UU must save 35.1 million in 2025, 6 million more than expected

The university was already expecting to be forced to tighten the belt when political parties PVV, VVD, BBB and NSC unveiled their coalition agreement. However, UU was waiting for Budget Day, when the budget memo would be presented. As it turns out, UU will receive even less funding from The Hague than expected, which will result in an additional cutback of 6 million euros in 2025, according to the Executive Board.

Starter and incentive grants will be scrapped next year already. For UU, this means a cut of 13.3 million euros and 17.8 million euros, respectively. The starter and incentive grants were intended to reduce the workload of lecturer-researchers. "Additional cutbacks can be expected from 2026 onwards. It is not yet known how much more they will want to cut in the future and what this will mean for UU," writes the Executive Board on its website.

The Executive Board says it will make agreements regarding the cuts with the boards of several departments. “I understand that students and staff are concerned and have many questions about the cuts. [...] We are faced with difficult choices. We must set clear priorities to continue to guarantee the quality of our education and research, despite the restrictions,” she writes in the statement.

UU President Anton Pijpers adds that the cuts affect the "future of the Netherlands” as "universities play an essential role in tackling societal challenges, such as research into new medicines, food security, clean drinking water, good education, animal-friendly livestock farming, economic growth and employment. All that is now under pressure."

The members of the Executive Board expect more bad news that could lead to additional cuts because it is not yet clear what the consequences of certain measures will be, such as the fine for "slow" students, the reduction of the influx of international students, and the change of the language of instruction from English to Dutch in certain courses.