‘We are very happy’, says Geology and Geochemistry master’s student Niek van der Hoek in response to the decision that Earth Sciences can remain for the time being. “We have fought for this over the past one and a half years. I see the fact that the programme will now collaborate more intensively with organisations in the professional field as an opportunity. It will probably improve the alignment between the study programme and the job market” – something which, in his view, could be better in the current programme.
Where is the pride?
Lecturer and student recruiter Bernd Andeweg is also pleased. “Of course it is good news”, he says, “but the way it is being communicated now is rather frugal: the press release is mainly about money and cutbacks and about the uncertainty as to whether the financial targets will be met. I miss the pride, that we succeeded, that so many parties in the field are willing to make considerable financial contributions. That surely says a lot about the quality of the programme and the societal demand for earth scientists.”
Andeweg believes that the reactions from the professional field have ultimately helped make a relaunch for Earth Sciences possible. “So many organisations have said ‘we need earth scientists’: knowledge institute Deltares, NIOZ (Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research), various ministries, the board simply could not ignore that.”
In the plan that now forms the basis for the decision to retain Earth Sciences, those parties also contribute to the budget: between 2026 and 2030 the so-called ‘field partners’ will contribute 9.8 million euros: 5.5 million in cash and 4.3 million in-kind, in the form of sponsorship of fieldwork, secondments and funding PhDs.
Only fifteen first-years
A similar plan already existed one and a half years ago, says Andeweg, but the faculty board wanted nothing to do with it at the time. He finds it regrettable that valuable time has been lost as a result, time during which people dropped out due to stress, research projects were delayed and labs were not completed, and that because of all the rumours about commotion, only 15 first-years enrolled this year instead of the usual 45.
“I think we can shift gears quickly, the plans are in place, but the threat of closure has caused damage and we need some time to recover from that”, says Andeweg.
Both Andeweg and Van der Hoek believe that the programme can grow. “If Earth Sciences at the VU starts collaborating more intensively with organisations in the professional field, that is something on which the programme can build its profile. I think that could be attractive to future students.’