Theological university answers big life questions

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.

The University of Groningen (UG) has a relatively large group of students from Moldova. Therefore, a polling station has been opened in Groningen this weekend for the Moldovan presidential elections. Moldovans can cast their votes on Sunday, November 3, in the second round of the presidential election at the Flonk Hotel Groningen South, located at Corpus Laan den Hoorn 300, between 7:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Voters must bring a valid Moldovan ID card or a Moldovan passport.

Seven UG scientists have been awarded a VIDI grant of up to 850,000 euros from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). With a VIDI grant, researchers can establish their own research group over a five-year period. Laura Baams from the Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences received funding for research on the well-being of LGBTQ+ youth across Europe. At the UMCG, Mark Jan Bonder was awarded funding for research into rare genetic diseases, Ranko Gacesa for work on the microbiome, and Cyril Moers for a project aimed at extending the preservation time of donor kidneys using a specialised pump. Within the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Kristina Haslinger will use the funding to study enzymes from various organisms to improve medication, while Julian Koellermeier will employ mathematics to predict natural disasters. Adrià Rofes from the Faculty of Arts aims to enhance understanding of language processing in the brain to better protect patients during brain surgery.

UG archaeologist Anna Moles has received an Early Career Award from the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). This is a prize of 15,000 euros for young researchers conducting innovative and original research. Moles aims to understand how large-scale social changes affect the lives of individuals and groups. This can involve the integration of the Roman Empire as well as the introduction of Christianity. To investigate this, she studies human skeletal remains, which can reveal details about people's diet and health.

In 2024, the number of people with student debt was slightly lower for the first time in thirteen years. It fell by about 13,000 compared to the beginning of 2023, according to provisional data from the Dutch statistics office CBS. During the same period, the basic grant was reintroduced. In addition, the level of student debt has also decreased among young people up to 25 years old. For young people aged 20 to 25, it averages 13,100 euros, 800 euros less than a year earlier. In contrast, for people aged 25 to 30, the average study debt rose from 22,900 to 24,600 euros. The national student debt rose by 1 billion euros to 29 billion euros.

The University of Groningen has risen from 80th to 79th place in this year's Times Higher Education (THE) ranking. This makes it one of the five Dutch universities in the top one hundred of this global ranking. In total, eight of the twelve Dutch universities have dropped one or more places. According to Phil Baty of THE, this could already be a reflection of the announced one billion euro budget cut in Dutch education. The government's desire to curb internationalisation is also putting enormous pressure on the Netherlands' competitive position in the ranking, he says.

The UG and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam have jointly established a new special chair titled Museums, Heritage, and Religion. This chair, part of the Faculty of Religion, Culture, and Society, will be held by Dr. Valika Smeulders, head of the history department at the Rijksmuseum, starting from October 1. According to both the UG and the Rijksmuseum, there has been increasing attention in recent years to previously overlooked subjects such as colonial history and the contributions of women to society, art, and science. 'Our understanding of the Netherlands and the world is expanding, raising new questions', says Smeulders. 'These developments in contemporary practice will be academically grounded with this chair, which I am proud to occupy.'

Starting this year, the year-end bonus of 8.3 percent will be paid out at the end of November, instead of the end of December. This change is part of an agreement made between trade unions and universities during the 2023 collective bargaining negotiations. The goal is to help employees manage the costly December period by giving them access to their year-end bonuses earlier. However, there is a drawback this year: the bonus will be calculated over eleven months (January through November), instead of the usual twelve. From next year, the calculation will again cover twelve months (December through November).

Students looking for a room from Groningen housing corporations Lefier and SSH can now register in one place via the national platform ROOM.nl. As a result, they also only have to pay the registration fee of 35 euro once. Previously, each housing corporation registered separately. The number of months that students have already been registered with the housing corporations will not be affected. ROOM.nl offers rooms from other housing corporations in cities such as Amsterdam, Delft, Zwolle and Utrecht as well. Many more student housing corporations are expected to join in the future.

Groningen student union GSb is calling on students to protest the government's plans in The Hague on October 18. The government is implementing major cuts to higher education and intends to introduce a 3,000 euro fine for long-term students. It also aims to reduce the number of international students with the Internationalisation in Balance Act. The GSb opposes these plans, as do WOinActie and Organize the RUG, groups primarily consisting of staff members. All three organisations will be taking action and protesting against the government's proposals in the coming months.

The residential containers on Vrydemalaan are set to be removed, Groningen alderman Rik van Niejenhuis announced to the city council last week. The containers have long been plagued by issues, including being difficult to heat in winter, becoming extremely hot in summer, and frequent problems with pests such as mice and rats. As a result, the housing corporation will start removing the units in 2026. Students who lose their accommodation due to this will be given priority for alternative social housing and will receive a moving allowance of 7,000 euros.

The UG and Forum Groningen are organising the European Researchers' Night on Friday, 27 September. Between 7.30 p.m. and midnight, visitors at the Forum can attend mini-lectures, participate in quizzes, conduct experiments, and explore research setups. The evening's programme, led by the university's four schools for science and society, will cover topics ranging from healthy ageing to artificial intelligence. The European Researchers' Night is an annual European initiative held simultaneously in various cities. In the Netherlands, the festival takes place exclusively in Groningen. Tickets are priced at 7.90 euros, which includes two drink tokens.