The Executive Board of the University of Twente is very concerned about the planned budget cuts to higher education and science. The plans for these cuts were presented yesterday during Budget Day. The cuts to universities amount to €1 billion over the next four years, with major social and economic consequences for the Netherlands, but also for our university in particular.
In particular, the plans around internationalisation have a major impact on UT. The cabinet is pushing ahead with plans for the announced Internationalisation in Balance Act, which should lead to a lower international intake in the coming years. Although in the development of the plans, there is always attention for the needs of specific regions like Twente, as well as shortage sectors such as STEM, the final elaboration will have to show what this will mean for UT. International talent is of increasing importance for the regional and national labour market, now that major shortages of staff are emerging in various places. That shortage will only get worse in the future.
The first cut of €250 million will take place as early as 2025, of which €175 million will be cut from start-up and incentive grants. This is a year earlier than planned. The start-up and incentive grants were established several years ago to ‘create calm and space and put the foundations in the higher education and research system in order. The aim of the scholarships is to encourage untied research and reduce work and application pressure.’
Best investment as a society
Investing in education is the best investment you can make as a society. It delivers the most return on investment, UT president Vinod Subramaniam said recently at the Opening of the Academic Year. The cuts to higher education and science contradict the conclusions of Mario Draghi's EU report last week. Europe's competitiveness is at risk, Draghi noted on behalf of the European Union. To remain competitive in the future, member states and the EU must invest heavily in basic research, innovation and education. Only with sufficient knowledge and skills can the European economy remain competitive.
Concerns widely shared
Concerns about the cuts in education, research and innovation are widely shared, according to the many reactions to the Budget Day plans.
Already during the current academic year, negative effects will be felt by staff and students, Universities of the Netherlands (UNL), the umbrella organisation of Dutch universities, said in its response. UNL argues that the cuts are even more drastic than in the outline agreement. ‘The cabinet is taking away research money that has already been allocated to young researchers and is thus putting universities in direct trouble,’ UNL president Caspar van den Berg said of the direct cut in starter grants.
The plans were also received with concern in the region. TwenteBoard and Overijssel Province point to the negative effects of cuts in education, research and innovation on the further development of the region. And that is crucial for the future earning capacity of the Netherlands as a whole.
Earlier, the Central Planning Bureau, the Social Cultural Planning Bureau and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency presented fierce criticism of the cabinet plans. According to them, the cuts in education, research and innovation harm our future prosperity.
NWO, which will also have to deal with substantial cuts in the coming years, underlines the importance of scientific knowledge with social impact, citing the ‘Living dykes’ research programme - led by UT researchers - as a telling example. In the project, researchers are working on solutions inspired by nature to achieve resilient and climate-resistant coastal protection.
Further elaboration
In all cases, these cuts affect not only society as a whole, but also our community in particular. In the coming period, we will pay extra attention to this. We hope to soon have insight into the more precise, impact of the plans at our university.
Next week, Dutch parliament will debate the proposals, which means changes are still possible. Working closely with other stakeholders, we are making our voice heard to ensure that this unwise cut is reversed as much as possible.
