Are you curious about @sciencefaction.nl work at the council or you are thinking of joining for next year's elections? Then come to our afternoon drinks!
Wednesday 15 April, 17.00-19.00
Vin Natuur, Groningen
We hope to see you there!
Are you curious about @sciencefaction.nl work at the council or you are thinking of joining for next year's elections? Then come to our afternoon drinks!
Wednesday 15 April, 17.00-19.00
Vin Natuur, Groningen
We hope to see you there!
I could not agree more and share the worry. It feels to me that this applies pretty much verbatim to mathematics as well
ergosphere.blog/posts/the-ma...
#mathSky #eduSky
Read Thereza Langeler's powerful Council speech on Anda Kerkhoven and militarization at our University on our blog: www.rug.nl/about-ug/org...
Of kijk de speech hier terug: rug.my-meeting.nl/v1/embed/Uni...
It's that Thursday of the month again: the Uni-Council meeting with the Board! The Science Faction is in full attendance, the agenda is packed: it's go time!
Follow along live at rug.my-meeting.nl for a meeting more spectacular than the Olympics.
Read our open letter to the Board on governance and faculty mergers.
The Board likes to say there is no alternative. That leaves us with no alternative but to vote "no".
Today at 4pm, at the RCS faculty, a Break & Cake with your University Council representatives!
Come complain and ask about the (reversed?)budget cuts, governance, faculty mergers, work pressure, or whatever you like.
For the Science Faction, @therezalangeler.bsky.social will be present.
Happening today 4pm at Zernike: a Dialogue Session with the Board! Tell them directly what you think about the mergers and reorganizations they are planning.
Science Faction University Council members @therezalangeler.bsky.social and @mseri.me will be there too!
The Science will be there, but we need your input!
What’s your take?
✅ What’s working?
❌ What’s not?
Drop your thoughts below or DM @therezalangeler.bsky.social
Boost this post so we can gather as many voices as possible before the meeting next week!
🚨 Science Faction needs your input: the Arbeidsinspectie is coming to the RUG!
The Dutch Labour Inspectorate is checking if we’ve improved on work pressure & social safety (especially leadership & discrimination). If not, the RUG could face fines.
In our latest blog post, Marcello Seri pulls back the curtain on what it is like serving on the University Council: the rewarding collaborations, the exhausting debates and the need to reach out to those directly affected by the Council and Board decisions.
www.rug.nl/about-ug/org...
The University Council - including the whole Science Faction - just voted negatively on the budget for next year.
In times of stringent budget cuts, it just wasn't good enough. Not good enough for our students, not good enough for our staff, not good enough for our university.
The institutional budget is up for discussion and a vote in the University Council RIGHT NOW.
Get out your popcorn, because this could get interesting.
📺Live at rug.my-meeting.nl
Signed by all the Council members of the Science Faction, because we can and we MUST do more.
The uni board wanted input on the new SSH governance. Our take? Harmonize without mergers & focus on a fair allocation model first.
Read our full letter here: www.rug.nl/about-ug/org...
Our university’s AI governance structure needs an update, that’s clear. But let’s ensure it’s an upgrade, not a downgrade.
Read the speech Marcello Seri gave in the University Council today here: www.rug.nl/about-ug/org...
Read Marcello Seri's council speech on the Groningen Engineering Centre on our blog! It should not be an institute driven only by the technical faculties, but by a broad range of disciplines te have added value.
www.rug.nl/about-ug/org...
Our @therezalangeler.bsky.social currently speaking in the Uni Council on PhD wellbeing, holding the Board accountable on structural power imbalances between supervisors and PhDs.
Watch live: rug.my-meeting.nl/Vergaderinge...
Guido Visman
Thereza Langeler
Marcello Seri
Gerard Ritsema van Eck
This week’s faction meeting: budget cuts, SSH governance, and PhD wellbeing. Because nothing says ‘fun’ like deciding who gets the short end of the stick!
Marcello Seri's first month in the University Council flew by; read about his experiences on our blog!
Or, you know, his blog. We ain't jealous about page views.
The uni cuts top-ups and demands refunds from PhDs after their CSC scholarships were raised; yet some contracts don’t even tie top-ups to CSC amounts. Our @therezalangeler.bsky.social raised this with the board in committee yesterday; to be continued in plenary!
The board just dropped in the finance committee: 30 million in cuts still needed, equivalent to 300 FTE. Is this just more budgetary belt-tightening, or are these the first whispers of layoffs?
Hope is wonderful (if you enjoy fairy tales). As our @guidovisman.bsky.social puts it:
"The challenge is immense, and I urgently call for us to put aside wishful thinking and look at the hard numbers. The current approach won’t get us there."
Our statement on the Board's deafening silence on the Gaza genocide sparked a fierce debate in the Council. Jouke de Vries' response was as weak as it was predictable.
To be continued very soon.
Marcello Seri, Thereza Langeler, Gerard Ritsema van Eck and Guido Visman posing next to the statue of Aletta Jacobs
Science Faction already gearing up for the next academic year!
Had our first meeting with the team for the coming two years: Marcello Seri @mseri.me, Thereza Langeler @therezalangeler.bsky.social, Gerard Ritsema van Eck @gerardrve.com, and Guido Visman @guidovisman.bsky.social
Enjoy the summer 🌞
And today the University Council starts with a strategic discussion on digital autonomy. Good that the board gives a clear mandate to the 'coalition of the willing' and has set itself a strict 2030 deadline to be fully digitally independent.
Great strides last week at the Digital Sovereignty workshop. Support and scientific staff mapping out a 5-year roadmap together to get rid of big tech.
Science Faction was happy to be there, let's keep pushing for a tech-savvy and autonomous uni!
(And yes this is an extremely boring photo)
Merging faculties might simplify the board's work, but does it simplify ours? Even the FSE council isn't convinced; and their extensive experience with faculty mergers carries weight.
Let's tackle the real issues (budget cuts, work pressure, etc, etc) without introducing new ones.