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Foto: Daniël Rommens
international

No approval for collaboration between science faculties UvA and VU

Dirk Wolthekker,
22 maart 2017 - 09:30

The general assembly (the ‘GV’ in Dutch) of the Central Worker’s Council (COR) and the Central Student’s Council (CSR) last Friday rejected the proposed collaboration between the science faculties of the UvA and VU because of the deal’s financial consequences.

Some months ago the GV had already told the executive board of the UvA not to approve the proposed annual 2017 budget as long as an amount of up to twenty-million euros was included. This amount was intended to move some science courses from Science Park to the soon to be completed new NU building of the VU.

‘If things go wrong, these students cannot just return to Science Park’

April 1

The executive board of the UvA scrapped the twenty-million and asked the GV once more for its approval. It succeeded and on February 24 the budget was approved. Last Friday the GV could vote separately on the issue of the twenty-million but the amount was still not approved.

 

‘There are several reasons why,’ says Alex Tess Rutten, chairwoman of both the CSR and the GV. ‘Decisions about moving courses from and to Science Park are tied up with the transfer of aerospace institute SRON from Utrecht to Science Park. A move would be risky, especially since the UvA courses would be the first to move to the new NU building. If things go wrong, these students cannot just return to Science Park as the space they left will be filled by other departments or SRON. The irreversibility of the decision makes it something we cannot approve.’

 

The GV has informed the executive board of the UvA of its decision. Tess Rutten: ‘It is now up to the executive board to come up with a solution. The board ought to be quick though as by April 1 the architects of the NU-building will move in.’