legislation, every programme offering an English language bachelor would still have to justify itself.
Initially, the political parties PVV, VVD, NSC and BBB wanted to save EUR 293 million a year by cutting the number of English language programmes (and international students). After a compromise with the Christian opposition parties and JA21, that figure dropped to EUR 168 million a year – with over 60% of the savings coming from the university sector, and the rest from universities of applied sciences (HBOs).
HOP, Bas Belleman
For the first time, a fully autonomous drone has defeated human competitors in an official drone race. A team of students and researchers from TU Delft claimed victory at the A2RL Drone Championship in Abu Dhabi last weekend, outpacing not only 13 other AI teams but also professional human pilots.
The Delft drone flew using artificial intelligence, relying on a single forward-facing camera as its only input. This setup is comparable to the perspective of human FPV (first-person view) pilots. Despite that limitation, the drone reached speeds of up to 95.8 km/h on a technically challenging track. The team first won the AI competition and then went on to triumph in the knockout tournament against human finalists.
The racing AI was developed by students and researchers from the MAVLab, part of the Faculty of Aerospace Engineering. “I always wondered when AI would be able to compete with human drone racing pilots in real competitions,” said team leader Christophe De Wagter in a press release. “I’m extremely proud that we were able to make it happen already this year.”
Springboard
The A2RL championship aimed to explore the limits of ‘physical AI’ by having drones perform under demanding conditions with minimal hardware. Whereas earlier breakthroughs in AI mostly took place in virtual environments such as chess games, this is an example of successful AI in the real world.
De Wagter hopes his team’s achievement will serve as a springboard for real-world robotic applications. “Flying drones faster will be important for many economic and societal applications, ranging from delivering blood samples and defibrillators in time to finding people in natural disaster scenarios.”
Making banners, a march to the centre of Delft and free fries. Those items are on the agenda for the strike on Thursday 24 April, the organisation writes on the website of union FNV. On that day, TU Delft students and staff will join hands against the cuts in higher education.
Programme for the strike on 24 April
- 8:30 – 12:00 Getting people on campus enthusiastic about the strike
- 11:00 Making banners
- 11:30 Coordinated walkout of all faculties
- 12:00 Arrive in front of Pulse building (with free fries)
- 12:30 Start of stage programme on square in front of Pulse with various speakers and live music
- 13:15 March from square in front of Pulse to the centre of Delft, ending at Van Leeuwenhoekpark near Delft Station
- 15.00 Science market and mini-lectures at Van Leeuwenhoekpark by various dream teams
By striking, the participants want to put pressure on the government to reverse the cuts in universities of applied sciences and universities. Delft Student Union (VSSD) and employee union FNV are worried. They fear that this will lead to deterioration of educational quality, higher work pressure and layoffs. Therefore, they call on all TU Delft students and employees to clear their agenda on Thursday 24 April and attend the strike. The Executive Board will also be present at the strike, Hans Hellendoorn told in his monthly meeting with the student council last week.
Relay strike
The strike is part of the ‘relay strike’ of several universities in the Netherlands. Several universities are putting their work down different days. After Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Tilburg, Wageningen, Maastricht and Eindhoven earlier this month, it is Delft’s turn to conclude the relay strike on Thursday 24 April.
For those who want more information about the strike, there is an information session on Tuesday 22 April from 12:45 to 13:45 at Faculty of Architecture in the Orange Hall. During that session, the dean will give a short statement of support and there will be a discussion about the cuts and the importance of going on strike. At the end, there will be a discussion and question session.
Harvard University rejects the Trump administration’s demands and sees 2.2 billon dollars in federal funds frozen. The university doesn’t want to “surrender its independence”.
In response to Donald Trump’s anti-science policies, fear seemed to reign supreme amongst American universities until now. Not at Harvard University, however. By refusing to give in to the demands, this university is risking the loss of billions of dollars in federal funds.
The White House only wants to keep paying if it can interfere in the university’s selection process of students, staff and researchers, a letter posted online by Harvard reveals. The participation council would also have to give up its power and all of the university’s diversity measures would have to be ended immediately.
‘Antisemitism’
The long list of demands makes it clear, says the boss of Harvard, that the government has no intention of working together in a “cooperative and constructive manner” to combat antisemitism at the university.
This, after all, is the government’s main beef with the universities: allegedly, they’re bastions of antisemitism. It now demands of Harvard that an external party investigate the “ideology” of a number of faculties.
