The TU/e ​​University Council (UR) consists of 18 seats, and its members are elected biennially by the community. Last week, employees could choose from 13 candidates for the staff faction, while students could pick from three parties with a total of 72 names on the list.

Several departments also held parallel elections for their councils. There were no elections for the Service Council this year. The results were announced Monday afternoon in the Senaatszaal of the Auditorium.

Election posters

Two-thirds of the staff candidates will automatically join the council, while this applies to only one in eight students. This is because students and staff are each allowed to fill nine seats on the council, but many more students put themselves forward as candidates. 

Groep-één faction leader Gabriël Nusselder explains the significant difference in candidacies for there are multiple student parties. “That allows you, as a candidate, to better demonstrate your vision and what you want to fight for.” This is something many of them try to express each year on their election posters. “Think of slogans for longer opening hours for TU/e ​​buildings, lower cafeteria prices, and so on.”

Employees are not members of a party with its own distinct identity. You just vote directly for an individual. There are also no posters of them in the hallways.

Turnout

The number of people at TU/e who voted this year is higher than in previous years: an average of 37 percent. 43 percent of employees voted, compared to 25 percent of students. Last time, these figures were 32 and 23 percent, respectively. By comparison, the last municipal council election in Eindhoven (2022) had a turnout of 41 percent. 

Nusselder is certainly proud of the improved turnout compared to the 2023 University Council elections. “Inkesta – the company behind the new election tool that TU/e ​​has been using since this year – told us that they don't often see such high turnout rates in higher education.”

“It's not yet at the level we used to have, but for the first time since 2010, we're no longer declining, and I hope the upward trend continues,” he concludes.

Due to the new system, it's taking a little longer than before to share the results with the community. They are expected soon on the Central Electoral Committee's intranet page.

Changes

There have been quite a few changes within the University Council's staff faction: many familiar faces will not be returning to the new council. Only one current member has been re-elected: Harold Weffers. Some familiar names who will not be returning are Remco Tuinier, Martijn Klabbers, Ellen Konijnenberg, and Victor Sanchez Martin. 

A few of the members were eligible but were not elected, others had already decided not to stand for re-election. Martijn Klabbers has been elected to the council of his department, Mathematics & Computer Science.

The new composition of the staff faction, effective January 1, 2026, will consist of Oded Raz, Lisa Seravalle, Eke Suichies, Imanda Scholten-Kamstra, Pim van der Hoorn, Emerald Clump-Busser, Ingeborg Schreur-Piet, Hjalmar Mulders, and Harold Weffers.

Groep-één

Of the three student parties – ONS, DAS, and Groep-één – the latter is the big winner, delivering a total of five candidates. DAS fills three seats, and ONS remains a one-person faction.

Nusselder – who will be stepping down as Groep-één faction leader effective January 1 to be succeeded by Brendon Bocarro – will no longer serve on the University Council. However, the bachelor student is not leaving the participation process: he has been elected to the Electrical Engineering Department Council. 

The new members of the student factions, effective January 1, 2026, will be: Brendon Bocarro, Ruth Holtjer, Thijmen Worm, Sam Reijs, and Matei Robila for Groep-één, Sterre van de Schoot, Stijn Lubbers, and Olivier Bloemendal for DAS and Teun Jongmans for ONS.