The newspaper paints a picture of conflict, verbal intimidation, defamation, abuse of power, and insulting remarks within the Power Electronics & EMC (PE) research group at the EEMCS faculty. As a result, several employees are experiencing physical symptoms of stress and are deliberately avoiding certain spaces.
Key figures
The main figures in the case are professors Frank Leferink and Thiago Batista Soeiro. Several international PhD candidates say they feel hurt and discriminated against by remarks made by Leferink. They reported this, but subsequently felt they were not heard by the human resources department. As evidence of the latter, Tubantia published an email from the HR employee involved, who, instead of reporting transgressive behaviour, provided Leferink with legal advice.
The professor at the centre of the allegations told the newspaper that the situation is in fact the other way around. ‘Their aim is to bully me out. They have been trying to do that for years, all the way up to the Executive Board and now through the newspaper. By repeatedly making unfounded accusations that have long since been refuted.’
Hoffmann agency
At the beginning of 2026, the Executive Board contacted Hoffmann, an agency that investigated social safety within the faculty. Twenty employees were interviewed. All twenty described situations they considered transgressive or inappropriate behaviour. In April, the findings, which are in the possession of both Tubantia and U-Today, were shared with those involved. So far, that is where matters have ended. Since then, the Executive Board, the dean, and HR have taken no further action.
UT spokesperson Laurens van der Velde told Tubantia that the ‘situation is complex and affects people’, but said he did not want to go into further detail because of the privacy of those involved. ‘The signals and circumstances have been carefully investigated, with external expertise also brought in. Action has been taken in response to each signal. It has become clear that there is no simple solution available.’
Professor M.
The distressing situation at EEMCS has many similarities with the article on Professor M. that U-Today published at the end of 2025. That case also involved abuse of power, intimidation, and exploitation of PhD candidates. And there too, the university conducted an internal investigation, after which little changed. At the time, the University Council said it was deeply shocked and questioned how similar cases could be prevented in the future.
Why U-Today hasn't publushed yet
The picture presented in Tubantia’s article about the situation at the EEMCS faculty corresponds with information in U-Today’s possession. Over the past period, this dossier has come to our attention and we have spoken to several people involved. We concluded that further investigation was needed, and still is, before we could proceed with publishing a thorough and complete article.
