The Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) will receive two million euros from the university’s board of directors to compensate for the problems surrounding the completion of the Feringa Building.
The prestigious Feringa Building will be officially opened on 17 June, fifteen months after the first researchers moved in (in March 2024). But there were major problems from the start. Initially, chemicals were not allowed to be moved in because the safety conditions were inadequate.
More problems
Then, more issues emerged. The proper functioning of fume hoods couldn’t be guaranteed, there were issues with how technical faults were followed up on, and with the negative pressure in laboratories—which is necessary to prevent harmful substances from leaking out of the lab.
As a result, the laboratories in the Feringa Building were closed shortly after the first researchers had settled in. Many of them were unable to work for months. ‘It caused enormous stress and hardship’, says Esther Marije Klop from the faculty, ‘not to mention reputational damage.’
Tight scheduling
The impact was particularly severe for young staff, PhD students, and postdoctoral candidates who depend on tight timelines, as well as for researchers who were still building their networks. ‘And we couldn’t tell them at any point what to expect’, Klop says.
‘In consultation with the directors of the research institutes, the money will go towards contract extensions for a very large group of around two hundred affected PhD students and postdocs.’ Some of them experienced significant delays.
She’s pleased that the university board is offering this support. ‘We had created a small compensation fund ourselves, but our budget is limited. Still, it’s not an easy decision for the board to free up this kind of money either.’
However, the university council still needs to approve the plan.