Section 7 Finances

In the analysis of the result, we will start by reflecting on the non-recurring income and expenditure affecting the result and then analyse the deviations from the budget, followed by the deviations from 2023. 

The net result was € -3.6 million, after deduction of the ‘Third-party share of the result’ of € -13.5 million. The negative ‘result’ of €17.1 million includes FGG/Erasmus MC and is heavily influenced by the non-recurring income and expenditure (see the table entitled ‘Non-recurring income and expenditure affecting the 2024 result, including FGG/Erasmus MC’). Apart from the non-recurring items, the negative result for FGG/EMC is caused by targets that were included in the budget but not fully met.

The substantially more positive normalised result as compared to the budget is the result of realised savings as well as a certain degree of conservative budgeting by the organisational units. 

In 2024, various measures were initiated to keep the budget within the set limits and to strengthen our financial resilience going forward. For example, we initiated several rationalisation programmes, including the redesign of the service delivery model and the more efficient use of support capacity. We also actively focused on limiting the hiring of contractors and reducing unused leave. In addition, we committed to improving management information so that adjustments can be made faster and more effectively. A specific example is the development of dashboards to track staffing costs and identify constraints around project funding. We will continue this strategy in 2025. 

Among the faculties, the results achieved for 2024 are diverse. An internal analysis shows that there was a cautious budgetary approach of at least €10 million in faculty budgets, which the faculties have already identified when issuing their forecasts. Faculties with poor financial results are working on recovery plans to become financially sound in the long term. 

The results for most support service units are slightly negative. However, due to a strong positive result for the Real Estate & Facilities (RE&F) department, the overall result for support services is positive. The positive result for RE&F is partly due to delays in the implementation of the investment programme and partly to budget conservatism. The budget process is being tightened up as part of ongoing improvements. 

The related parties also posted better-than-budgeted results, particularly EUR Holding BV and RSM BV.

• The central government grant was lower than budgeted due to lower spending of the Administrative Agreement funds (-/- €7.2 million). This can be attributed to a later start of spending due to delayed award of grants, as well as a longer lead time for design and implementation due to vacancies. This was partly offset by higher compensation for wage and price rises (+/+ €5.7 million), resulting in revenue that was almost equal to the budget. We expect grants to be spent in line with the budget in future years.
• The decline in the number of funded students in the 2023/2024 and 2024/2025 academic years had a negative impact on the figures for tuition fee income.
• The lower figure for ‘Income from work performed for third parties’ is caused by lower income from the education portion of the third money stream. This is partly due to the termination of a scholarship programme (€0.4 million). In addition, the revenue from contract education was disappointing. The annual amount of this income is uncertain because of the award process.
• The lower figure for ‘Other income’ was mainly caused by disappointing income from external services for related parties, in particular EUR Holding and its operating companies (-/- €5.4 million).
• The rise in interest rates resulted in an increase in the interest income portion of ‘Financial income and expenditure’. The earlier start of expenditure related to the Tinbergen Building was also taken into account. As a result, the cash and cash equivalents were higher than budgeted.

• The ‘Personnel expenses for staff on payroll’ item is lower than budgeted because vacancies were filled later or not at all as a result of labour market shortages, postponed projects (HOKA) and the limited utilisation of Administrative Agreement funds. However, more (temporary) replacements were hired to continue ongoing projects and programmes. This increased the ‘Staff not on payroll’ item. A number of staffing provisions were also made, and there were more transition payments.
• The lower figure for ‘Depreciation expenses’ was caused by the fact that we have had to use the old sports building as an examination venue for longer (-/- €0.8 million); as a result, we are depreciating it less quickly than budgeted. Earlier completion of a number of CIO projects resulted in higher depreciation (+/+ €0.2 million) and, following a correction of the assets under construction, some of these assets were retroactively depreciated (+/+ €0.1 million).
• Lower costs for district heating (-/- €1.6 million) due to a winter that was less severe than expected and lower cleaning and maintenance contracts (-/- €1.6 million) resulted in a lower figure for ‘Accommodation costs’.
• The ‘Other expenses’ included a €10.9 million target for FGG/Erasmus MC. This target was not fully met, resulting in higher-than-budgeted other expenses. The ‘Third-party share of the result’ concerns the share of Erasmus MC’s education and research activities (E&R). This result is substantially more negative than initially budgeted. It should be noted that significant adjustments were made to the budget for FGG/EMC as presented in the 2024 Financial Statements. As a result, the final budget result for 2024 set by the FGG came to nil, instead of the positive €7 million included in the EUR budget. The 2024 result for the education and research activities of Erasmus MC (compared with the nil adjusted budget result) was significantly affected by non-recurring income and expenditure, as set out in Table 22, showing normalisations applied for 2024 (and not budgeted for).

