{"id":177161,"date":"2025-03-26T12:43:27","date_gmt":"2025-03-26T11:43:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=177161"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:27:44","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:27:44","slug":"nwo-wants-to-attract-only-the-best-researchers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2025\/03\/26\/nwo-wants-to-attract-only-the-best-researchers\/","title":{"rendered":"NWO wants to attract only the best researchers"},"content":{"rendered":"

How much does it cost to get researchers working in the US to come to the Netherlands? \u201cWe need 20 million euros to bring 20 people here, and 40 million euros to attract 40\u201d, says Marcel Levi, chair of the Dutch Research Council (NWO).<\/p>\n

\"\"

Marcel Levi, NWO chairman.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHarmen de Jong<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

On the one hand, education minister Eppo Bruins is cutting hundreds of millions from the science budget, but on the other he wants to set up an NWO fund to attract top researchers from other countries, focusing on those who want to come to the Netherlands to escape \u201cincreasing tensions\u201d.<\/p>\n

In practice, the programme will focus on researchers from the US, where academics are facing censorship, legal violence and sudden budget cuts under the Trump administration. Researchers in gender studies, climate change and other fields deemed \u2018progressive\u2019 by the MAGA right are bearing the brunt of this hostility.<\/p>\n

The size of the new fund has yet to be determined. \u201cWe are looking to the education ministry for a contribution\u201d, NWO chair Marcel Levi says in a telephone interview. \u201cSo now \u2013 to use an irreverent metaphor \u2013 they\u2019re rummaging through drawers over there, trying to scrape together bits of unused funding. And we\u2019re doing the same here at NWO, looking for leftovers, rounding residuals and unspent funds. But we\u2019re also reaching out to science funds and industry partners.\u201d<\/p>\n

How big do you think this fund will be?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s too early to say, but if you want to attract a top researcher, you\u2019re looking at half a million or a million euros. So let\u2019s say we need 20 million euros to bring 20 people here, and 40 million euros to attract 40. It\u2019s not inconceivable \u2013 France and Germany are also setting aside money for this.\u201d<\/p>\n

How will NWO distribute the money?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s something we still need to work out, but we want to collaborate with universities and research institutes. So there won\u2019t be grants awarded to individual researchers. The idea is to support institutions looking to attract top researchers at the forefront of their field by giving them a financial boost. But those researchers would still have to be hired by those institutions themselves \u2013 that\u2019s not something we\u2019re involved in.\u201d<\/p>\n

Given the recent budget cuts, the plan has drawn some cynical responses.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI agree that these budget cuts at universities are terrible, and NWO is firmly against them. But it\u2019s also our job to promote science in the Netherlands as best we can, and there\u2019s an opportunity here. For years, scientists would leave for the US, and now there\u2019s a reverse brain drain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will the focus be mainly on Dutch researchers working in the US?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe primary focus will be on Europeans, but Dutch researchers will find it easier to come here than others \u2013 they know what it\u2019s like here, and they usually have contacts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Are these researchers from the US that much better than those losing their jobs here as a result of the cuts?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cNo idea, I don\u2019t know who\u2019s losing their jobs here. But that is something universities are struggling with: they have to cut tens of millions of euros, good researchers are getting fewer opportunities here\u2026 and then we\u2019re going to get top scientists from other countries to come and work here. How do you balance that?\u201d<\/p>\n

Is there much interest in coming here?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll need to take some time to assess that. But if you look at other countries, there seems to be quite a lot of interest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Will you only look for researchers in specific fields or is everyone equally welcome?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOur intention is to only look for excellence. So they have to be leading researchers, but I really don\u2019t care what their area of expertise is.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

\n\t\t\n\t\t
\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t

Read more<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t