{"id":158529,"date":"2023-09-07T09:38:45","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T07:38:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=158529"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:57","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:57","slug":"executive-board-president-the-plan-for-limiting-internationalisation-is-a-legislative-proposal-taken-to-the-extreme","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2023\/09\/07\/executive-board-president-the-plan-for-limiting-internationalisation-is-a-legislative-proposal-taken-to-the-extreme\/","title":{"rendered":"Executive Board President: The plan for limiting internationalisation is \u2018a legislative proposal taken to the extreme\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

At the Opening of the Academic Year on Monday afternoon, Executive Board President Ed Brinksma was critical of the Minister of Education Robbert Dijkgraaf’s plans for putting the brake on internationalisation. He believes this proposal will have adverse consequences for the quality and reputation of Dutch universities.<\/p>\n

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A procession of professors from Erasmus University.<\/span><\/p>

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True to tradition, Executive Board President Ed Brinksma used the opening to send a message to The Hague. In his speech, he referred to the plans of Minister of Education Dijkgraaf<\/a> to prioritise the Dutch language in academic education as \u2018a legislative proposal taken to the extreme\u2019 that won\u2019t be any help at all.<\/p>\n

Even worse, according to Brinksma, the proposal will scare away people who might otherwise want to come to the Netherlands to work or study, and this will negatively affect the quality and reputation of Dutch universities. Especially given the tightness of the labour market, this would be far from ideal. \u201cEnglish, just like Latin used to be, is the language of academia, and therefore the language of education. It is the language that brings bright minds together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Disappointment<\/h2>

Brinksma recalled that the universities, as far back as 2017, requested \u2018tools\u2019 to help manage the intake of international students, and he made no attempt to hide his disappointment that Dijkgraaf\u2019s plans mainly focused on the language of instruction.<\/p>\n

Ties with the fossil fuel industry<\/h2>

Brinksma also said that the university would share the long-awaited list of collaborations with the fossil fuel industry \u2018very soon\u2019. During the various occupations last year<\/a>, OccupyEUR requested clarity on these collaborations, demanding that all ties be severed. Brinksma added that, \u201cI can already say that it is not a particularly long list.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayor Aboutaleb, one of the other speakers at the opening, spoke derisively about the university\u2019s police interventions during the occupations at EUR. \u201cLast weekend, I had Extinction Rebellion occupy a bridge. I let them be. I did not have them removed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Abandoning them to their fate<\/h2>

The mayor went on to discuss the importance of internationalisation for the academic community, although he also pointed out the downside of not implementing measures. \u201cWe cannot simply abandon international students to their fate. We need to cooperate better to ensure sufficient housing for international students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anniversary year<\/h2>

This year, the Opening of the Academic Year was held at the Laurenskerk in the city centre. This event also marked the opening of the university\u2019s 110th<\/sup> anniversary year.
\nDuring this gathering, Sociology lecturer Bonnie French received the Education Prize, IHG student Enoch Tabak received the Thesis Award and study association EFR received the Sustainability Award<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s guest speaker was Internet pioneer Marleen Stikker, who was invited to talk about the theme: The Future of Education. During her presentation, she called on universities to take a stronger stance towards large tech companies. \u201cUniversities should not simply hand over their data to Open AI. They should take their own position.\u201d<\/p>\n

An interview with Marleen Stikker will be published on this website later this week.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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