Foreword

2024 was an eventful year for Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). It was a year filled with changes and uncertainty, triggered by the geopolitical situation, various natural disasters and – closer to home – the financial uncertainty resulting from the government’s cuts to higher education spending and the Balanced Internationalisation Act. All this had a major impact on the EUR community. 

Increased geopolitical tensions, such as the war in Gaza and power shifts in the United States, caused and continue to cause complex discussions on campus. As a university with a focus on Social Studies and the Humanities (SSH) and medicine, we believe we have an important duty to encourage and facilitate proper dialogue for our students and staff. Our ‘contemplative’ disciplines are well placed to contribute to a better understanding of the world we live in. 

This also fits with our mission to make a positive impact on society with our academic contributions. Particularly in times of social uncertainty, the work done at universities – through education, research and community engagement – is of great relevance, even if that relevance is sometimes questioned. 

This was the case with the government’s plans to cut funding for higher education, as announced in 2024. Those plans forced us to take a critical look at our priorities, ways of working and organisational structure. The impact of the planned government cuts to spending on education, research and innovation is felt daily within our university, requiring us to make hard choices that sometimes lead to irreversible decisions. This has been a bitter pill to swallow, both for us as the Executive Board and for our students and staff. Nevertheless, we are determined to eventually come out of this as a more future-proof university. 

In these times, the development of the new Strategy 2026–2030 has given us the opportunity to steer the future of our university in the right direction. We have made meaningful progress within the various strategic alliances to which EUR belongs, such as the EUR-TU Delft-Erasmus MC Convergence alliance, the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus Universities (LDE) collaboration and the international collaboration with European universities within UNIC. 

Through these strategic collaborations, EUR makes a comprehensive contribution to social development in the region. At the provincial level, EUR is involved in several Regional Deals, where we work with regional partners such as the Province of South Holland to address specific problems facing cities in the region. Cooperation with Rotterdam City Council was also strengthened last year. For example, we signed the Rotterdam Inclusivity Project covenant, which included a commitment to conduct research into patterns of discrimination, racism and inequality in Rotterdam over the next four years. We also signed a declaration of intent with the city council to strengthen entrepreneurship, innovation and societal impact in our region. 

As a groundbreaking academic institution with a strong SSH/medical profile, EUR and its faculties and institutes have had a strong national and international reputation for decades. In several areas, the international component has become indispensable, for instance in the context of urban development or the empowerment of minority groups in developing countries. International collaboration includes making EUR accessible to international students; they bring a valuable diversity to the campus, contributing to a mutual understanding that is indispensable for educating global citizens.

We are therefore concerned by the announced Balanced Internationalisation Act (Wet Internationalisering in Balans, WIB), and have recently called for a reappraisal of and reflection on our internationalisation policy. Part of this policy concerns how we collaborate with international partners. Knowledge security is a key theme, prompting us to focus on finding ways to collaborate responsibly. The independent committees set up by EUR staff in 2024 – the Advisory Committee on Sensitive Collaborations and the Committee on Collaboration with the Fossil Fuel Industry – are also helping us to evaluate the ethical side of partnerships. 

In 2024, EUR researchers once again celebrated their great success in securing prestigious grants relating to major societal challenges such as online resilience among young people, a sustainable food system, democratic resilience, immersive technology and vehicle routing. These projects are funded by various mechanisms, including Horizon Europe, Convergence in AI, Data and Digitalisation, the National Science Agenda (Nationale Wetenschapsagenda) and the Dutch Research Council (NWO) Open Competition. These awards highlight our academic excellence, but also illustrate our measurable societal impact. 

During the past year, we welcomed new members onto our board, and a change took place within the Executive Board. In November 2024, EUR became the first university in the Netherlands to have an all-female Executive Board. We were pleased to welcome Jantine Schuit as the new Rector Magnificus. We farewelled Ed Brinksma, and thanked him for his outstanding performance of his duties as President of the Executive Board. We were also pleased to welcome Aukje Hassoldt as Dean of the Rotterdam School of Management (RSM). 

We are aware that despite the extensive representation of women in managerial positions, there is room for improvement in other areas – such as in the percentage of female professors, for which we have raised the target percentage from 25% to 35% by the end of 2025. We believe it is important to achieve that goal, just as we continue to monitor the progress we are making on inclusion and accessibility for all in our community. 

I am pleased to present the EUR Annual Report for 2024, in which we proudly look back at our achievements in education and research, and once again demonstrate the meaningful impact we make as a university at the heart of society. I am grateful for the dedication and commitment of our students, staff, alumni, collaboration partners and everyone else who once again contributed last year to our efforts to stay connected and strengthen our connections. Only by working together can we build a future-proof university, with strong roots in the community and a keen eye for the many challenges of our time. 

On behalf of the Executive Board, 

Prof. A.L. (Annelien) Bredenoord, President of the Executive Board of Erasmus University Rotterdam