Counting stars to measure the darkness

On Thursday, the University of Groningen (UG) will unveil seven new portraits of professors. Former UG rector and professor of human genetics Cisca Wijmenga will have her portrait displayed in the Senate Chamber in recognition of her significant contributions to her field. Similarly, astronomer and Spinoza Prize winner Amina Helmi will also have her portrait placed in the Senate Chamber for the same reason. Additionally, five (retired) professors have donated portraits to the university at the urging of friends, family, or colleagues. The portraits of philosopher of science Theo Kuipers, mathematician Harry Trentelman, chemist Gerrit Challa, paediatrician Pieter Sauer, and surgeon Tjark Ebels will be added to the faculty rooms of Philosophy, Science and Engineering, and Medical Sciences.

Lodi Nauta will be the new vice-president of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). Nauta is professor of history of philosophy at the UG and studies the fault lines in the history of philosohy. Previously, Nauta was dean of the Faculty of Philosophy. He is currently a member of the NWO's scientific advisory board. Nauta has been a member of the KNAW since 2011 and was jury chairman of its Philosophy and Theology Chamber and chairman of a committee. Nauta will be appointed as vice-president on April 1.

The University of Groningen (UG) ranks third among the best broad universities in the Keuzegids Universiteiten 2025 with a score of 59 points. Utrecht leads the rankings once again with 65 points, followed by Nijmegen in second place with 61.5 points. After the RUG, Leiden, VU, and UvA follow in close succession, with small differences in scores. The UG's Global Responsibility and Leadership program at Campus Fryslân in Leeuwarden remains the best bachelor's program in the Netherlands, scoring 99 points. Additionally, six other bachelor's programs at the UG received the designation of top program. In the category of other universities, Wageningen University & Research and the Open University scored high, both achieving 68.5 points. The Erasmus University Rotterdam ranks last in this category. Utrecht also leads in the number of top programs (16). Top programs are those that receive a score of 75 points or higher from students.

Professor of organic chemistry Adri Minnaard will receive 8.8 million euro to improve the effectiveness of vaccines against diseases such as tuberculosis, pneumonia and rotavirus. Minnaard receives the funding from the US National Institutes of Health along with international partners from Switzerland and New Zealand. With the grant, Minnaard will design molecules that act as ‘boosters’ for vaccines. With these molecules, the vaccines will hopefully trigger a strong immune response from the body, making them more effective. The project has a five year time span.

Universities in the Dutch border and shrinking regions will not have to scale back internationalisation efforts as drastically as other universities. This agreement was reached between the coalition and opposition during negotiations on the education budget. This is good news for the University of Groningen (UG), which has already received 14 percent fewer European students this year, resulting in a total loss of 13 million euros in government funding. However, it remains unclear what the exemption will mean for the UG in concrete terms. Education minister Eppo Bruins is expected to introduce a regulatory measure soon, after which the implications should become clear.

WOinActie and Organize the RUG are organising a walkout on Wednesday, December 11. Staff and students will gather at 12:30 p.m. at the Harmonie square and then march to the University of Groningen's House of Connections on the Grote Markt. There, a one-minute whistle protest will take place to 'call back' the coalition and parties negotiating the education budget, according to the activist groups. A whistle protest is also planned at the same time on the Zernike Campus, though the exact location is unknown.

The University of Groningen ranks as the fifth university in the Netherlands in terms of patent applications. It registered 355 patents, according to research by the European Patent Office (EPO). The leaders are TU Eindhoven and TU Delft, with 1,404 and 699 patents respectively. They are followed by the University of Amsterdam and Utrecht University, with 413 and 380 patents. The EPO states that universities account for 10 percent of all European patent applications between 2000 and 2020, with 4.5 percent of these originating from the Netherlands. Dutch universities also have, on average, the highest number of patents per institution (244.9).

The University of Groningen (UG) and its northern partners will receive 29 million euros by 2030 to train students in the chip sector. The revised plan of the northern knowledge institutions for Project Beethoven has been approved by the ministries of Economic Affairs and Education. Project Beethoven is a comprehensive package of measures through which the government aims to strengthen the Dutch microchip sector. The government has allocated 450 million euros for this initiative. Groningen, along with the regions of Enschede, Delft, and Eindhoven, was tasked with developing a plan but ultimately received only 7 percent of the funds.