Income compared with actual 2023 results

• The higher ‘Central government grant’ figure was partly caused by 5.1% compensation for wage and price rises from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. In addition, more funds were made available nationwide (+/+ €3.4 million) for quality funding for universities.
• The rise in tuition fee rates contributed to an increase in ‘Tuition Fee Income’. In the 2024/2025 academic year, the statutory tuition fees increased by 9.3% compared with 2023/2024. The institution tuition fees increased by 5% on average. There was also slight growth in student numbers of around 150.
• The higher figure for ‘Income from work performed for third parties’ is due to higher income from indirect funding and the research portion of the third money stream resulting from the award of a number of projects, grants and funds from UNIC, the European alliance of universities in post-industrial cities. The EUR also has a coordinating role in some projects, resulting in higher returns.
• The higher figure for ‘Other income’ has several causes. For example, pro rata VAT revenue was higher than budgeted and parking rates were increased – partly due to inflation – resulting in higher parking revenue.
• The increase in ‘Personnel expenses for staff on payroll’ was caused by an increase in wage costs due to the collective labour agreement for universities from 1 July 2024 and an increase in the average number of FTEs. In 2024, a conscious effort was made to reduce expenditure on ‘Staff not on payroll’. This effort was successful.
• The lower depreciation expenses in 2024 were largely due to a non-recurring impairment of the FGG/EMC Eread real estate project in 2023 (€14.2 million), which reduced the depreciation base in 2024. Only a small number of non-recurring impairments occurred in 2024, such as the write-down of the previous work in progress on the Tinbergen Building (€1.1 million).
• The ‘Accommodation costs’ relating to energy costs were higher because the FGG/Erasmus MC contracts for electricity and gas had been renewed and raised to current market rates. Consumption did not change. The ‘Other expenses’ item was higher due to an addition to the provision for bad debts and an increase in management and administrative costs.

• The increase in ‘Personnel expenses for staff on payroll’ was caused by an increase in wage costs due to the collective labour agreement for universities from 1 July 2024 and an increase in the average number of FTEs. In 2024, a conscious effort was made to reduce expenditure on ‘Staff not on payroll’. This effort was successful.
• The lower depreciation expenses in 2024 were largely due to a non-recurring impairment of the FGG/EMC Eread real estate project in 2023 (€14.2 million), which reduced the depreciation base in 2024. Only a small number of non-recurring impairments occurred in 2024, such as the write-down of the previous work in progress on the Tinbergen Building (€1.1 million).
• The ‘Accommodation costs’ relating to energy costs were higher because the FGG/Erasmus MC contracts for electricity and gas had been renewed and raised to current market rates. Consumption did not change.
• The ‘Other expenses’ item was higher due to an addition to the provision for bad debts and an increase in management and administrative costs.

Political and economic environment

The Schoof government is cutting funding to the university for both research (including by ending starter and incentive grants) and education (including through the Balanced Internationalisation Act). The university was already under pressure due to increases in salaries and material costs not fully compensated for by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, the need to invest in real estate and a declining baseline estimate (macro framework). Accordingly, EUR started implementing mitigation measures in 2024. However, the new cuts from the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science are hitting the university hard and we need to take more rigorous measures to ensure EUR’s long-term viability. The abrupt termination of the starter and incentive grants from 1 January 2025 has had a detrimental impact on our financial situation, but also on the extent to which we can provide space for talent development, on workloads, and on our capacity to contribute to socially relevant or economic issues. We were able to partly mitigate the financial impact by withdrawing from commitments where possible, specifically where no obligations, long-term or otherwise, existed. The details of the Balanced Internationalisation Act are currently being worked out. The negative financial effects could be significant, and could even have a substantial, material impact on our organisation. Based on scenario analyses, we found that the Balanced Internationalisation Act would have an impact of around €15 million in the best-case scenario, but the impact could be as high as €75 million in the worst-case scenario. It is not only EUR’s finances that would be affected, but also the international character and thus the foundation of the university. 

