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6 May 2026
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Science & Education

Science 15 November 2021

You’ll be rejected anyway, but it matters how

LONGREAD – Anonymous reviewers can sometimes be really brutal when assessing an article. When that happens, pettiness and academic rivalry seem to be more important than the quality of thought. It’s time for another system says the philosopher; time for…
Internationalization 2 November 2021

Preparatory year is misused to attract more international students

Higher education institutions are going to recruit fewer students from outside Europe with a preparatory year. It is now no longer possible to misuse that transition programme in ‘the hunt for international students’. Higher education in the Netherlands provides preparatory…
Education 22 October 2021

Inspectorate of Education is concerned about freedom on campus

Higher education should also focus on ethical and social questions. But is that actually being done? The Inspectorate of Education is concerned about this and is going to conduct further research.
Internationalization 21 October 2021

Fear of China dominates meeting on international collaboration

Security interests need to carry more weight when deciding on whether collaborative research with China is possible, experts feel. So give us some guidelines, universities have told the House of Representatives.
Science 12 October 2021

Controversial DNA testing? Address the ethical issues

Dutch and Chinese researchers have been working together in recent years to develop controversial DNA databanks. It’s time to tighten up our ethical review of such work, says philosophy professor Peter-Paul Verbeek. A month ago, RTL Nieuws and the Dutch…
Internationalization 30 September 2021

International students have difficulty getting COVID pass

International students from outside the EU get bogged down in red tape when they try to get hold of the COVID pass that is mandatory in the Netherlands. So when they go out they often have to get tested, even…
Internationalization 13 September 2021

‘I always become a little bit Chinese when someone attacks China’

LONGREAD – The West suffers from Chinaphobia and VU Amsterdam lecturer Peter Peverelli believes that is unwarranted. He is co-author of a book intended to counterbalance all this negative publicity.
Science 10 September 2021

Studies using the DNA of Uyghurs withdrawn

Two researchers at the Erasmus Medical Center have been unable to prove that DNA they used for scientific research was donated voluntarily by Uyghur subjects. Their publications have therefore been withdrawn by two scientific journals.
Education 9 September 2021

Protesters ask: where is the 1.1 billion needed for higher education?

In her address at the opening of the academic year, outgoing minister Ingrid van Engelshoven took extra time to reflect on the coronavirus crisis. But she couldn’t please the protesters: for the time being there won’t be any extra money….
Education 19 August 2021

House of Representatives wants ‘hybrid’ learning for vulnerable students

Students suffering from poor health must be allowed to pursue their studies online again next year, according to a majority of the House of Representatives. Outgoing Minister Van Engelshoven is tempering expectations.