Short news

Some members of the Utrechtsch Studenten Corps drew up a sexualising ‘banga list’ on 30 female students last week. Their parents are demanding action.

The powerpoint ‘Chick presentation year 23’ contains (bikini) pictures of female students of the female student union UVSV. The students are mentioned by name. Pictures are accompanied by comments of the calibre ‘Must get laid quick’. Some of the women are called dragons.

Suspended

The list is said to be widely circulated among students. The two creators are said to have since been suspended. The Utrecht Student Corps USC, where only men can become members, calls the action shameful and repulsive.

USC explains to the AD newspaper that the action is incompatible with the cultural improvement that is said to have begun in recent years. ‘Much attention is paid to sexual well-being and sexual safety, such as the Are-you-okay campaign conducted in the Woolloomooloo bar and through various workshops offered to our student houses and members throughout the year,’ the statement said.

Removal

Meanwhile, the Utrecht city council and Mayor Dijksma have expressed their dismay and shock. The public prosecutor’s office has also launched an investigation into the corps.

Parents of the female students engaged lawyers on Friday and demanded that Utrecht University and student associations ensure removal of the list from all student houses on pain of a fine ‘to responsible persons’.

HOP, Bas Belleman | Delta

With 144 HBO (university of applied sciences) credits in his pocket, a student asks for an exemption. He wants to start his final thesis at Leiden University for his bachelor’s degree in Public Administration Sciences right away, but the university does not approve. Nor does the judge.

The law speaks of ‘Bachelor level’, says the student. So what difference does it make whether you get the credits at a university of applied sciences or a university? He brings in 144 HBO credits he has accumulated from various institutions. According to him, that is equivalent to almost the entire university programme in Public Administration Sciences at Leiden University.

If it were up to the student, he would start writing his thesis right away. By doing so, he says he can demonstrate that he can “work and think at an academic level”.

Council of State

That is a bit too fast for the examination board of the study programme. It thinks there is indeed a difference in level between HBO and university. And in this, the committee is vindicated by the Examinations Appeals Board of Leiden University.
The student also fell short at the Council of State. The judges are not dealing with the substance of the case and do not want to discuss the difference in educational level. What they do say: in the Public Administration Sciences programme, a student may never apply for more than 30 credits of exemptions anyway. (HOP, OL)

Can we look differently at our place in the universe? And how do we learn to treat our planet with more respect? These and other questions are the main focus of the festival For Love of the World on Saturday 23 March in Theater de Veste.

During the event, organised by Studium Generale, participants will take part in various activities reflecting on the future. The programme includes (interactive) lectures by scientists Heinrich Päs, Andreas Weber and Elisa Giaccardi. There are also various art installations, workshops, theatre and dance performances and discussions on, among other things, meat consumption through the eyes of a frog.

  • Festival For Love of the World
  • Saturday 23 March from 15.00-21.00 in Theater de Veste
  • Tickets for the festival cost EUR 12.50 for students and EUR 24.50 for other visitors.
  • Click here for more information on the event.

Put knowledge and skills into practice and skip exams? In some programmes, it is possible. On Tuesday, the Lower House accepted the ‘Learning Outcomes’ bill. This will make it possible to swap certain subjects for practical work experience, allowing students to obtain their degree faster. It also allows them to demonstrate their grasp of certain knowledge and skills in practice instead of taking exams.

This is meant to make higher education more flexible, for example for working people who want to pursue further education. They can include their work experience and earn a degree faster. (HOP, BB)

In terms of scientific impact, the Netherlands leads the world together with Switzerland, reports publisher Elsevier. This is mainly due to its many publications together with foreign researchers.

According to Elsevier, the Netherlands scores 72 percent above world average in terms of scientific citations. The number of publications is also relatively high.

Collaboration

Especially publications in which researchers collaborate on an international level have a high impact. Almost two thirds (63 percent) of all Dutch publications result from international cooperation. This is above the world average (20 percent) and the European Union average (43 percent

Publications in which only Dutch researchers collaborate scored ‘just’ 20 percent above the world average.

Internationalisation

According to Jouke de Vries, interim president of universities association UNL, the Elsevier study makes it clear that radically limiting the intake of international students and reducing the internationalisation of science will have major negative consequences. “Then Dutch universities will no longer play in the Premier League of the world.” (HOP, HC)

The local TU Delft trade unions want to schedule an extra meeting with the Executive Board. They want to know as soon as possible how the Executive Board is going to address doubts about the Undesirable Behaviour Complaints Committee that, according to the Education Inspectorate, exist among employees.

They write: “The unions ask you to clarify as soon as possible how these doubts can be removed, where victims can report, which independent body will assess this and how any material and immaterial damage that has arisen will be compensated.” The next scheduled meeting between the trade unions and the Executive Board will take place on 15 April. The unions think that is too late.

They wrote this on 13 March in a letter to the Executive Board, which was also sent to the outgoing Education Minister. In it, the unions reiterate their support for the Education Inspectorate’s finding of mismanagement at TU Delft.

