New blog post, in which we wave goodbye to @guidovisman.bsky.social, welcome @gerardrve.com to the faction, and call on all of you to join us in fighting for this university! www.rug.nl/about-ug/org...

First day of meetings for the Uni Council in the new academic year, and it's the birthday of our griffier; Congratulations Roos! 🎉

Happening right now: the very last University Council for @guidovisman.bsky.social, who later today gives up his seat (to be filled by @gerardrve.com). And the agenda is jampacked with important topics as well, such as the financial framework for all faculties and services 💰 rug.my-meeting.nl

🚨 Breaking: Board of the uni just retracted the proposal to merge faculties! Faced with the certainty of a NO from the Uni Council, they took the high road. A victory for democracy at our institution.

Are you curious about @sciencefaction.nl work at the council or you are thinking of joining for next year's elections? Then come to our afternoon drinks! Wednesday 15 April, 17.00-19.00 Vin Natuur, Groningen We hope to see you there!

Are you curious about @sciencefaction.nl work at the council or you are thinking of joining for next year's elections? Then come to our afternoon drinks! Wednesday 15 April, 17.00-19.00 Vin Natuur, Groningen We hope to see you there!

I could not agree more and share the worry. It feels to me that this applies pretty much verbatim to mathematics as well ergosphere.blog/posts/the-ma... #mathSky #eduSky

Read Thereza Langeler's powerful Council speech on Anda Kerkhoven and militarization at our University on our blog: www.rug.nl/about-ug/org... Of kijk de speech hier terug: rug.my-meeting.nl/v1/embed/Uni...

Thereza Langeler@therezalangeler.bsky.social · 7mo ago

Ik denk vaak aan RUG-student en pacifist Anda Kerkhoven, nu het kabinet miljarden in militaire macht pompt en nu op mijn universiteit enthousiasme groeit over samenwerken met Defensie. Vandaag in 1945 werd Anda vermoord. www.rug.nl/about-ug/org...

It's that Thursday of the month again: the Uni-Council meeting with the Board! The Science Faction is in full attendance, the agenda is packed: it's go time! Follow along live at rug.my-meeting.nl for a meeting more spectacular than the Olympics.

Read our open letter to the Board on governance and faculty mergers. The Board likes to say there is no alternative. That leaves us with no alternative but to vote "no".

UKrant@ukrant.bsky.social · 8mo ago

Het college van bestuur neemt binnenkort een voorlopig besluit over de fusieplannen voor faculteiten. De Wetenschapsfractie in de universiteitsraad bepleit in een open brief een tussenweg; er zijn meer manieren denkbaar om de RUG minder bureaucratisch te maken. ukrant.nl/er-is-te-vee...

Today at 4pm, at the RCS faculty, a Break & Cake with your University Council representatives! Come complain and ask about the (reversed?)budget cuts, governance, faculty mergers, work pressure, or whatever you like. For the Science Faction, @therezalangeler.bsky.social will be present.

Happening today 4pm at Zernike: a Dialogue Session with the Board! Tell them directly what you think about the mergers and reorganizations they are planning. Science Faction University Council members @therezalangeler.bsky.social and @mseri.me will be there too!

🚨 Science Faction needs your input: the Arbeidsinspectie is coming to the RUG! The Dutch Labour Inspectorate is checking if we’ve improved on work pressure & social safety (especially leadership & discrimination). If not, the RUG could face fines.

In our latest blog post, Marcello Seri pulls back the curtain on what it is like serving on the University Council: the rewarding collaborations, the exhausting debates and the need to reach out to those directly affected by the Council and Board decisions. www.rug.nl/about-ug/org...

The University Council - including the whole Science Faction - just voted negatively on the budget for next year. In times of stringent budget cuts, it just wasn't good enough. Not good enough for our students, not good enough for our staff, not good enough for our university.

The institutional budget is up for discussion and a vote in the University Council RIGHT NOW. Get out your popcorn, because this could get interesting. 📺Live at rug.my-meeting.nl

a man in a striped sweater is sitting on a couch

ALT: a man in a striped sweater is sitting on a couch

media.tenor.com

The uni board wanted input on the new SSH governance. Our take? Harmonize without mergers & focus on a fair allocation model first. Read our full letter here: www.rug.nl/about-ug/org...

Our university’s AI governance structure needs an update, that’s clear. But let’s ensure it’s an upgrade, not a downgrade. Read the speech Marcello Seri gave in the University Council today here: www.rug.nl/about-ug/org...

a robot with a bald head is smiling and saying `` ai be like '' .

ALT: a robot with a bald head is smiling and saying `` ai be like '' .

media.tenor.com

Read Marcello Seri's council speech on the Groningen Engineering Centre on our blog! It should not be an institute driven only by the technical faculties, but by a broad range of disciplines te have added value. www.rug.nl/about-ug/org...

Our @therezalangeler.bsky.social currently speaking in the Uni Council on PhD wellbeing, holding the Board accountable on structural power imbalances between supervisors and PhDs. Watch live: rug.my-meeting.nl/Vergaderinge...

This week’s faction meeting: budget cuts, SSH governance, and PhD wellbeing. Because nothing says ‘fun’ like deciding who gets the short end of the stick!

Marcello Seri's first month in the University Council flew by; read about his experiences on our blog! Or, you know, his blog. We ain't jealous about page views.

Marcello Seri@mseri.me · 12mo ago

In September I have joined our University Council, a co-participation body that monitors the activities of the Uni Board, issues (un)solicited advice and has a say in some important decisions. What we do can sound a bit mysterious and I hope I can make it more transparent by blogging about it :)

The uni cuts top-ups and demands refunds from PhDs after their CSC scholarships were raised; yet some contracts don’t even tie top-ups to CSC amounts. Our @therezalangeler.bsky.social raised this with the board in committee yesterday; to be continued in plenary!

The board just dropped in the finance committee: 30 million in cuts still needed, equivalent to 300 FTE. Is this just more budgetary belt-tightening, or are these the first whispers of layoffs?

Our statement on the Board's deafening silence on the Gaza genocide sparked a fierce debate in the Council. Jouke de Vries' response was as weak as it was predictable. To be continued very soon.

Science Faction already gearing up for the next academic year! Had our first meeting with the team for the coming two years: Marcello Seri @mseri.me, Thereza Langeler @therezalangeler.bsky.social, Gerard Ritsema van Eck @gerardrve.com, and Guido Visman @guidovisman.bsky.social Enjoy the summer 🌞

Great strides last week at the Digital Sovereignty workshop. Support and scientific staff mapping out a 5-year roadmap together to get rid of big tech. Science Faction was happy to be there, let's keep pushing for a tech-savvy and autonomous uni! (And yes this is an extremely boring photo)

Finance Commission update: Our chair Guido Visman confronted the Board for trying to claw back millions in student volume funds from faculties - money meant to reduce unacceptable academic work pressure. We won't let central admin raid faculty budgets while staff burn out!

🎉 The government that despised higher education more than any in history has finally fallen! Here's hoping this means those devastating budget cuts get postponed first, then completely reversed into the vital science investments we desperately need.