The artificial intelligence department is suffering from a staff shortage so large that students can’t always participate in mandatory projects. Through no fault of their own, students are suffering study delays.
The popular study programme has been suffering from a lack of staff for a while. A numerus clausus of 150 students was implemented back in 2019. While this curtailed the income of new students, the students who started in the programme’s busiest year of 2018/2019 haven’t graduated yet.
‘At the same time, a lot of staff left for better-paying jobs over the past few years’, says acting Faculty of Science and Engineering dean Rob Timmermans. ‘We have a lot of job openings rights now.’
Unable to compete
The faculty is doing its best to fill the positions, but it’s not been easy. ‘The market works against us when it comes to AI and computer science. ‘Recruiting often fails because we’re unable to compete with businesses. AI and computer science graduates are extremely popular and can get a really good job right out of university.’
The pressure on AI lecturers is also enormous. ‘That’s also a big concern. We have to try and fix it as quickly as possible.’