• The University , Research

Van Engelshoven: “Money for STEM was an emergency repair”

“Of course I understand the anger that shifting money around has caused,” said Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven yesterday at the opening of the academic year in Leiden. She asks that people show patience until the budget is announced on Prince's Day. In the meantime demonstrators in Leiden representing ' WO in Actie' were calling for the minister's resignation.

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“You understand that I can't say anything in advance of Prince's Day,” said the minister in her speech. On the third Tuesday in September the cabinet always presents the budget for the coming year. If the cabinet decides to allocate extra funding to education and science, that it the day on which it will be announced.

“Above all, don't believe everything you read in the newspapers,” the minister continued, “but know that the cabinet is keenly aware of how crucial science and innovation are for our future.”

Professors were protesting in Leiden. Photo | Hoger Onderwijs Persbureau
WO in Actie

Just before the minister took the stage, the rector magnificus of Leiden had broadcast live a short clip of the hundreds of demonstrators elsewhere in the city, all protesting against the minister's policy. The audience heard the leader of WO in Actie Rens Bod call for the minister's resignation. “We don't want a minister who is destroying academic education [WO]. We want a minister who champions academic education,” said Bod.

Red squares

UvA professor Bod was facing enthusiastic campaigners, some seated, others standing, some of whom had come in academic dress. They numbered about 750, according to police estimates. On their clothes many wore the red squares that had been passed out. To show their solidarity, Executive Board member Nicole Ummelen and university secretary Susanne van Weelden wore square red earrings yesterday at the opening of the academic year at TU/e and as proof shared a selfie on the Executive Board's twitter account.

The tweet Nicole Ummelen and Susanne van Weelden sent yesterday on behalf of the Executive Board.

“A while back we received a letter from the campaign group requesting that we cancel our own opening and go to the alternative opening in Leiden," says Susanne van Weelden. "We discussed this but felt that - as a new Executive Board - it was also very important that we had the chance to explain our plans at our own opening of the academic year," continues Vice President Nicole Ummelen. She emphasizes that she believes the connections between the various disciplines in academic education are important: "The redistribution of the funding from the humanities and social sciences to the hard sciences also puts us in a difficult position. We are pleased to be getting more money, but not that it has been taken away from others.”

Tree on the track

Whilst the contentious shifting of money to STEM has annoyed other disciplines, the minister defended the move. It was an emergency repair, she said. “Tree on the track, hole in the road: really, you should think of it as being in this category of events.”

Afterwards she offered some poor consolation. Eighteen million euros of secondary funding (for which academics must compete against one another) will indeed be transferred to primary funding (which is given directly to the universities), as the Lower House wanted. The entire sum will benefit the general universities, she promised.

In advance of the distribution of a previously announced sum in the order of 40 million to ensure a ‘soft landing’ of the plans, she preferred not to say anything. Let's first wait for the recommendations, Van Engelshoven said. “What's as clear as day to me is that the academic community doesn't need any decisive elements.”

According to universities' association VSNU, humanities/social sciences programs and medical programs are due to lose some 70 million and 50 million euros respectively.

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