By the way, the analogy with Jenga is not poorly chosen. Our funding increasingly consists of various separate blocks. This bothers me, as all the additional funds from recent years came with their own conditions and accompanying administrative hassle to justify everything properly. This takes up a lot of time and energy; time and energy that I would rather see directed towards research and education.
In recent years, I have often felt like we, as a faculty, had to accelerate and brake simultaneously. Accelerate to fill all the new positions funded by sector plans, starter and incentive grants, etc. But at the same time, brake because we have seen costs rise significantly for several years, while revenues have not kept pace with these cost increases. And anyone who drives an automatic car for the first time knows that accelerating and braking simultaneously is not a good idea.
With all the announced budget cuts and rising costs, we now seriously need to slow down. We will have to make significant cuts and critically examine our support, education, and research. It is not an easy task ahead of us. In the coming period, a great deal will be demanded of our adaptability.
But to end this blog on a more positive note; major changes also offer opportunities. Critically examining what we do can be beneficial. And perhaps it's a cliché, but creative ideas are often born under pressure. The collective challenge we face calls upon our skills to collaborate in achieving our goals. Let's do our best together in the coming period.
This blog was written by Karen de Bruijn, Managing Director of the Faculty of Science