Vice chair Agnes Muskens: “This is obviously painful, particularly for those directly affected. Unfortunately, it also necessary to stay financially healthy, in the interests of our teaching and research.” These savings are part of the larger the university is required to take.
For some staff members, this will almost certainly affect their jobs. They will receive careful guidance and, where possible, they will be offered another position in the organisation through the usual procedure. Exactly what the staffing consequences of the measures will be is being examined per unit, including the role of participational bodies. Once the impact is clear, where necessary this will be discussed with the participational bodies. Staff will be updated about the process and outcomes.
So, what will be affected?
This year, the Executive Board is phasing out funding for the Radboud Excellence Initiative and from 1 January 2026 the funding for the Science Education Hub. The Radboud Excellence Initiative was set up to bring the most exceptional talents from each research field to Nijmegen on a temporary basis. The round of 1 November 2024 is now underway and will be completed. Costs of granted applications can be claimed until the set end date.
The Science Education Hub aims to promote the inquiring and researching attitude of primary school children and of teachers, present and future. This year, the Science Education Hub will be carefully phased out and we will explore how the university can retain as much of the knowledge and contacts gained from it as possible.
Initiatives receiving less budget
Several other initiatives will continue but face budget constraints. These include, for example, the Christine Mohrmann Fund, the Radboud Teaching & Learning Centre, the Profiling Fund, the Radboud Sustainability programme, the development of technical study programmes and the cooperation with Maastricht University.
From 2025, no Christine Mohrmann scholarships will be awarded other than the stipend scholarships for talented female PhD candidates. In recent years, financial incentives have not resulted in further improvement in the number of female professors. Scholarships already awarded will continue until the set end date. As a university, we remain structurally committed to increasing the percentage of female professors and the Executive Board will continue to support the Halkes Women & Faculty Network.
For the Radboud Teaching & Learning Centre, it was decided to cut the funding from the AUA budget by about 15%. The schemes that are part of the Profiling Fund and relate to travel grants and scholarships for international students are being scaled down. The exact scope and implementation for the longer term are being explored and elaborated.
In addition, the available central funds for various facilities are being scaled back. These include the provision for the previously announced development of four new technical study programmes. A decision had already been taken to reduce these to three new study programmes for the next few years. Costs for new study programmes will be critically reviewed in consultation with the relevant faculties.
Finally, in consultation with the Executive Board of Maastricht University, it was decided to reduce the central AUA contribution to the programme budget.