The members of the Young Erasmus Academy (YEA) join the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences, KNAW and other Young Academies, like the Amsterdam Young Academy and the Young Academy Groningen, in expressing their deep concerns towards the recent recommendations following from the Report of the Commission van Rijn. Shifting university funding from the ‘alpha’ and ‘gamma’ to ‘beta’ sciences will have catastrophic impacts on the knowledge-economy and, more generally, on our democratic society. Rather than enhancing a much-needed spirit of cooperation between academics working in different fields, the proposed measures will create tensions and contribute to a dramatic impoverishment of the Dutch education system. The most daunting challenges of the contemporary world - from avoiding environmental disasters to reducing inequalities and managing disruptive technologies - can be addressed only when scientists work together. For this, proper funding of all disciplines is needed. In times of economic growth, the proposed budget cuts appears not only unfortunate but also unjustifiable.
For these reasons, we want to publicly express our deepest disapproval of the proposed measures. We invite all our fellow academics, as well as students, to join the True Opening of the Academic Year in Leiden on September 2nd, organized by WoinActie to protest such unacceptable budget cuts to alpha and gamma sciences (follow these links for more information on WoinActie and to register to the WoinActie mailing list).
The Young Erasmus Academy