Academic Freedom

Are academics free to research what they want? And to what extent should they be free to do so, or should they always put themselves at the service of society? Is a university strategy a restriction of that freedom? On these and other issues surrounding academic freedom, several dialogues took place at the university in 2026.

Concern about academic freedom is growing now that science, press freedom and the independent judiciary are under pressure. Dutch rectors have listened to students and staff and developed a new strategy.

Around fifty staff and students made an initial contribution morning to a nationwide discussion on academic freedom. A wide range of topics were discussed in dialogue sessions, from course evaluations to geopolitics. Participants would like to see the university defend academic freedom not only in words, but also in deeds.

One of the architects of the law on higher education, Peter Kwikkers, has written a book about the protection of academic freedom. He argues that academic freedom should be enshrined in the Constitution.

Over the past ten years, academic freedom has deteriorated in many countries, including the Netherlands. In particular, the sense of safety on campus is under pressure.

Around forty staff members and a handful of students gathered on Monday at the Putselaan, speaking in small groups about academic freedom in the context of a university that is embedded in society. 

Academic freedom is also under pressure in the Netherlands, warns the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). Budget cuts, intimidation and two new legislative proposals threaten the autonomy of researchers.

Academics and administrators are wrestling with the role of scholars in the public domain. That became clear on Monday during the third dialogue on academic freedom.

The three dialogues on academic freedom at the university made editor-in-chief Wieneke Gunneweg think about the freedom journalists need to do their work. And she concluded that press freedom and academic freedom actually share the same core, but have a different outer layer. And that sometimes clashes.

To protect academic freedom, universities should become more democratic. That was the recurring theme at a national meeting on the issue, attended by all universities.