Short news
Executive Board President Ingrid Thijssen has, as of April 1, become Chair of the advisory committee of the National Growth Fund, which in recent years has also awarded funding to projects from TU Delft. The committee operates under special regulations designed to prevent conflicts of interest.
The advisory committee typically includes leading figures from both the business sector and academia. Thijssen’s appointment fits that pattern. She has succeedeed Rianne Letschert, who was appointed Minister of Education last February. Prior to that, just like Thijssen now, she was Chair of the Executive Board, specifically at Maastricht University.
Cultured meat
The National Growth Fund was established by the Dutch government to invest in ‘projects that contribute to the sustainable earning capacity of the Netherlands’. For example, in March this year TU Delft, together with research partners, received funding for the Cellular Agriculture project, which includes research on cultured meat. Previously, TU Delft received Growth Fund support for projects focused on making aviation more sustainable and building climate‑neutral ships. In June 2023, TU Delft was even a partner in 10 of the 18 approved proposals.
To prevent conflicts of interest, the advisory committee follows a formal set of rules. These stipulate, among other things, that committee members must declare any involvement with applicants before advisory rounds begin, and that they are excluded from participating in an advisory round if personal interests are at stake.
For anyone struggling to find Easter eggs this weekend, here’s a special tip. A pair of peregrine falcons has built a nest in the Architecture Tower. There are already three eggs in it, but who knows – there might be more in the coming days. “Here’s to the next one,” says peregrine falcon manager Henk Drevijn.
The first egg was laid last Saturday. Since then, two more have been added. “On average, there’s a gap of about two to three days between eggs being laid,” explains Henk Drevijn. “And a clutch often consists of four eggs.” Drevijn started out as a building manager, but his access badge now reads ‘peregrine falcon manager’. A title he wears with pride: “I think it’s such a special bird, a truly wonderful symbol for the Faculty of Architecture.”
The peregrine falcon isn’t sitting on the nest all the time at the moment. “Only once all the eggs have been laid does the actual brooding begin,” says Drevijn. “That way, all the eggs hatch at roughly the same time.” It takes about a month for the eggs to hatch, and another 40 days until the young peregrine falcons are big enough to make their first flight.
Want to share in the joy of the peregrine falcon? You can follow the developments day and night on various webcams. A warning from Drevijn with the upcoming exam week in mind: “Be warned, it can be addictive!”
The House of Representatives has asked the government to explore whether home-sharing could be made easier by reducing the frequency of permit requirements. This could help alleviate the shortage of rooms, including for students.
In most municipalities, it is not permitted to share a home without authorisation. Often, a maximum of two people are allowed to rent a house together. This also applies to students; setting up a student house is only possible if the landlord holds a licence. This is also the case in Delft, although various local council parties would like to make it easier to share accommodation, for example through ‘friends contracts’. With friends contracts, several flatmates can live in the same house under a single tenancy agreement.
Rent a property with three people
According to MP Robin van Leijen (D66), given the current housing shortage, it is essential to make more efficient use of the existing housing stock. He points to the municipality of Utrecht as an example, where the rules are slightly more flexible.
There, you can rent a property with two other people without needing to apply for a licence. This means you can easily share the kitchen, living room and bathroom, whilst each of you has your own room and tenancy agreement.
The House of Representatives now wants to investigate whether such a relaxation of the rules is also possible at national level. A motion on this matter, tabled by Van Leijen, was unanimously adopted on Tuesday.
Peter Boelhouwer, professor of housing systems at the Faculty of Architecture, has previously argued that strict regulations are exacerbating the housing shortage. As an example, he cited a student in Nijmegen who had inherited a house. “She wanted to share the property with two friends, but this was not permitted because it would have meant three separate households, and the council would not allow that.” (HOP, NB)
In a heated dispute with her department, a law student had, according to Radboud University, behaved so badly that she was banned from campus. However, the Council of State does not consider this justified.
A student in Nijmegen was at loggerheads with her department over flexible study arrangements. The university issued her with a warning for allegedly communicating with staff in an “intimidating, coercive and disrespectful manner”. When she brought her mother to the student services desk, she was escorted from the premises by the police, the judgment states.
She later received a second warning for allegedly shouting at staff over the phone and threatening to “sue the university into bankruptcy”.
According to the university, she continued to bombard the study advisor and staff at the student desk with intimidating phone calls and emails. After she allegedly threatened to come by, the student desk was even temporarily closed. Ultimately, Radboud University denied the student access to teaching and the teaching buildings for three months.
Insufficiently substantiated
Although the judges found that inappropriate communication had taken place, the documents do not show that the student actually made personal threats against staff members. Precisely because the campus ban was intended to protect physical safety within the educational environment, that threat should have been substantiated more thoroughly. (HOP, HC)
Wageningen biologist Anneke Valk was named National Teacher of the Year 2026 in Utrecht on Monday. She receives a grant of €50,000 for educational innovation.
Two lecturers from universities of applied sciences and two from universities were nominated for Teacher of the Year, an award organised by student organisation ISO and the Comenius Network. The winner, Anneke Valk (Wageningen University), received €50,000 for improving education; the other nominees each received €25,000.
Course in improvisation skills
The four nominees each delivered mini-lectures, after which a jury of teachers and students had to make the final decision. In her lecture, Valk spoke about the lack of attention given to female biology. For example, many medicines are tested only on men, who experience fewer hormonal fluctuations. As a result, women face a higher risk of side effects.
She said she had worked on her presentation skills to keep students engaged. Her tip for fellow lecturers: “Take a course in improvisation skills at a local theatre.”