The impact of the Balanced Internationalisation Act has not yet been reflected in the long-term budget, due to the high degree of uncertainty surrounding it. The uncertainty around how and when certain effects will materialise requires a high degree of flexibility. It is essential to increase our agility and reduce dependence on a government that is not consistent in its policies or in honouring past agreements. EUR continues to invest in the quality of its education, and we believe in the positive economic and social effects of the university’s work over the long-term. 

The organisational units have taken measures to mitigate the negative financial results. For instance, recovery plans have been drawn up by some faculties, and the service units and executive staff have adopted a target that will see them collectively save almost €15 million. Real estate plans have also been scaled back where possible; this was done without compromising legal requirements or strategic ambitions around sustainability. The budgeted negative result for 2025 is acceptable, given our strong capital position. Additional, more far-reaching, measures will be needed to ensure EUR’s long-term viability and to deal with the financial impact of the government’s spending cuts. These measures will be developed in 2025. By way of illustration, these measures include the introduction of a hiring desk/office for staff recruitment, harmonising and consolidating our operational management (with other institutions where possible), reviewing our range of minors, and increasing second and third money streams, and funds from commercial exploitation.

Campus in Development investments

As explained in Chapter 6 (Operational Management), EUR aims to be one of the most sustainable universities in the Netherlands. The ongoing development of the campus through the Campus in Development (CIO) project is contributing to the university’s international appeal, a stimulating learning and working environment and a sustainable campus. The renovation of the Tinbergen Building is an important part of these sustainability efforts. This project received an internationally recognised rating for our commitment to sustainability and environmentally friendly construction. The renovations include the installation of double glazing, solar panels and energy-efficient building systems. This has led to a more efficient use of energy and a reduction in our carbon footprint. These sustainability efforts involve higher investments than previously estimated. Between now and 2030, we expect to invest €180 million. We expect to finance the renovations partly from our own resources and partly through treasury banking. In addition, wage and price rises in recent years are putting increasing financial pressure on CIO projects.

IT investments 

Security and privacy are important, for example due to the intensification of cooperative arrangements

Collaboration, knowledge sharing and a secure digital environment are crucial to achieving EUR’s strategic goals. In ‘The State of Digitalisation’, EUR identified relevant developments around digitalisation both within and outside the university. The resulting digitalisation roadmap will guide improvements in the digitalisation of education, research and operational management. Major projects will demand a great deal from the organisation in the coming years. This could include a new system to support PPM-Research, replacement of the operational management system and developments in areas such as AI and data. 

Overall, between now and 2027, a great deal of attention will be paid to the maturity of processes and systems in terms of security, privacy, information management and continuity. Efforts to standardise and harmonise IT processes will also play an important role in the period 2025–2027. This will promote efficiency, cost control and sustainability and lead to a reduction of risks within the information landscape. 

IT costs over the long-term, 2025–2028

For 2026 and beyond, there will be budgetary challenges due to the maintenance and replacement of audiovisual equipment, network costs, and the decrease in the government grant for cyber resilience. On the IT front, measures will be taken to cut costs. This will be done in compliance with guidelines and priorities. 

€8 million per year is being budgeted to update the information provision systems. 

EUR’s current IT organisation is primarily set up to ensure continuity of internal services and provide tailored solutions. The biggest challenge is responding faster and more effectively to change, putting the customer first and being sensitive to what is happening in the environment. The Transformation Project should make the IT organisation more agile. 

Long-term budget

The long-term budget takes into account developments affecting the university as much as possible. The impact of the Balanced Internationalisation Act has not yet been incorporated into the long-term budget, due to all the uncertainties.

For 2025, EUR expects a loss of €4.3 million. This result includes the results of related parties but excludes the negative result of €6.4 million for FGG/EMC. For 2026, 2027 and 2029, the university has set itself a major challenge of achieving a structurally balanced budget. The specific measures that will be used to achieve this goal have not yet been identified. For 2028, EUR expects a positive result due to the planned sale of properties. The notes below provide details on the long-term balance sheet and income and expenditure.

Long-term budget

The fixed assets will increase due to investments in accommodation, including the CIO project and the Tinbergen Building, and in IT, including the new operational management system for Finance and HR. In 2028, the book value of the tangible fixed assets will decrease, due to the planned sale of properties. These movements in the real estate portfolio will have a direct impact on the liquidity position of the university. From 2025, the total of cash and cash equivalents will decline, mainly due to the financing of real estate projects such as the Tinbergen Building renovations. 

Further details of the financing requirements will be prepared in 2025. The long-term balance sheet takes into account the allocation of treasury financing for real estate investments of €20 million and €40 million in 2026 and 2027 respectively. This will increase the long-term debt. 

