Former rector Cisca Wijmenga is new chair of NWO committee

On Saturday, 21 September, the University Museum will once again participate in Groningen Museum Night. Visitors can explore hidden treasures from the museum's collection, enjoy live music, watch a cabaret show, and learn how to take the best smartphone photos. During Museum Night, guests can access seven Groningen museums for €12.50. Previous editions were all sold out, with over 3,500 people venturing out late into the night. Other participating venues this year include the Groninger Museum, GRID Graphic Museum, the Forum, the Synagogue, Noorderlicht Gallery, and the Museum aan de A.

Researchers Jingxiu Xie and Gosia Wlodarczyk-Biegun from the Faculty of Science and Engineering have secured an ERC Starting Grant. This means that over the next five years, they will each have 1.5 million euros to spend on their research. Jingxiu Xie is conducting research on intensified catalytic processes for converting CO2 into synthetic fuels, which could then be used as sustainable fuel for airplanes. Gosia Wlodarczyk-Biegun aims to develop a new biomaterial made from gel microspheres—tiny gel droplets. With this material, she intends to print tissues for medical applications.

Anyone who joins a trade union in September or October will receive a one-off discount of 100 euro on membership fees. The unions made this agreement with employers again this year. 'In these uncertain times, with upcoming budget cuts in sight, it is especially important for us as a union to have a stronger voice to defend the rights of workers', the unions wrote. Additionally, September and October are designated as 'trade union month'. The unions are organising various activities during this period to help people better understand the work of the unions.

Amnesty International urges universities and colleges to only put an end to demonstrations by students and staff if absolutely necessary. 'Administrators should assume the peaceful intentions of students and give them as much space as possible to make their voices heard', says the human rights organisation. 'They must take students seriously and engage in dialogue with them.' As long as the protest remains peaceful, it is part of the academic debate, Amnesty feels. A distinction should also be made between the 'vast majority who demonstrate peacefully and the few who might resort to violence'.

The UG has risen from place 76 to 69 in this year's Shanghai Ranking. The uni scores particularly well on business administration, automation & control and communication. Psychology and medical technology are also highly rated. Harvard, Stanford and MIT - all in the US - traditionally make up the top three. Utrecht University is the Dutch uni with the highest ranking, on position 55. The Shanghai Ranking is an annually published list of universities ranked on the quality of scientific research.

A number of UG buildings will be closed during the summer. Which buildings exactly varies per faculty and department. Other buildings will stay open, but with reduced opening hours. The UG also closed some of its buildings last summer to save costs and energy. Employees and students who want to continue working during the summer can check which buildings are open via their faculty or department's intranet.

Entrepreneur Stef van Grieken has been named UG alumnus of the year. During his studies he was already involved in initiatives to make the government digitally transparent. Two years ago, Van Grieken founded Cradle, a platform that uses AI to find practically applicable proteins with which, for example, medicines and alternatives for detergent can be developed faster. The jury praised his ability to put the sometimes complex and controversial artificial intelligence to use. Van Grieken will receive his prize during the opening of the academic year on September 2.

Jolien Mouw, affiliated with the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences, has won the Dutch Education Prize. She received the award, amounting to 1.2 million euros, on Thursday from the outgoing minister Robbert Dijkgraaf. The Dutch Education Prize is the highest distinction in vocational and higher education. Jolien Mouw’s project is ‘The classroom in order with virtual reality’. It provides teaching students a safe learning environment in which they can practice classroom management skills and increase their self-confidence.

Evolutionary biologist Casper van der Kooi is one of the recipients of the 2024 Heineken Young Scientist Awards. He will receive 15,000 euros, which he can spend as he sees fit. Van der Kooi's research focuses on the colours of flowers and plants, as well as their origins. The jury appreciates his interdisciplinary approach, noting that he has earned doctorates in both computational physics and evolutionary biology. They also highlighted his significant role in public debates. The Heineken Young Scientist Awards are presented every two years to promising young researchers. The other awards went to econometrician Kevin ten Haaf from Erasmus MC in Rotterdam, historian Lorena De Vita from  Utrecht University and developmental psychologist Manon van Scheppingen, from Tilburg University.

