Eindhoven University of Technology (TU/e) is critical of the new cabinet’s cuts to higher education. Yet the university does have growth opportunities. “The region is going to feel this.”
“The budget cuts put a brake on science and innovation in the Netherlands and thus on the future earning capacity of our country,” says board chairman Robert-Jan Smits about the cabinet plans in which hard cuts are being made to higher education.
“Let’s not forget that after closing the gas tap, knowledge is the only resource we have left. Not for nothing does Mario Draghi (leading economist and former president of the European Central Bank, ed.) say in his report last week, on Europe’s faltering competitiveness, that investing in innovation and talent is the top priority. The new administration’s cuts are opposed to this,” Smits noted.
Palpable
“In our region, too, we will certainly start to feel the effects of this. I therefore hope that The Hague will realize that we are shooting ourselves in the foot with these austerity plans,” says Smits.
Relief
The cuts would normally be a setback for the university, were it not for the financial resources from Project Beethoven. This project invests a lot of money in the growing Brainport tech region. With that, there is still plenty to look forward to for the technical university where an increase of 15,000 students is not completely off the table.
Earlier, the university announced the addition of 1,000 to 1,400 researchers in the field of Semicon. In addition, up to 2,000 additional students will join the various semicon areas in the coming years. The current student population consists of about 13000 students. A significant contraction in student numbers beyond the Semicon is not expected.
Loans
The expected growth does require additional space on the TU/e campus and to create it, the university must become more financially astute. Hence, the university has taken out substantial loans. The university’s long-term debt will rise to €468 million in 2028, an increase of €375 million. After 2028, that amount should decrease again.
One of the projects on the list is the construction of a new clean room on campus. “A facility that is crucial for Semicon education and research,” TU/e said. The size of that clean room depends in part on structural Beethoven funds and thus is not affected by the cuts.
Source: Studio040
For Eindhoven News: Chaitali Sengupta.