Coercion
Trump’s approach to universities is similar to the trade war he started recently: first announce tough measures and then wait for the afflicted party to come begging for a deal. For example, Trump threatened to cut Columbia University by 400 million dollars. That university quickly gave in and puts itself under far-reaching government oversight.
Two weeks ago, Trump got a similar idea about Harvard. After he finished his lunch, the New York Times writes in a reconstruction, the president suddenly wondered: what if we cut off Harvard completely? “Wouldn’t that be cool?” Nine billion was at stake at first, but on Monday night, the government decided to make it 2.2 billion.
Intimidation
The rule of law is to protect individuals and organisations from the arbitrary actions of those in power. Consequently, several Harvard professors have announced lawsuits against the government. The question is whether Trump will eventually allow himself to be reigned in by judges.
Another question is whether that matters. After all, Trump’s threats alone can have an effect, as demonstrated by Columbia. In early March, the government warned sixty universities they might face measures because of alleged antisemitism on their campuses.
An example has now been made of Harvard, the richest and oldest university in the US. If Harvard gives in, the other institutions might be more easily intimidated, says an anonymous government official in The Times.
HOP, Olmo Linthorst | Translation: Taalcentrum VU
On Monday, pro-Palestinian protesters occupied the Maagdenhuis at the University of Amsterdam (UvA). There’s also an ongoing occupation at Radboud University. Police stepped in in Amsterdam, but in Nijmegen that wasn’t necessary this afternoon.
Around midday on Monday, between 50 and 100 masked pro-Palestinian activists entered UvA’s main administrative building. The staff inside were told to leave the premises.
The protesters demanded that the university cut all ties with Israeli universities immediately. In their view, suspending the partnership with the Hebrew University doesn’t go nearly far enough. They blocked entrances, raised the Palestinian flag, hung banners out of windows and set off green and red flares.
Slogans
The university board refused to negotiate with the masked occupiers and reported them to the police. Dozens of supporters in the street cheered the protesters on, according to a live blog by Folia, the university magazine. Clashes broke out when they tried to break through the police cordons.
Police cleared the Maagdenhuis and removed the protesters who hadn’t already left. Inside, slogans like ‘Free Gaza’ and ‘UvA cut ties now’ had been spray-painted on the walls. Chairs were overturned or stacked up to block emergency exits. According to the board, the building suffered significant damage.
Footbridge
In Nijmegen, 10 masked pro-Palestinian protesters have occupied a covered walkway connecting two Radboud University buildings since Monday afternoon. After several warnings, the university filed a police report last night, but so far there hasn’t been a police eviction.
Like in Amsterdam, the Nijmegen protesters are demanding an immediate end to all ties with Israeli institutions. In a conversation with them, board president Alexandra van Huffelen said a decision would follow within a few weeks, based on the recently published report from the advisory committee on partnerships, as well as on “additional information we receive – including from you”. Vox, the university magazine, reported that she didn’t want to commit to a specific date.
After a final warning from the Radboud board, Vox just reported that the 21 remaining protesters have now ended the occupation themselves. Riot police, who had arrived in vans, didn’t need to step in.
HOP, Hein Cuppen
Landlords should always be able to offer students a temporary lease, according to housing minister Mona Keijzer. This would make it more attractive for them to manage student houses again.
A healthy housing market requires “a delicate balance between rent protection and freedom for landlords”, writes minister Mona Keijzer in a letter to the House of Representatives.
She believes that the current rules are making it increasingly unattractive to rent to students, especially for private landlords. “Around half of all student houses are owned by private landlords”, she emphasises.
Sale
Keijzer is worried that these landlords will put their properties up for sale, reducing the availability of student housing. To prevent this, she wants to relax the rules to ensure that students can always get a temporary lease.
Strictly speaking, landlords have not been allowed to offer temporary contracts since 1 July 2024, but there are some exceptions. Short-term leases are still allowed for students temporarily moving to a new city for their studies, and for foreign students.
But according to Keijzer, these regulations are confusing: why can some students get a temporary contract, but not others? She believes it would be better to have the same rules for everyone.
Not fair’
The Dutch Student Union (LSVb) doesn’t like the plan, says board member Gijs Grimbergen: “It’s not fair to solve the housing shortage at the expense of students.” In practice, he says, many students already have no choice but to sign temporary contracts, because there are simply no other options.
LSVb is concerned about students’ precarious living conditions. Temporary contracts end at some point, and those who are unable to find a new home in time can find themselves in serious trouble.
In politics, rent protection has been a contentious issue for some time. The exemptions for international students and temporary relocations were controversial, and the same is likely for this new deregulation push.