The discontinuation of the starter and incentive grants will reduce the balance sheet position of the current liabilities. On the other hand, an increase is expected in tuition fees received in advance, caused by the increase in the institution tuition fee rate for non-EEA students and the aforementioned change in the ratio of EEA students to non-EEA students. As indicated earlier, the expected effects of the Balanced Internationalisation Act have not yet been included in the long-term budget, as we are unable to reliably estimate them. The student numbers presented and the associated revenues are likely higher than they will be in reality upon the introduction of the Balanced Internationalisation Act.

In the long-term budget, a negative result is budgeted for in 2025. For 2026, 2027 and 2029, the express goal is to end the year with a neutral budget. A target has been included for this goal. This long-term budget for 2025–2029 shows an improvement over the long-term budget for 2024–2027. This is largely caused by announced budget cuts that are yet to be fully implemented. Examples of cuts that have been announced include the adjustment of the strategic budget (€3.5 million), detailing of the target for the service units (€5.8 million) and implementation of recovery plans by several faculties. 

The positive result in 2028 will be caused by proceeds from the one-off sale of real estate that are yet to be realised. 

The decline in the number of funded students and the discontinuation of the starter and incentive grants will lead to a drop in the central government grant. A new factor is the anticipated allocation from the Workload and Talent Policy scheme worth €9.3 million. It was not yet possible to incorporate the impact of the baseline estimate into the 2025–2029 budget. However, these details have been included in the 2026–2030 framework memorandum. We have estimated the impact on EUR’s percentage of market share based on preliminary national reference forecasts. However, the number of incoming students is more unpredictable than ever, due in part to the turbulence caused by the WIB. The question is whether the national decrease will affect each university in proportion to their market share. The expected decline in the number of students has caused a downward adjustment of tuition fees. If the tuition fee rates, especially the institution tuition fee rates, rise faster than expected, this decline will be partly offset. 

The increase in ‘Income from work for third parties’ is caused by the expected growth in executive education provided by related parties. At EUR Woudestein, cautious estimates have been made for future years, leading to a drop in these revenues. The increase in other income in 2028 will be realised through the one-off sale of real estate. 

Despite the increase in wage costs, staffing costs will remain the same in the period 2025–2029. The slight decline in 2027 is caused by an expected drop due to the decrease in projects, which will reduce the need for staff, including temporary staff. Hiring costs will also fall as a result of the cost-cutting measures. 

Investments in buildings, inventory and equipment from completed projects and the Tinbergen Building and the new operational management system will increase depreciation and accommodation costs from 2027 onwards. The operating costs associated with the management and maintenance of investments and land will also rise. 

In the period 2025–2028, depreciation will increase from €14.5 million to €19.4 million, mainly due to the implementation of CIO III (including the completion of the Sports Building and Langeveld Building). There will also be non-recurring demolition costs in 2027 and 2028, contributing to the increase in accommodation costs. 

In 2025, the economic life of the university’s assets will be reviewed. This may affect asset depreciation periods. This will be a careful process, in which the benefits and risks will be identified. This reconsideration could lead to a lower operating budget and help absorb the additional costs of the Tinbergen Building renovations. 

The lower interest income on our own funds and the higher interest costs involved in raising the treasury financing and other forms of financing for the renovation of the Tinbergen Building are reflected in the declining balance for financial income and expenditure. 

The budgeted results for FGG/EMC are included under ‘Third-party share of the result’ and are not part of the EUR equity. To improve the negative result, a roadmap is being drawn up by FGG/EMC to remain financially sound.

In the pursuit of a solid and well-functioning organisation, EUR maintains a robust control framework. This framework is based on joint policy-making, anchored in EUR's broad strategy and supported by all stakeholders, including the Executive Board, deans, directors of support services and education and research directors. At the centre of this framework lies an interactive management philosophy, in which a decentralised management culture and integrated management of decentralised managers are essential, and which fits within the established frameworks of the Executive Board.

The internal control system incorporates various regulations and procedures designed to provide reasonable safeguards and to identify and control significant risks. This approach is further supported by a well-thought-out risk management policy and a robust risk and control framework. This involves determining risk appetite within the established university frameworks. This task is the responsibility of the Executive Board, which then submits its findings to the Supervisory Board. Risk appetite is not a given fact and, due to social developments, is subject to change. EUR subscribes to the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (Vereniging van Universiteiten in Nederland, VSNU) Code of Good Governance.

