Independent journalism about VU Amsterdam | Since 1953
29 January 2026
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Welmoed Visser

10 December 2025

How to survive the grey Dutch winter

With its endless days of rain, fog and grey skies, winter in the Netherlands can be utterly depressing. Especially if you come from a sunnier region and have your friends and family living far away.
2 December 2025

Communication and Marketing has to make major cuts

At the Communication and Marketing department, 8.5 full-time positions (FTE) will be eliminated. A significant number of employees will also be given a different role. The reorganisation is part of a larger cost-cutting operation at VU.
20 November 2025

‘Collaboration offers opportunities for Earth Sciences’

Both students and lecturers are pleased that the Earth Sciences degree programme will continue to exist. The students see opportunities in more intensive collaboration with other organisations. For staff, however, one and a half years of uncertainty has also caused…
20 August 2025

‘Moving to a new country can be lonely’

Alissa Hiegentlich organizes the introduction week for international (pre-)master’s students, exchange students and independent freemovers. She helps them find their way at VU, in the city, and introduces them to Dutch culture.
2 July 2025

A bizarre, but pleasant effect

Men commit the vast majority of violent crimes and sexual offenses and are more often involved in traffic accidents and fireworks-related incidents. Can hormonal differences be blamed for these numbers?
16 April 2025

‘I feel sad when people ask me to choose’

Pari Fahimi is chair of student association FAM (Family of Academic Minds) and tries to look beyond the political stance of its members. ‘Diversity and inclusion are different things.’
25 March 2025

With Earth Sciences specialized knowledge will also dissapear

Earth Sciences at VU is under threat of being discontinued, while the job market is in desperate need of graduates in the field. Scientists from other disciplines also rely on the knowledge that would be lost.  
12 February 2025

Fungi startup could clean up Dutch ditches

Student entrepreneur Juan Cruz Tubio wants to use fungi to catch surplus nitrogen from surface water. He has been working day and night to start his company Mycofarming.
11 December 2024

Teachers share their love for chemistry through videos

Teachers Jaap Harteveld and Thomas Hansen are tackling one of the major stumbling blocks for students in the bachelor’s Pharmaceutical Sciences. They use videos in which they personally solve assignments.
4 December 2024

‘Don’t fix housing shortage with enrolment caps on English tracks’

Can foreign students be barred from English-taught tracks? Only if the programme’s ‘teaching resources’ are stretched too thin, says education minister Eppo Bruins. The housing shortage or a desire to curb student migration shouldn’t factor into the equation.
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