HOP, Naomi Bergshoeff and Bas Belleman | Translation: Taalcentrum-VU.
TU Delft mathematics student Sam de Jong (24) will become a board member of the Dutch National Student Association (ISO) next year. The organisation reported this in a press release (in Dutch) on Friday. Sam is currently active in the Delft Student Union (VSSD). He was also a student council member for Lijst Bèta.
Now he is making the move from Delft to national. The ISO is the largest national student organisation in the Netherlands and represents central participation councils, -factions and student unions. Within the board, Sam will soon have the position of political advocate. He plans to raise various views of the ISO with the Parlement, such as the major financial concerns students have.
Upcoming budget cuts
Sam is looking forward to it: “I expect a busy year. The position of students has not improved over the past year, for example due to the upcoming budget cuts. I will work hard with my board to improve this position.” His fellow board members are Sarah Evink (25, Groningen), Emma van Straten (22, Utrecht), Kevin Borges (24, Rotterdam) and Olmer Tutein Nolthenius (22, Wageningen).
The National Student Union (LSVb) also elected a new board last week. This does not include a TU Delft student. Current president Abdelkader Karbache, however, is a student at TU Delft. In the press release (in Dutch), he writes: ‘Last year, we as LSVb campaigned hard and successfully swept the slow-progress penalty off the table. […] We are confident that the new board will manage to sweep away all other cuts as well and we see a lot of motivation among them to make this happen!’
Eppo Bruins, the Minister of Education, wants to make it mandatory for universities and universities of applied sciences to explain their selection procedures for degree programmes. They often do not do this at the moment, while selection criteria can affect equal opportunities.
In a letter to the House of Representatives (in Dutch), Bruins says that it is obvious that institutions should substantiate and regularly check for possible bias in their student selection procedures. ‘However, in practice, substantiating the criteria and tools used are often missing.’ The substantiation that he wants to see must be made publicly available for everyone so that the representation bodies at institutions can give advice and students can see the selection criteria.
A report (in Dutch) in 2023 by the Inspectorate of Education shows that academic institutions are not always clear about how they select students. At the time, the Inspectorate concluded that ‘Everyone drafts their own procedures without agreeing on what honest and effective selection entails’. This is a problem as the Inspectorate believes that selection procedures could lead to certain groups of students being disadvantaged.
Some degree programmes at TU Delft also uphold selection criteria for admission. The bachelor programmes at Aerospace Engineering, Architecture and the Built Environment, Computer Science and Engineering, Clinical Technology and Nanobiology have a numerus fixus with a selection procedure.
Drawing lots
Up to 2000, degree programmes could only draw lots. The drawing lots system was abolished in 2017 as it was deemed unfair. After that could they select new students on the grounds of criteria that they thought about themselves. Apart from grades, factors like motivation or personality could also be considered.
But in practice, selection does not seem to be that fair either. Because of this, drawing lots is making a slow comeback. Degree programmes, if they so wish, may start drawing lots again for the 2025-2026 academic year. In his letter, Bruins states that 26 degree programmes are doing so.
HOP, BB/Delta, ID
Academics who are the first in their families to go to university, do not always feel at home at universities. In a report, the Young Academy says that making the unwritten rules more explicit would help.
Drawing on interviews with 12 academics, the First but not least report shows that first-generation university students sometimes have feelings of alienation, insecurity and the lack of support. They see themselves as imposters. Despite their achievements, they believe that they do not belong in the academic world.
Between two worlds
Odette Scharenborg, Associate Professor of Computer Science at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science, is a first generation academic. She was also one of the people interviewed. “Others may see me as a talent, but I always have the feeling that it’s not me, despite the fact that I did everything.”
The research also shows that the academics can feel alienated from the environment in which they grew up too. Scharenborg: “I sometimes hear comments that as an academic, I don’t understand anything of the outside world. I have also long heard the question when I will finally start working.”
The academics themselves see their respective backgrounds as a strength. Scharenborg: “To my mind, I have reached this point through hard work, stubbornness and not giving up.”
Unwritten rules
Some of the interviewees received a lot of support from mentors who helped them navigate the unknown, and sometimes unfriendly, academic world. The Young Academy says that a good mentoring programme would also help others.
Another piece of advice to universities is to make the unwritten rules of the academic world explicit as first generation academics are often unfamiliar with them. For the rest, the Young Academy recommends universities to ‘not only think about gender and migration backgrounds, but also about less visible kinds of diversity such as first generation status’.
HOP, Naomi Bergshoeff/Delta, Inger Duursma