This risk section takes a closer look at the specific EUR-wide risks that may affect the  financial and operational health of the university, as well as the measures taken to manage and mitigate these risks.

Compliance with the Treasury Statute

The purpose of the Treasury Statute is to establish a framework within which EUR's treasury activities should take place. This involves establishing the principles, objectives, guidelines and limits for the implementation of the treasury function in the form of policy. The Treasury Statute is also designed to reflect the administrative organisation and internal control in relation to the treasury activities in order to manage EUR’s financial resources efficiently and effectively. 

The Treasury Statute defines the areas of responsibility of the treasury function. The treasury function has the primary aim of managing financial risks and includes the following areas of responsibility within EUR:

• Liquidity management: ensuring the timely availability of the necessary cash in the short, medium and long term, on acceptable terms (availability).
• Management of interest rate risk: optimising returns on surplus cash and cash equivalents within the frameworks of the Treasury Statute (interest rate optimisation).
• External financing: raising loan capital and minimising the costs of loans (cost minimisation).
• Financing: providing loans, grants and security to related parties and non-consolidated institutions, in the context of performing the statutory task, while minimising financial risk (risk minimisation).
• Maintaining banking relationships: maintaining relationships with financial institutions with a view to the availability of financial resources and optimal conditions (banking relationships). 

The Treasury Statute complies with the OC&W Regulation on Investing, Borrowing and Derivatives 2016 (Regeling beleggen, lenen en derivaten van het Ministerie van OCW 2016). The Treasury Statute was updated in 2023. The main change concerned the relationship with related parties in terms of liquidity management and financing. The transactions that took place in 2023 were in line with our university's Treasury Statute. EUR uses treasury banking, in which excess liquid funds are held by the Ministry of Finance.

The university has no investments.

In accordance with Article 4(3) of the Regulation on Annual Reporting in Education (Regeling Jaarverslaggeving Onderwijs, RJO), remuneration to and expenses claimed by members of the Executive Board in 2024 are reported in the table below. Amounts are in euros.

General principles

The following basic principles were used to prepare the report under the policy rule ‘Investing public funds in private activities’ (Investeren met publieke middelen in private activiteiten) (“the Policy Rule”):

• At all times, the EUR wishes to prevent public funds from leaking into the private domain and/or being used to compete unfairly with third parties. With regard to its private activities, EUR wishes to report on them in a clear and transparent way in this annual report.
• The focus of EUR’s private activities is on making a positive societal impact. If EUR uses public funds to invest in private activities, that investment will add value to the university’s statutory task. 
• In his letter of 16 December 2024 (reference number 49447179), the Minister of Education, Culture and Science identified certain activities that will be exempt from the legality check for the 2024 reporting year, as well as the loosening of certain requirements regarding the way institutions have to report that will apply for the 2024 reporting year. These temporary exemptions were taken into account in the preparation of the 2024 report. For the sake of completeness, it is hereby noted that the report was prepared on the basis of the non-consolidated statement of income and expenditure (i.e. excluding the related parties). 
• In his letter, the Minister also identified a number of issues for which further investigation is needed, such as valorisation and lifelong learning (LLO) activities. EUR is monitoring developments on these issues, and in the meantime, despite the various uncertainties, aims to comply as closely as possible with the intentions of the policy rule. 
• EUR has internally prepared a draft policy document and developed an integrated cost model. These documents will be finalised in 2025, and will thereafter be used as guidance throughout the EUR in issues concerning the investment of public funds in private activities. 

Private activities in which public funds are invested

Some of EUR’s activities are covered by the policy rule. Below, we report on the investment of public funds in private activities by category.

 Contract education

Almost all of EUR’s non-funded educational activities are carried out by related parties, mainly the operating companies EUR Holding BV and RSM BV. Within EUR’s faculties and service units, private educational activities take place only on a limited scale, with a total value of €3.0 million.

 A substantial portion of this amount relates to the Language and Training Centre (LTC), which offers a wide range of language and other courses. These are primarily aimed at EUR students and staff, but are also open to third parties. Offering such courses enables EUR students and staff to make a high-quality, positive contribution to EUR’s funded education and research, as well as to the rest of society. In the 2024 calendar year, the LTC generated income of €1.2 million and achieved a positive result of €0.4 million.

The LTC was therefore able to cover its costs. 

