Young scientists hit disproportionately hard by cuts
It is obvious that the major cuts to higher education will have very damaging consequences for education and science. However, what is less highlighted is that talented and often young researchers are being hit disproportionately hard by this. Many of them are already discouraged from entering and staying at Dutch universities, assistant professor Hannes Cools argues.
Investments in education are not quickly visible; it takes years, if not decades, before you reap the benefits. Those who invest in science and education lay the foundations for a strong knowledge economy in the long term, something former OCW minister and scientist Robbert Dijkgraaf (D66) understood all too well. He invested heavily in, for instance, the strategic sector plans for research, more permanent appointments for scientists but also the start-up and incentive grants. These investments made the Netherlands a guiding country.
Minister Eppo Bruins (NSC) has now largely scaled back Dijkgraaf's investments, turning the calm and stability at universities into unrest and panic. Especially the group of promising and often young researchers on temporary contracts are feeling the effects of the cuts for at least two reasons already. First, the start-up and incentive grants are being cut. These grants are crucial for excellent and often young researchers because they need to build a line of research early in their careers.
Permanent appointments
Secondly, permanent appointments for these researchers have become much scarcer. Researchers with temporary contracts at various universities in the Netherlands have already been told that their appointments will either be postponed or not implemented at all. These profiles are usually already under enormous pressure because they sometimes have to recruit compititive grants, offer quality teaching and also offer quality teaching. It is only a matter of time until we will lose these excellent scientists to foreign universities.
Austerity as a fire accelerant
Unlike investments, with cuts you see the effects much faster because they act as a kind of fire accelerator. If you sharply scale back internationalisation, introduce a long-study fine and confront especially promising researchers with cuts, the Netherlands will quickly lose its status as a guiding country. The cuts are therefore unjustifiable and unjustifiable, they go against all logic that a strong knowledge economy pays off in the long run.
Internationals
Furthermore, it is also a big misconception that international researchers on often temporary contracts are identified as the cause of the problems in higher education when this group is just strengthening our universities by bringing quality research and teaching with them. We need them to train students qualitatively to solve a problem in an increasingly complex world.
Trust
We are not asking for astronomical investments. We are asking for something much more fundamental: time and trust that our work matters. You don't give us that time and that trust by applying the brakes unnecessarily and further increasing the workload. Hence the question: does the Netherlands want to be a country that values and supports its teachers and researchers, precisely because their knowledge and research make the country stronger? Or do we choose a path where knowledge and science are mainly seen as cost items, which we can cut back on without objection? This country needs long-term vision, not short-sighted cuts that further erode education and science.
Hannes Cools is assistant professor of AI, media & democracy at the UvA.
