Short news
The fire brigade extinguished a small fire on Wednesday afternoon 13 May at the Faculty of Applied Sciences on the South Campus. Given the date, the incident brings back memories of the devastating fire at the Faculty of Architecture on 13 May 2008.
The fire at the Chemical Engineering department within Applied Sciences started in a waste bin in a laboratory. Because the bin may have contained hazardous substances, firefighters hosed down all their protective gear and equipment in the street after extinguishing the fire. These were then taken to a specialised cleaning facility, according to news agency District8.
Architecture fire
Meanwhile, the fire brigade worked with emergency response officers to find ways to ventilate the modern building with its climate-controlled laboratories as effectively as possible. Students and staff had to remain outside throughout.
The fire brigade is called out to TU Delft regularly: frequently it turns out to be a false alarm or a relatively minor incident. How different it was on 13 May 2008, when a leak in a coffee machine at the Faculty of Architecture led to a fire that destroyed the entire building. The damage was so severe that it had to be demolished. The site is now home to The Green Village. The Faculty of Architecture has for many years been housed in the former TU Delft main building.
In 2023, Delta produced a podcast about the Architecture fire (in Dutch).
Enrolment figures are falling in higher professional education. The total number of students has fallen by eight per cent over the past three years. As a result, the number of teaching staff has fallen by 5 per cent since 2022, and support staff by 3 per cent. Those on temporary contracts have been particularly affected. Within this group, the number of teaching staff has halved over three years, whilst support staff has fallen by 41 per cent. Not all of them have been made redundant; some have been offered permanent contracts.
Differences
There are, however, differences between universities of applied sciences. Of the large universities of applied sciences (with more than ten thousand students), Leiden University of Applied Sciences has the highest proportion of temporary contracts: 16 per cent. It is also the only large university of applied sciences to see its student numbers actually increase.
The Arnhem and Nijmegen University of Applied Sciences is at the other end of the spectrum and has an ever-decreasing number of temporary contracts: just 5 per cent among lecturers and 4 per cent among support staff.
(HOP, BB)
The rowing race Ringvaart Regatta will not take place on Wednesday 13 May due to bad weather. Strong winds, cold and rain are forecast. The organisers do not consider it safe enough to go ahead with the event under these circumstances. The new date is Wednesday 27 May.
The Ringvaart Regatta is an annual rowing marathon of one hundred kilometres that has been organised since 1976 by the Delft student rowing club D.S.R.V. Laga. The race originated during the club’s centenary.
Vigo Wurfbain was due to row 150 kilometres with several students to raise money for research into Long Covid. “We are actually quite pleased that we do not have to row in these weather conditions,” he says. “Last year, a boat even sank.”
They will continue training over the next two weeks. “We will mainly train individually. Perhaps occasionally on the boat, but I do not really expect that,” says Wurfbain.
New date
The Ringvaart Regatta has been moved to Wednesday 27 May. The organisation states: “We understand that this news is disappointing, but we look forward to seeing you on the alternative date.” Further information for participants will be shared as soon as possible.
This article was written by our media partner Omroep Delft. The Delta editorial team has made minor adjustments and translated it.
Around 21,000 former students with student loan debts are living at unknown addresses abroad. The student finance body DUO is unable to contact them and is missing out on €170 million. The government wants to make it easier for DUO to track down such individuals. A draft bill (in Dutch) on this matter has been published online for public consultation.
As costs continue to rise as the outstanding debt increases, the government believes it is in the interests of both the debtor and the state that debtors remain contactable at all times. It therefore wishes to oblige students and former students to be contactable by email, telephone and post. Within the Netherlands, this happens almost automatically, thanks to residents being registered with their local council. But abroad, the situation is different.
The government also wishes to extend the limitation period for such claims from five to ten years. Furthermore, according to the bill, DUO must be able to exchange data with other countries. The government believes this is less drastic than the only means currently available to DUO: the so-called passport alert. Under this system, a debtor’s Dutch travel document is refused or invalidated if they have a significant student loan debt and no repayment is made. (HOP, BB)
The Shinyhunters hacker group has returned the stolen data of over 275 million Canvas users to Instructure. It is not known whether the ransom demanded was paid.
The hackers had stolen, among other things, usernames, email addresses and messages from Canvas, an educational application used by around 9,000 institutions worldwide. The US-based company Instructure, the creator of Canvas, was given until 12 May to pay the ransom, otherwise the data would be made public.
Apologies
According to Instructure, a deal has now been reached and the stolen data has been deleted. The company reports this on its website. Instructure has also issued an apology and states that Canvas is safe to use again.
It has not been disclosed whether a ransom was paid in exchange for the deletion of the data. However, the hackers have confirmed the deal, reports the NOS.
Seven universities
Dutch educational institutions were also affected by the hack. This involved seven universities and at least two universities of applied sciences that use Canvas. Students use the platform to view their timetables or grades. They can also send messages to classmates and lecturers.
Has the data really been deleted? Instructure warns that there is never complete certainty when negotiating with cybercriminals. The company is conducting further investigations into the hack.
- TU Delft does not use Canvas, but instead relies on the alternative platform Brightspace. TU Delft students who are undertaking a dual degree programme at one of the affected universities (such as Erasmus University) are advised to follow the updates issued by the relevant institution.
HOP, Naomi Bergshoeff
The ShinyHunters hacker group has given educational institutions an extra six days to pay the ransom. The group is threatening to publish the details of 275 million Canvas users worldwide.