The LTC is legally and organisationally embedded within EUR’s central organisation and comes under the responsibility of the Directorate of Education & Student Affairs. Day-to-day management is performed by the LTC director. The LTC acts in accordance with the EUR-wide risk management policy and follows the internal guidelines regarding legality. Financial assessments of cost recovery and prevention of unauthorised cross-financing are carried out in cooperation with Concern Control and the Legal Affairs Department. 

Other contract education (€1.8 million in total) consists of a variety of educational activities, most of which generate less than €50,000 in revenue. For these activities, the faculties and service units do not currently keep separate records, partly because of the administrative burden. As a result, it is not possible at the moment to accurately determine the extent to which these activities cover costs. In 2025, we will explore better ways to distinguish between public and private activities in EUR’s new operational management system, and how to better understand the risks and returns of private activities. The new operational management system is expected to be implemented in 2026. 

For the sake of completeness, we note that the International Institute of Social Studies (ISS) realised an amount of €2.3 million in income from its education. ISS is an EUR institute that provides education and research worldwide. The education provided by ISS includes two accredited Master’s programmes, which are mainly aimed at students from developing countries. ISS receives funding to carry out its education and research from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, among other sources. The funding from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is paid as part of EUR’s central government grant; EUR then passes it on directly to ISS. Accordingly, EUR considers the education provided by ISS to be part of its statutory task. 

For contract education provided within a faculty or service unit, the dean or service unit director is ultimately responsible. The risks in this context include quality assurance, alignment with standard education and compliance with competition and funding regulations. Risk management measures are taken through the new operational management system, through central and decentralised contract checks (known as ‘FLAT’ checks) and through periodic internal assessments within the planning and control cycle. In addition, the EUR Regulations on the Disputes Board for Non-Initial Education 2023, which provide details on how EUR deals with disputes, apply to the university’s contract education.

We report below on investments made by EUR with public funds in the activities of related parties. 

Erasmus Sport Foundation 

EUR contributes to the wellbeing of students and staff by providing sports facilities and other initiatives. In doing so, EUR aims to promote an inspiring learning and working environment. These facilities are managed by the Erasmus Sport Foundation. EUR classifies these activities under its statutory task, which means that, in principle, no reporting on these activities is required under the policy rule. However, EUR chooses to do so in the interests of transparency. EUR provided a contribution of €1.5 million in 2024. The result of Erasmus Sport Foundation for the 2024 calendar year was negative €0.1 million. 

Erasmus Sport Foundation is responsible for operating the sports building on the EUR campus. The foundation operates as an independent organisation with its own board. The foundation’s Articles of Association stipulate that board members must be appointed by EUR’s Executive Board. This ensures that the university is formally involved, without exercising direct supervision. The foundation requires approval from the EUR Executive Board to amend its Articles of Association. In accordance with agreements made, regular reporting and board-level meetings take place between EUR and the Erasmus Sport Foundation. 

Erasmus Enterprise BV 

EUR carries out a variety of valorisation activities through Erasmus Enterprise BV (EE). For example, EE encourages entrepreneurship among EUR students and staff. Furthermore, EE helps students and staff to use the knowledge gained from education and research to develop concrete products and services. EE creates an infrastructure/ecosystem that gives startups (founded by EUR students and staff) access to resources, networks and expertise, allowing knowledge to be efficiently transformed into tangible products and services. Bringing academics, students and third parties together encourages knowledge sharing and co-creation (a core aspect of valorisation). 

The activities of Erasmus Enterprise can be considered valorisation because they connect academic knowledge with practical applications that create societal value, without market distortion. This means EE’s activities fall within EUR’s statutory task. For the sake of completeness and transparent reporting, the contribution from the EUR to EE in 2024 was €1.7 million, intended exclusively for the implementation of valorisation activities. EE BV realised a result of negative €0.9 million for the 2024 calendar year. 

The director under the Articles of Association of Erasmus Enterprise BV is responsible for day-to-day management. Within regard to Erasmus Enterprise, the main risks are financial, legal and strategic in nature. EUR manages the risks related to Erasmus Enterprise through a clear governance and reporting structure and various financial and legal control mechanisms. 

EUR Holding BV

Several operating companies operate under the umbrella of EUR Holding BV. They are mainly engaged in post-graduate education, research commissioned by third parties and the provision of consultancy services. In 2024, the holding company achieved a net revenue of €34.6 million.

 RSM BV

The principal activity of RSM BV is the provision of executive and post-graduate education. In 2024, RSM BV’s operations generated revenue of €24.0 million.

Below is an overview of the amounts for the different types of private activities carried out at EUR in 2024.