Last week, the construction of a footpath along Blauwborgje on the Zernike Campus started. Currently, there is no footpath yet, so many people walk on the road. This is considered dangerous by the municipality. The winding path will lead from the ACLO sports centre along the sports fields towards the north side of the Campus and the Professor Uilkensweg. Besides the footpath, three speed bumps with zebra crossings will be constructed from July 22 to 26, for which the street will be closed. The entire construction is expected to cost six hundred thousand euros and the path should be ready by early August.

Security measures were taken for 59 researchers and staff at Dutch universities between November 2022 and December 2023 in response to hatred, intimidation and threats, according to a monitor published by UNL, the umbrella organisation of Dutch universities. The measures - 45 of which are incidental and 14 structural - range from taking contact details on university websites offline to extra security and taking staff elsewhere. It is the first time UNL has made a report on this. The reports that give rise to the security measures came from WetenschapVeilig. Because of safety reasons, UG spokesperson Elies Wempe-Kouwenhoven would not say how many reports came from the UG.’But it involves more researchers than you might think.’

The windows of the cafeteria in the Harmonie building were vandalised with pro-Palestinian slogans on Sunday. Messages such as 'RUG cut your ties', 'complicit', and 'Viva intifada' were written in purple and blue paint. On Monday morning, a cleaning company was working to remove the paint. This marks the third action by pro-Palestinian protesters since the dismantling of the tent camp on the Harmonie square two weeks ago. Last week, there was a protest on Broerstraat against police violence on campus. On Thursday, a group demonstrated in front of Usva against board president Jouke de Vries, who was attending a debate on internationalisation.

Cyclists on their way to Zernike will be able to cross the Eikenlaan more easily in the future. The Groningen municipality wants to close Eikenlaan to car traffic. Only buses will still be allowed to drive there. Currently, some 8,500 cars a day drive along Eikenlaan, but by 2040 it will be 11,000, according to the municipality. The number of cyclists will then rise from 12,000 to 15,000. Already the crowds are causing congestion. The plan to build a tunnel at the crossing will be dropped.

Groningen student union GSb has collected a thousand signatures against the UG's new regulations for demonstrations. These rules stipulate, among other things, that protests in UG buildings are only allowed until 7 p.m., that lectures and ceremonies must not be disrupted, and that protesters must remain in dialogue with the university. According to the GSb, these rules violate the right to protest. The union also believes that the rules were not established democratically. Although the university previously stated that the regulations were approved by the university council, the council had actually given a negative recommendation.

On June 18, 49 student associations affiliated with the National Chamber of Associations (LKvV), including Dizkartes, Cleopatra, Albertus Magnus, and Vindicat, will sign a code of conduct against sexual harassment, aggression, and excessive substance use. This is in response to previous incidents, such as lists rating female students' sexual performance and the neglected geese found in a Vindicat house last year. The associations aim to establish a reporting point and appoint a confidential advisor, as well as create protocols to discourage drug use. The code originates from the associations themselves and will be evaluated annually.

A combined team from the University of the North (UG, Hanze and Noorderpoort) won second prize in the RDW's Self Driving Challenge 2024 last Friday, June 14. With their car, which they converted into a self-driving vehicle themselves, they had to drive a lap around the course, competing against participants from other colleges and universities. They had to complete several tests. Besides stopping and starting at a traffic light and giving way at a zebra crossing, the car also had to be able to overtake and parallel park.

Student protest organisations for Palestine will not stop taking action until Dutch universities sever ties with Israel. So write three students, in their own words on behalf of 14 protest organisations (including those in Groningen), in a letter sent to newspaper Trouw. The actions will continue, the writers said, 'until our call for justice - boycotting and divesting complicit institutions and companies - is heard'.