On Thursday evening, the hackers posted a message on various Canvas websites, including those of Dutch institutions. They claim to have hacked the programme again. VU University Amsterdam has disconnected all systems that were still connected to Canvas.
ShinyHunters
Last week it emerged that the personal data of students and lecturers had been stolen. The data comes from Canvas, an educational platform used by some 9,000 institutions worldwide. Responsibility for the attack has been claimed by ShinyHunters, a hacker group previously involved in the Odido breach.
Initially, the US-based Instructure, the creator of Canvas, was given until Wednesday to pay a ransom, otherwise all the data would be made public. However, the deadline has now been extended by six days, ShinyHunters reports on its website.
According to the group, several institutions have made contact. It does not specify which ones these are or which countries they are from. Universities and universities of applied sciences have until 12 May to negotiate to keep their data private. According to the group, Instructure itself has not yet made contact.
‘Do not pay the ransom’
In the Netherlands, seven universities and at least two universities of applied sciences use Canvas. These are the two Amsterdam universities, Erasmus University, Tilburg University, Maastricht University, the University of Twente and Eindhoven University of Technology, as well as Utrecht University of Applied Sciences and Fontys. Students and staff are asked to “be vigilant for potential phishing emails following the data breach”, writes the umbrella organisation UNL.
Following the hack on Odido, the government issued urgent advice not to pay hackers any ransom. It is quite possible that hackers will not keep their promises. ‘Paying ransom sustains the criminals’ business model,’ wrote the Minister of Justice and Security, David van Weel, at the time. (HOP, NB)
- TU Delft does not use Canvas, but instead relies on the alternative platform Brightspace. TU Delft students who are undertaking a dual degree programme at one of the affected universities (such as Erasmus University) are advised to follow the updates issued by the relevant institution.
Once again, a graduate of a university of applied sciences (hbo) has lost a court case regarding the basic grant (and supplementary grant) for a university master’s degree. ‘Those are simply the rules,’ the judge ruled, adding that only politicians can change them.
It remains a curious situation: after a bachelor’s degree at a university of applied sciences, you do receive a basic grant for a master’s degree at a university of applied sciences, but not for a master’s degree at a university. Conversely, university bachelor’s students actually receive an extra year of basic grant if they opt for a master’s degree at a university of applied sciences. This is a consequence of how the rules for student finance are structured.
Earlier this year, it emerged that an overwhelming majority in the House of Representatives wants to amend the system. Education Minister Rianne Letschert is set to discuss the matter with the House of Representatives.
Last September, 5,700 students with a higher professional education (HBO) background began a university master’s degree. That is 10 per cent of all new master’s students at university. A further 1,200 hbo students will join them later in the year.
In 2023, the Ministry estimated that the changes would cost 60 million euros per year in basic grants, supplementary grants and student travel passes.
Hbo students perform well in university master’s programmes. They often graduate faster than fellow students who have completed a university bachelor’s degree.
HOP, BB
A major fire at a data centre in Almere has caused disruptions at Utrecht University. Students and staff are unable to log in to the institution’s websites and applications. The university magazine DUB is also offline.
The fire broke out Thursday morning in a data centre in Almere, which also houses servers belonging to Utrecht University. According to the university, this has caused network problems. This is having a major impact on “the day-to-day work, research and teaching of and for staff and students”.
The first problems arose around nine o’clock this morning, says a university spokesperson: “Students and staff were unable to log in to websites and applications.” The exact impact is still being assessed.
The university magazine DUB is also experiencing problems. “Shortly after nine o’clock, the website went offline,” says editor-in-chief Bas Mesters. “We can’t even get into our office, because the door opens electrically and that system isn’t working. So we’re now working in the corridor and partly from home. We’re really at a loss for the moment.”
The university is currently advising its students and staff to “stay logged into the UU systems as much as possible, as logging in again may prevent you from accessing the system”. (HOP, NB)
Liberation Day is on a Tuesday this year, but for the student travel pass, 5 May is not a weekday. Students need to bear this in mind if they wish to use their weekly or weekend passes.
Universities and universities of applied sciences are closed on Liberation Day, as it is a public holiday. Students therefore have plenty of time to go to a Liberation Day festival.
If they wish to travel by public transport for this, they need to take note: a weekly ticket only offers a discount, whereas they can travel for free if they have a weekend pass.
What counts as a public holiday?
The DUO student finance website (in Dutch) only states that students will receive a discount on public holidays with a weekly pass and can travel for free with a weekly pass. But what counts as a public holiday?
Everyone knows the deal with Christmas and Easter, but other holidays can be a bit of a grey area. Last month, all students could travel for free on Good Friday, regardless of their travel pass.
But that’s the only exception. Next Thursday, 14 May, for example, is Ascension Day. This is an official public holiday, so with a weekly travel pass, students only get a discount.
Last week was King’s Day, which was also a public holiday. So if students took the bus to the flea market, they had to pay with their weekly travelcard but could travel for free with their weekend travelcard. The same applies tomorrow on Liberation Day.
HOP, Bas Belleman
On Tuesday 5 May, the fourth edition of the Delft Liberation Festival (Bevrijdingsfestival) will take place on the Doelenplein. The festival is organised by six TU Delft students in collaboration with the Delftvrij Foundation.
Between 13:00 and 23:45, there will be performances by local artists. The programme includes student bands Groover Big Band and Phoenix Funk Foundation. Films about freedom will be screened at the Lumen cinema, and visitors can view an exhibition featuring artefacts from the Second World War. There will also be activities for children, such as face painting, colouring and having colourful braids done.