The purpose of the 2003 Clarity in the Funding of Education Memorandum (Notitie Helderheid in de bekostiging van het onderwijs) and the 2004 supplementary memorandum is to provide clarity to publicly funded universities and universities of applied sciences on the interpretation and application of the existing funding rules for the computation of the funding parameters as of 1 October 2023 and for subsequent years. These memorandums cover nine themes. 

Explanation of the themes, focusing on the situation in EUR at the end of 2024

1. Outsourcing of education At EUR, government-funded education is provided by the faculties in collaboration with EUR-related parties (private organisations). In return for the education provided, there is a fee for initial Bachelor’s and Master’s programmes. 

The Erasmus School of Economics (ESE) outsources a limited part of its curriculum to FEI BV and Erasmus UPT. This relates to specific topics. The faculty remains responsible for educational quality. FEI BV and Erasmus UPT charge fees for this education.  

The Erasmus School of Philosophy (ESPhil) outsources a limited part of its curriculum to the Dutch Research Institute for Transitions (DRIFT) BV and the Master’s in Societal Transitions offered by the Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS). The faculty remains responsible for educational quality. DRIFT will charge for this education from 2025. 

The Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences (ESSB) outsources a limited part of its curriculum to IHS BV (Master’s in Urban Governance).

2. Investment of public funds in private activities This topic has been replaced by the ‘Policy rule on investing public funds in private activities’. A separate section is dedicated to this topic in the management report.

3. Granting of exemptions EUR does not grant exemptions to students for the sole purpose of attracting students and thus increasing the central government grant without students making a commensurate effort in return. In order to qualify for an exemption, this effort must be established by the Examining Board.

4. Funding for international students Only students whose name and address details are known to EUR and who meet the funding requirements are counted for funding purposes.

5. Tuition fees not paid by students and the Profiling Fund EUR does not pay tuition fees for students. Profiling Fund schemes provide financial compensation for study delays due to personal circumstances, grants for participating in board activities and fee waivers. Appendix 7 to the annual report contains the required data on the Profiling Fund.

6. Students taking modules of programmes It is possible for non-students to take modules or parts of degree programmes. This is known as contract education. It involves taking one or more stand-alone courses, and registering as a course participant rather than a student.

7. Students participating in a degree programme other than that for which they are enrolled Not applicable. Students at EUR participate in the degree programme for which they are enrolled.

8. Funding for customised programmes With regard to initial education, no customised programmes have been set up with companies or other organisations.

9. Funding of arts education Together with Codarts Rotterdam, EUR has set up a Double Degree programme (Rotterdam Arts and Sciences Lab, RASL). The students are enrolled at both institutions, but are funded through Codarts rather than EUR.

10. Number of students to be included in the funding calculation EUR registers students who meet all of the enrolment and funding requirements as funded students in BRONHO, the master database of students in higher education. Provided that all funding requirements have been met, a successfully completed examination is also registered as funded in BRONHO.

EUR participates in the Medical sector plan (through the faculties of Medicine and ESHPM) and the Social Sciences and Humanities (SSH) sector plan (ESE, RSM, ESHCC, ESSB and ESPhil). The SSH sector plan covers the Humanities and Social Sciences sectors and also includes an overarching theme. ESE, RSM, ESHCC, ESPhil and ESSB engage in interdisciplinary collaboration on the overarching theme, known as ‘SSHBreed@EUR’. ESHCC also participates in the Humanities sector plan, through ESPhil, and the sector plan of the Social Sciences Discipline Board (DSW), through ESSB. Below is an overview of progress on the SSH sector plan, by faculty, in thousands of euros.

ESE is active in the SSH-Wide sector plan

ESE researchers are primarily involved in Theme 4 Digital Decision Support (mainly econometricians, with psychologists from ESSB) and Theme 5 New Ways of Working (business economists, in collaboration with public administration experts/sociologists from ESSB and business experts from RSM). This collaboration has opened the door to innovative research, looking at questions such as: To what extent do managers make different decisions when supported by recommender systems? And under what circumstances do they trust advice (including AI-generated advice) from ‘the computer’? At the same time, it is important to ensure that researchers who throw themselves into collaborations like these and start publishing in journals outside their own field, do not get caught out by discipline metrics that mainly recognise publications in their ‘own’ journals.

