The plan to screen thousands of foreign students and researchers each year has been scrapped. Education Minister Letschert is set to revise the Knowledge Security Screening Bill, according to a letter to parliament. The previous government introduced the legislation to protect knowledge held by Dutch universities from foreign espionage, particularly from China, Russia and Iran.
It had already become clear that screening exclusively researchers and PhD students from outside the European Union was not legally tenable. The minister also notes that the bill lacked clarity. For instance, it was unclear which academic disciplines would be subject to screening, and it would create an uneven playing field with the business sector and other countries. In the coming months, the minister intends to investigate whether a “limited and targeted form of screening” is possible.
According to the umbrella organisation Universities of the Netherlands, this new approach is in line with universities’ desire for an effective and efficient knowledge security policy. Previously, the universities had expressed serious concerns about, among other things, the feasibility of the screening bill and the barrier that the screening would pose to top international talent. (SvdB)
The number of international students enrolled at Dutch universities and universities of applied sciences has decreased for the first time in twenty years. This is according to figures released by internationalisation organisation Nuffic.
Although the overall decline is modest—just 0.1 percent nationwide (and 1.7 percent in Amsterdam)—Nuffic considers it a significant turning point. The decrease is mainly visible at the bachelor's level. “The fact that incoming enrolment continues to decline likely indicates that the overall number of international students will keep falling for some time,” said researcher Jonatan Weenink.
Notably, there was a sharp decline in the number of Chinese students (down 27.5 percent) and German students (down 8.9 percent). According to Weenink, China has been performing well in international university rankings in recent years, which may encourage more students to remain in their home country for higher education.
In Germany, changes to the regulations governing training for psychotherapists have reduced the number of German students coming to the Netherlands to study psychology. (IS)
We’re all familiar with them: disposable rubber gloves. In the Dutch healthcare sector, millions of pairs are used every year and incinerated after use. In university hospitals alone, this results in over 500,000 kilograms of CO₂ emissions annually.
That is why the Acta Faculty of Dentistry is collaborating with the UvA Climate Institute Seven, Amsterdam UMC and partner institutions to develop a recyclable version. The research is starting at Acta, with the aim of eventually expanding to hospitals.
The researchers will investigate ways to reduce glove consumption and to “better recycle and reuse” used gloves. As a raw material, that is. The researchers will test a system whereby used gloves are collected. These gloves must then be reprocessed into a product. (SvdB)
The Allard Pierson, the University of Amsterdam’s heritage institute, will receive the complete archive of Youp van ’t Hek. The Dutch comedian is donating correspondence, theatre scripts, photographs, newspaper columns, and video recordings of his performances to the museum. Until now, the archive had been preserved and expanded by his biographer, Frank Verhallen.
The theatre collection of the Allard Pierson is one of the largest in Europe and contains more than 250,000 objects. A small part of the collection is dedicated to cabaret. Among the performers whose archives are already held by the institute are Wim Sonneveld, Freek de Jonge, Conny Stuart, and Wim Kan and Corry Vonk. (DH)
The Public Prosecution Service (OM) on Wednesday requested prison sentences of six and five months respectively for Marlon U., founder of the far-right Vrijmoedige Studenten Partij (VSP), and fellow party member Reinoud V. This was reported by NU.nl. The OM holds the pair responsible for attempted aggravated assault and public violence with a discriminatory element.
U. and V. were arrested in November on suspicion of assault. At the time, Het Parool reported that U. struck a fellow student after being confronted about singing the Nazi song “Erika”. According to the OM, U. also made racist remarks during the incident. The defendants argue that the altercation has been taken out of context and should be viewed in its proper context.
The court is expected to deliver its verdict on 17 June. (DH)
The Dutch government will actively help a group of 47 Palestinians in Gaza who hold a Dutch work or study visa to leave the territory and travel to the Netherlands. Two of them are already on their way to the country, according to the NOS.
Earlier, six Dutch universities, including the University of Amsterdam, had urged the government to support the evacuation of students and scholars from Gaza. The group consists of students and researchers who have been admitted to degree programmes or fellowship positions at Dutch universities. However, they can only obtain the documents required for travel to the Netherlands at the Dutch embassy in Jordan.
To reach the embassy, Dutch assistance is required. The journey passes through the occupied part of Gaza, through Israel, and then into Jordan. Even when coordinated with other countries, a Dutch diplomat must be present at each border crossing. The individuals travelling to the Netherlands today joined an Italian-Spanish convoy and will fly from Amman to the Netherlands. (DH)
The seven winners of the UvA Faculty Thesis Prize have been announced. An overall winner will be chosen from these seven and announced at the UvA Education Day on 29 October. Five of this year’s seven winners are women.
The winners must have achieved a grade of 9 or higher for their Master’s thesis and have graduated between 1 April 2025 and 1 April 2026. They will receive €1,000, whilst the overall winner will receive €3,000. The jury consists of deans from each faculty.
You can find a list of the winners and their dissertations here. (YH)
Last week, Folia reported, based on coverage in Het Parool, that the Amsterdam Economic Board (AEB) was advocating the establishment of a new Technical University in Amsterdam. In response, however, the AEB has stated that this is a misinterpretation of its recommendation. According to the organisation, the aim of the report was to encourage the development of a tech corridor between the Amsterdam metropolitan region and Brainport Eindhoven.
“The claim that the Amsterdam Economic Board is advocating for a technical university in Amsterdam is therefore factually incorrect. The report merely recommends greater collaboration and a stronger profile for the technical knowledge institutions,” the response to the article in Het Parool states. (TH)
More and more university newspapers are switching entirely to online only. After 46 years, the weekly Maastricht university newspaper Observant is also making the switch from print to digital only. For years, the print version had barely been picked up by the university’s students, according to the editors. The magazine’s editorial team says it is “voluntarily” discontinuing the print edition. This will take place after the summer. From then on, the Observant will only be available via the website and a weekly newsletter. Folia switched to online only back in 2018, but now publishes two print magazines a year. (DW)