Higher education minister: more courses in Dutch     Dutch as a language of education, science and science communication is relevant throughout higher education, thinks (in Dutch) higher education minister Dijkgraaf. He agrees with the Dutch Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), which asked parliamentary questions about this, ‘that Dutch (or if necessary multilingual) education should be…

Celebrating research reactor organises info market   (Photo: TU Delft) The research reactor at the Reactor Institute Delft (RID) was activated 60 years ago. That is cause for celebration. The RID will therefore open its gates for an information market on Saturday 22 April between 10 am and 2 pm.   Started as a research…

Survey into the position of scholarship PhDs     The Dutch PhD Network (PNN) wants to find out more about the working conditions and financial position of international scholarship PhD candidates. Are they treated like other PhD candidates or not?   “It cannot be explained”, says PNN president Anneke Kastelein. Too often, distressing stories emerge…

TU Delft lecturers discuss ChatGPT     Derek Lomas, assistant professor of Positive Artifical Intelligence (AI) at the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, is setting up an ‘open community’ for TU teachers where they can share their experiences, ideas and concerns about ChatGPT and AI in education. ChatGPT is an AI chatbot that can generate…

Rotterdam student to lead LSVb     Elisa Weehuizen, a 21-year-old sociology student from Erasmus University Rotterdam, will become the new president of the National Students’ Union (LSVb). She sits on the programme committee of her study and plans to focus on, among other things, study financing, housing and “worrying conditions that seem to be…

Rubicon grant for EEMCS researcher     Research funders NWO and ZonMw are giving 16 newly promoted scientists a Rubicon grant to gain experience at a foreign knowledge institution. They are nine men and seven women. Almost all of them will go abroad for two years. For example, they are doing research on how to…

No improved contracts for students     The government will tackle the labour market, but not for students with part-time jobs. They will continue to work on temporary jobs and zero-hours contracts. They themselves would prefer that.   After long consultations with trade unions and employers, minister Karien van Gennip (Social Affairs and Employment) has…

Students may travel for free from Thursday afternoon      Good Friday is an official holiday in the Netherlands, but not a compulsory day off. Shops are open as usual and many people have to work. Universities and universities of applied sciences are closed. Does this day now fall under the weekend or week subscription…

Free University in Moscow has to close down     One of Russia’s last independent universities is now blacklisted by the Kremlin. For security reasons, the administration is ceasing all its work in Russia.    Five scientists, who previously lost their jobs for their political beliefs, founded Moscow Free University in 2020. The aim was…

Time to put out Prometheus’ flame?     (Illustration: Marjolein van der Veldt)   After five thousand years of lighting fires as the main means of generating energy, it is high time to finally switch to solar energy. This was said by prof. Miro Zeman, head of the department for sustainable electrical energy at the…