‘The heart of our education’
The Ministry of Education funds the grants, which are intended to highlight outstanding lecturers. Minister Rianne Letschert presented the award. “Lecturers are the heart of our education,” she said. “Day in, day out, they make a difference for students.” (HOP, BB)
It’s celebration time again for D.S.R.V. Laga. Last Sunday, the Delft rowing club won the Varsity with the Oude Vier for the first time in 29 years. Last year was also a success, when the women’s boat claimed victory for the first time.
It was a neck-and-neck race between Laga and Amsterdam’s Nereus. The commentator enthusiastically recognized what a special year it is for the Delft student rowing club: “Is 2026, the lustrum year of D.S.R.V. Laga, the year of the move [to the new clubhouse], also the year of redemption?”
Nearing the finish line, Djurre Drenth, Maarten Lagrand, Gertjan Bruins, and Daan van der Hoeven, together with cox Linge Vink, managed to maintain their pace. It came down to a photo finish: the Delft club crossed the line in 9:51.07, only a quarter of a second ahead of their Amsterdam rivals. Proteus-Eretes, the other Delft rowing club, finished 12 seconds behind in third place.
Nereus had already taken victory in the Women’s Four
The women’s final was less exciting. Amély Carrière, Fien van Westreenen, Liza Kooi, and Tabo Stekelenburg of Nereus quickly made their dominance clear and crossed the finish line with a comfortable lead. Proteus-Eretes finished fourth, while the Laga women did not qualify for the final. Last year, the latter took the win with three Olympians in the boat, but this year national team rowers were not allowed to compete, as it does not fit into the build-up toward the World Championships later this year on the Bosbaan in Amsterdam.
The Varsity is the most important Dutch student rowing event and is held annually on the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal in Houten.
Founder Marlon U. of the far-right Vrijmoedige Studentenpartij (VSP), is due to appear in court in June to face charges of assaulting a fellow student. VSP member Reinout V. is also being prosecuted.
Last year, an fight broke out in a bar on the campus of VU University Amsterdam between an international student and Marlon U., the founder of the VSP. During the incident, the student was struck in the face on several occasions.
The Public Prosecution Service is therefore prosecuting Marlon U. and his VSP colleague Reinout V. for violence and assault of a discriminatory nature, the Public Prosecution Service announced on Friday. The charges against Marlon U. are slightly more serious.
In November, Marlon U. and Reinout V. sang a Nazi song at Bar Boele and were confronted by a fellow student. Marlon U. threw beer over him, and the student threw beer back. He was then knocked to the ground by U. and punched in the face.
Psychology student Marlon U. had been displaying aggressive behaviour on the VU campus for some time. In February, students and staff at the university demanded that the management do more to ensure safety on campus. (HOP, OL)
Around a hundred people protested on campus on Friday afternoon against TU Delft’s collaboration with Israeli universities and other Israeli knowledge institutions. The group held a march that ended near the Executive Board’s (EB) offices, where the gate providing access to the surrounding garden turned out to be closed.
The demonstrators gathered at 12:00 on the square in front of the Faculty of Industrial Design Engineering. There, they unfurled a banner reading “Impact for a dead society”, a reference to the university’s motto: “Impact for a better society.”
According to Delft Student Intifada, the organisation behind the protest, the Israeli institutions with which TU Delft cooperates contribute directly or indirectly to violence against Palestinians.
Horizon
“The university keeps lying to us. They said they would cut ties, but they still haven’t,” one protester told Delta. In December, TU Delft reported that it would withdraw from a Horizon project: Next Generation of Edge AI Crossing Technology Fields (NEXT).
However, TU Delft is still listed as a participant on the Horizon project’s official page, which was last updated on 17 February. When asked why the university still appears there, a spokesperson recently responded that “TU does not comment on individual cases.”
After chanting slogans, the demonstrators moved towards the CvB office. While the access gate is usually open on working days, this time it was closed. The group remained in front of the shut gate for about half an hour, banging on pots and pans and shouting, among other things, “TU shame on you.” The demonstration ended around 13:30.
Simply using the name and image of your favourite comic book character for your student society is not without its risks. The Utrecht-based strength sports club Obelix had to change its name, or else it risked a hefty fine.
For years, the sports club had used the name and image of the comic character Obelix – the super-strong Gaul who had fallen into a cauldron of magic potion as a child – without any problems. But at the end of 2024, when launching a new website and using images of Obelix on Instagram, things went wrong, reports the university magazine DUB.
They received a letter from publisher Les Editions Albert René, which owns the rights to the Asterix & Obelix comic strips. They were required to choose a different name immediately, amend their website and logo, and remove the social media posts. Otherwise, they would risk a fine of one thousand euros per infringement.
The sports club sought legal advice. As a non-profit organisation, the club would likely have been allowed to keep its name, they believed, but the students did not want to take on the legal battle. And so they continued under a new name: SKVU Mammoet, with a mammoth holding a barbell as its logo. (HOP, NB)
The new Dutch cabinet has agreed to a second payment for students affected by grant cuts (pechstudenten). They will receive €44.50 for each month of the basic grant they missed out on, amounting to a total of €2,136 over four years of study.
During the period 2015–2023, students did not receive a basic grant. “For students who studied without a basic grant, it is bitter that the basic grant was reinstated so soon after it was abolished,” says Education Minister Rianne Letschert.
Meagre
She submitted the bill regulating a second compensation payment for students affected by the changes to the House of Representatives on Friday 20 March. The second compensation payment was a promise made by the previous government, as the first payment was deemed too meagre.
The first allowance amounts to nearly €1,700 for a four-year course without a basic grant. Together with the second allowance, this totals over €3,800.
All amounts are deducted from the student debt. Any remaining balance is paid into the former student’s bank account. However, that account number must be provided to DUO within twelve months. (HOP, BB)