By 2027, the first permanent student housing is set to open on the Zernike Campus. Currently, there are already more than 400 rooms available in the new Proxima building, but these are temporary. Alderman Rik van Niejenhuis reported this to the Groningen city council this week. According to him, there are significant opportunities particularly on the southern side of Zernike, where there is little existing development. Moreover, older buildings belonging to the UG in that area could eventually be replaced with student housing. Additionally, Niejenhuis stated that more student and youth housing should also be developed in other parts of the city in the future.

Romanians can vote in parliamentary elections this weekend in Groningen. Besides a valid Romanian ID or passport, voters must bring proof of their residency in the Netherlands. Romanians are the second biggest group of international students in Groningen. Last week, they voted in the first round of the presidential elections, but on November 30 and December 1, they can vote for the Romanian parliament at the polling station in Groningen, located in the Hoogkerk Sporthal at Zuiderwerg 70/1.

The travel and accommodation costs for UG employees have increased significantly, according to the university. This rise comes despite the university's aim to reduce spending on business trips as part of the cost-saving programme TeRUG in Balans. The precise amount of the increase remains unclear, but TeRUG in Balans was expected to save a total of €13 million. The rising travel costs now cast doubt on whether that target will be achieved. The university is urging everyone to critically evaluate the necessity of work-related trips. Staff are encouraged to consider whether planned travel is essential and, where possible, to opt for online meetings instead.

On Thursday afternoon, November 21, student organisations and university leaders in Groningen will publicly read objections against the slow study penalty and cuts to higher education funding. This event is part of the nationwide reading marathon which began on November 5 outside the Lower House in The Hague. Nearly 28,000 objections have already been submitted via the website voordetoekomstvannederland.nl. All objections will be read aloud again on Tuesday, 26 November, at the Lower House. The Groningen event will take place at the Vismarkt from 12 to 3 p.m.

Since 24 October, chairman Jouke de Vries of the University of Groningen (UG) has been serving as the honorary consul-general of South Korea. According to the UG, this appointment marks an important step in strengthening the ties between the university and South Korea. As honorary consul-general, De Vries will promote the relationship between the UG and South Korea. He will also act as a liaison between Dutch organisations and South Korea. The UG has had a longstanding collaboration with South Korea, including student exchange programmes with partner universities and cooperation with the Korea Foundation.

The municipality of Groningen will exempt cultural and social organisations from the advertising tax being introduced in January, but the UG will not be included in this exemption. However, primary and secondary schools are exempt. 'We are surprised that the tax still applies to educational institutions and non-profit organisations', says UG spokesperson Sophie Dannenburg-Douwes. Under the new tax, businesses and institutions will pay for visible advertisements on buildings, on the street, or through windows facing public roads. It appears that the impact of this tax on the UG will be relatively minor, as advertisements under a certain size—up to two square meters by 2025, and then up to one square meter in later years—are exempt from the tax.

Jouke de Vries and the heads of other Dutch universities met with education minister Eppo Bruins (NSC) last Thursday afternoon. This marked the first meeting between the minister and university leaders to discuss the government’s proposed budget cuts and the impact of the Internationalisation in Balance Act. 'We want to ask him his exact views, the room for manoeuvre, and what might still be possible', De Vries had stated earlier. The university presidents also explored whether they could jointly present a proposal to manage the cuts to some extent. 'It remains to be seen whether we can reach an agreement with all fourteen universities, but I am optimistic', De Vries added. 4o

Four UG statisticians from different faculties have established the Groningen Institute of Applied Statistics. With this 'virtual' institute, they hope to connect the expertise across various faculties. Currently, that expertise is overly fragmented within the university, the founders say, which they believe leads to missed opportunities. By joining forces Casper Albers, Gerard van den Berg, Marco Grzegorczyk, and Gerton Lunter hope to facilitate university-wide collaborations in areas such as research, education, PhD supervision, and securing project funding. The official kick-off event for the institute will take place on 11 November in the Academy building.

The iconic building currently housing DOT restaurant faces an early demolition as the operators have decided to close the establishment. DOT originally opened in 2014 as the Infoversum, an initiative led by UG astronomer Edwin Valentijn. It featured a full-dome 3D theatre designed for planetarium shows. However, with an annual visitor target of 250,000, it only managed to attract 50,000. This led to the theatre’s bankruptcy by November 2015, after which Infoversum was transformed into DOT and a city beach was created next to it. The DOT owners held a lease on the land from the municipality of Groningen until 2027. Given this limited time, it seems unlikely a new operator will be found for the remaining period.