Developments in SSH sector plans at ESHCC

Following the arrival of the nine assistant professors and four postdoctoral researchers funded by the SSH sector plans in 2022/2023, the aim in 2024 was to promote four assistant professors to associate professors. This aligned with the idea behind the sector plan that following the appointment of assistant professors, the promotion of associate professors is also needed to maintain a good staffing structure. The SSH assistant and associate professors at ESHCC work on three themes: Cultural Heritage and Identity, Human AI and SSH-Wide. There is a natural cross-fertilisation between these themes. While collaboration on these themes is emerging at the national level through network meetings and conferences, we have noticed that connections are also being sought within the faculty. The staff members concerned recently drew up a plan of action to raise awareness of the sector plans within and outside ESHCC. Capacity will be provided from the Research Office to support the SSH assistant and associate professors. 

In September 2024, ESHCC organised the first national SSH conference on Cultural Heritage and Identity at Erasmus University, in conjunction with the deans’ consultation meeting on the Arts and Humanities. The objectives of the conference were: a) Introducing the various research groups working on this theme at different universities; b) exchanging intended goals and expertise within the sector plan theme; and c) making agreements around collaboration opportunities over the next few years. A follow-up to this conference is planned for May 2025 in Groningen.

Developments at ESL under the SSH-Wide sector plan

The Legal Studies Sector Plan, funded under the 2019 SSH Domain, underwent finalisation work and a final review in 2024. It is not yet clear whether funds for the strategic priorities in this sector plan will be included in the lump sums given to the universities involved. 

The SSH-Wide programme enabled ESL to place its expertise in digitalisation at the heart of its research profile and connect it to relevant initiatives on and off campus. There was also an investment to consolidate expertise in digitalisation by establishing a new centre of excellence: the Erasmus Centre of Law and Digitalisation (ECLD). ESL has held monthly research seminars aimed at driving collaboration and knowledge sharing between disciplines.   These seminars also act as a basis for interdisciplinary and inter-institutional cooperation with long-term partners outside EUR and outside the Netherlands. Examples include the Security in the Digital Age conference (with the Amsterdam Law & Technology Institute, and the collaboration with Dublin City University for the European Master’s in Law, Data and Artificial Intelligence (EMILDAI) and European PhD programmes in Law, Data, and Artificial Intelligence (EPILDAI). 

ESPhil is active in the Humanities and SSH-Wide sector plans

ESPhil has appointed four assistant professors (4 FTEs) using the sector funds budget. The assistant professors were appointed in accordance with the submitted plans and contribute to interfaculty cooperation; within ESPhil, they also contribute to multiple themes. 

ESSB in the Social Sciences and SSH-Wide sector plans

In 2024, one assistant professor position was freed up under the Social Sciences sector plan, which was then filled. All assistant professor positions for 2024 were therefore filled. The assistant professors make a significant contribution to reducing workloads and to national and local collaboration on the sector plan themes. The coordinators work with the assistant professors to ensure the implementation of the previously prepared plans in terms of research, education and impact. The laboratory coordinators provide support with the development of design and intervention methodologies focusing on co-creation. In terms of infrastructure, several investments were made, including the development of a co-creation space and the purchase of various pieces of equipment for the Erasmus Behavioural Lab. FMRI scanner hours are also being made available using sector plan funds, leading to more interdisciplinary collaboration. Spending on infrastructure was slow to get going. Even though the initial expenditure has now been made, this will remain a key focus area to make up for the underspending. 

All SSH-Wide positions were filled in 2024. The lab coordinator previously appointed under the SSH sector plan was replaced with a lab coordinator/programmer for the Erasmus Behavioural Lab. The equipment budget was used for attending conferences, organising workshops and hosting symposia. These activities provided an opportunity to establish new collaborations and build relationships. They also contributed to the KPI ‘Organising and contributing to national and international conferences’. 

RSM is active in the SSH-Wide sector plan

For the implementation of the ‘SSHBreed@EUR’ plan, five activities were chosen instead of the six originally planned. RSM appointed two theme leads to implement this plan. RSM’s academic community is more aware of SSH-Wide activities and has been mobilised to actively contribute to the plan, the identified KPIs and raising RSM’s research profile. One example is the focus on publishing on topics that align with the ‘SSHBreed@EUR’ themes and actively seeking grants related to these themes.

Most of the funds were spent on human capital (11 FTE academic staff). These staff conduct research, develop educational activities (e.g. the redesign of the Bachelor’s digitalisation track), write grant proposals for the ‘SSHbreed@EUR’ themes and will contribute to the SSH-Wide conference to be held in March 2025.