ITC faculty moves to campus
After many years of anticipation, 2023 should be the year when the ITC faculty finally moves to campus. The reconstruction of Langezijds building is nearly finished and the first staff and students should be able to enter the faculty’s new home in April. On top of offices and study rooms, they can look forward to three indoor gardens, twelve lecture halls and laboratories. The renovation of Langezijds has taken longer than expected. The original moving date was set for summer 2022, but had to be postponed due to issues with the floor foundation.
Sports and culture facilities
There are also other real estate plans, specifically for the sports and culture facilities – due to capacity issues: a permanent expansion of the Sports Centre and the realisation of a Body & Mind Centre. The UT also plans to invest in a renovation of the Vrijhof. There are also plans for padel courts and a renovation of the outdoor pool, the water sports complex of Euros and the addition of an air-supported dome and a temporary dance hall.
Year of climate activism
If last year was any indication, we can expect to see a lot more of climate activists at the UT in 2023. Groups such as University Rebellion, Scientist Rebellion and Extinction Rebellion already organized a number of protests in recent months, including a disruption of an excursion to a Shell refinery. Similar (and more extreme) actions have been taken at other Dutch universities. In November and December, climate activist groups occupied the Erasmus University Rotterdam and the TU Eindhoven, demanding their respective universities to break ties with the fossil fuel industry. It's therefore reasonable to assume that climate activism will become even more prominent on campus this year.
Return of the basic study grant
After years of criticism and study debts that skyrocketed, every Dutch student can rejoice from 1 September 2023 onwards. That day will mark the return of the basic study grant, replacing the loan system that’s been in place since 2015. Expectations are that this will have its effects on the influx of new students as well, under the assumption that a lot of pre-university students waited out the return of the basic grant, before applying to the university.
Solar Team Twente back to Australia
Solar Team Twente will return – for the ninth time – to the World Solar Challenge; a race of about 3000 kilometers through the Australian Outback, from Darwin to Adelaide. While the previous edition of the World Solar Challenge had to be cancelled due to the corona crisis, the Twente solar car should attempt to win the famous competition in October this year. Perhaps they can even repeat their success from the Solar Challenge Morocco in 2021, when they managed to come home as champions.
UT drops in rankings
In the latest years, the UT has been consistently dropping down in international rankings. In 2022, it even fell outside the top 250 of the Times Higher Education ranking. The trend is likely to continue in the coming year(s), but that is not necessarily a reason to panic or change course. One of the possible reasons for this drop, is that the UT is consciously choosing to focus on aspects that don’t necessarily count in official rankings. For example, the UT is implementing a ‘Talent Development for Scientific Staff’ policy, a document based on the (national) Recognition & Rewards programme. At the basis of this program, the UT endorses the principle that every employee is a (potential) talent and should be able to develop in areas they choose. ‘The policy will have its impact, for example on the UT’s position in rankings,’ stated rector Tom Veldkamp when this new policy was discussed by the University Council. ‘The consequence of implementing this policy is that we drop further in rankings, but that is something we should be happy with.’
New joint programme with Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam
September 2023 will welcome its first batch of students of the joint Creative Technology programme, which the UT now offers together with the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU). This is not the first time that the UT and VU are joining forces. The two universities already started a joint bachelor's programme in Mechanical Engineering in 2019. As of the upcoming academic year, students can also follow the programme Creative Technology in Amsterdam. In addition, the two universities are looking into the possibility of offering more joint bachelor's programmes in the near future, both in Amsterdam and Enschede.
Create Tomorrow returns
After three years of (physical) absence, Create Tomorrow will return to campus in May 2023. For a while it looked like the event was never going to make a comeback. The student think tank could not be held in-person in 2020 and 2021, and the 2022 edition could not be organized due to a lack of new committee members; but a new team of students is now working to bring it back to life.
Finances: the only certainty is uncertainty
Last year, the war in Ukraine turned – well – practically everything upside down. Consequences are already being felt, also at the UT. Take the energy costs, for instance: the UT had to pay about 7 million Euros more than budgeted for energy, leading to a total deficit of some 13 million Euros. In 2023, the UT expects a deficit of 15 million Euros – primarily due to the rise in energy costs. Add up the inflation, energy costs, the possible extent of wage compensation (through a new collective labour agreement) and you come to the conclusion that the only certainty we have, is uncertainty. Financially speaking, it’s safe to say everyone will start this year with more questions than answers.
The first UT-wide election week
Mainly to increase visibility for the UT’s central and decentral participation bodies, 2023 will host the first UT-wide election week. In this week, members of the UT community can vote for not only candidates of the university council but also for faculty and service councils. Basically one big celebration of our own university’s democracy. Whether it will increase the turnout, remains to be seen.
Fine(s) for smoking on campus
The campus has largely been a 'smoke-free zone' since March 2020, but many people still smoke on campus. Because of this, the UT has already received a warning from the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority (NVWA). If the UT community doesn’t begin to comply with the smoking ban, the university runs a high risk of fines, which can amount up to 4,500 euros per violation. Having to ‘pay up’ seems rather likely, given the fact that the UT deliberately chooses to not enforce the rule. For now, it is expected that individual members of the UT community address each other’s smoking behaviour. Let’s see if this strategy works and 2023 becomes the year when cigarettes (and their electrical counterparts) will go up in smoke.