Delta submitted an interview request to the Undesirable Behaviour Complaints Committee on on 13 March but has not yet received a response.

The so-called Students and Staff for safety have presented their petition by e-mail to the TU Delft’s Executive Board and Supervisory Board on Thursday afternoon, 14 March. They have collected more than 1,000 signatures under it since 5 March.

In the petition, the anonymous initiators call on the TU Delft administration not to take the Inspectorate of Education to court. Instead, they say, all attention should go to improving social safety at TU Delft, as required by the Inspection and the outgoing Minister.

Different course of action

According to the authors of the petition, it was signed by about 70 % current TU employees, 5 % former employees and students, 10 % students and 15 % people whose relationship with the TU cannot be traced. In the e-mail, they stress that many more people support the initiative but have not signed for privacy reasons or fear of possible consequences. “This signal cannot be ignored. A different course of action is needed,” they conclude.

A TU Delft spokesperson gives this response to the petition: “The Executive and Supervisory Boards are always open to reactions from students or employees. This explicitly includes reactions from staff and students who agree with the inspection report. All opinions are welcome.”

Kemo Agović is stepping down as director of TU Delft’s Innovation & Impact Centre (I&IC). That announcement came less than a year after he took office. Why he is leaving so soon is not clear.

In a short message to TU Delft employees on 28 February, Agović wrote that he wants to take his career “in a new direction” that is in line with his “long-term goals and aspirations”. Rector magnificus and president of the Executive Board Tim van der Hagen said in the same message to ‘regret’ and ‘respect’ Agović’s decision.

Agović started as I&IC director in April 2023. It was not his first position at TU Delft. He was managing director at QuTech between September 2015 and February 2018. Between those two jobs, he was managing director at TNO. He succeeded Paul Althuis, who headed valorisation at TU Delft for almost 20 years, in 2023.

Agović could not be reached for comment.

This Sunday 17 March, the informative youth programme Het Klokhuis will award the Klokhuis Science Prize for the eighth time. There are two nominated research projects from TU Delft.

Max van Beek and his professor Peter Rem (Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences) are working on recycling electronic waste. Klokhuis writes: ‘Phones and computers are full of small parts that contain valuable metals. Sometimes even gold! Throwing them away is a waste, yet it usually happens. Van Beek and professor Rem have created a device that separates plastic from metal, making it easier to recover the metals for a better future.’

 

jongens met telefoon
Children with smartphone. (Foto: Pxhere)

Cybercrime researcher Rolf van Wegberg (Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management) shows that hackers are often just ordinary people too. Klokhuis writes: ‘Rolf investigates how crooks make money from information you send via your phone. But how do they do it? And how can you prevent them from accessing your photos, messages and other data? Rolf explains how you can protect yourself from these crooks. Because having your own phone is nice, but you also need to protect yourself with secure passwords and not just click ok everywhere – because you don’t always know who will get your information. With a phone diploma for your very first phone, you know what to do and what not to do.

Industrial Design & Engineering (IDE) alumnus Britt Müller developed an app that helps children prepare for a hospital visit. Professors Richard Goossen and Maaike Kleinsmann supervised her graduation. The app is hosted on the website Hospital Hero. On the Klokhuis site, Müller writes: ‘We asked children and parents how they would like to be prepared for their hospital visit in a good and especially fun way. We also took a look inside hospitals! This is how we found out what children find exciting and what they would like to know already at home. This information was turned into SamenSterk, a game in the Hospital Hero app.’ Read more about her project on the IDE communication page.

The Klokhuis Science Award will be presented on Sunday 17 March 2024 during science film festival InScience in Nijmegen.

  • See the Klokhuis information page (Dutch only) to cast your vote
  • This news item has been updated on 13-03-2024 with the block on Britt Müller

Eco-runner amazes everyone every year with vehicles that are incredibly fuel efficient. This year’s target is 2,056 kilometres on 1.45 kilograms of hydrogen. This is what the 25 member Eco-runner Team Delft explained at their design presentation last week.

While the target does mean 50% more fuel than last year, it also means that Eco-runner XIV meets the requirements for motorised road traffic as set by the National Road Transport Agency (RDW). This implies a higher top speed.

The entry requirements include a greater focus on safety. These include number plates, mirrors, bigger windows, and more lights. The team wants to prove that despite these conditions the vehicle nevertheless runs unprecedentedly fuel-efficiently, and it will attempt a world record in June. The Eco-runner will follow the Elfsteden (11 city) route at a top speed of 65 kilometres per hour for three days and nights, covering a total distance of 2,056 kilometres.

But first, there will be a long series of tests from 8 May onwards to not only be able to drive extremely economically but also to meet all 1,301 RDW requirements.

Impressie Ecorunner XIV
Impression of the street-legal Ecorunner which meets the Dutch Road Transport Agency's requirements. (Image: Ecorunnet Team Delft).