Speech from the Throne: ‘There must be room for international students and knowledge workers’

The labour market needs talent in sectors such as AI, digitalisation, energy and biotechnology, King Willem-Alexander said in the Speech from the Throne earlier on Tuesday. “That talent is everywhere: from vocational and higher professional education to universities.”

Every year on Budget Day, the king delivers the Speech from the Throne, in which the government summarises its plans. Major issues were addressed, such as the nitrogen crisis, housing, security, climate and democracy.

Remarkably, the speech did not mention investment in education and research. These were only touched on indirectly, in the context of ‘tomorrow’s labour market’.

Talent everywhere

That labour market requires ‘attracting, educating and retaining top talent in crucial sectors such as AI, digitalisation, energy and biotechnology’, the king said. “That talent is everywhere: from vocational and higher professional education to universities.”

He referred to this government’s previously announced ‘talent strategy’: “This will be developed further in the coming period, in consultation with educational institutions, businesses, students and other stakeholders.”

He also spoke about the arrival of international students in economic terms: “Naturally, a modern labour market must have room for talented students and specialised knowledge workers from abroad.”

Enormous opportunities

The King’s Speech was enthusiastic about technological progress. “All the rapid developments surrounding digitalisation and AI must, of course, be managed properly and safely”, the king acknowledged, “but the opportunities are enormous.”

Universities of applied sciences and universities must respond to this too: “Together with businesses, knowledge institutions and others, the government is working on an economy in which one innovation triggers another and start-ups and established companies strengthen each other.”

Incidentally, no AI was used in this year’s Speech from the Throne, if AI detection programme Pangram is to be believed. In recent weeks, news reports revealed that prominent politicians had sometimes helped AI-generated texts enter the public domain, but the King’s Speech is still the work of humans.

Hats

Budget Day is associated with distinctive hats, some of which carry a political message. Education minister Rianne Letschert wore a science hat for which designer Malou Beemer collaborated with professor Wim Noorduin.

Noorduin is, among other things, known for the microscopic ‘flowers’ he produces using chemicals. Artist Malou Beemer translated these forms into wearable art. The result is a ‘hat of wonder’ that illustrates the collaboration between science and art.