Finished tweeting
Since the take-over by tech billionaire Elon Musk, more and more Twitter users (the platform now renamed X) are turning their backs on it. The reason given is often the harshening of the platform: hate tweets, disinformation, and fake accounts are flourishing since Musk binned the fake news policy and fired moderators in bulk. Following the example of politicians, businesses, and scientists, University of Twente is now the first Dutch university to bid the platform farewell. Even though the poisonous climate is “not directly” the reason, a UT spokesperson says to daily newspaper Tubantia. What is the reason then? “Decreasing relevance, less interaction, and a very limited reach.” On average, the tweets reached only 600 to 700 followers, “too few to continue wasting energy on it. A platform such as LinkedIn is much more important to us.”
Is Maastricht University going to follow the example of Twente? “At the moment, we don’t have the intention to do so,” says spokesperson Koen Augustijn. Although UM also sees a decline in interaction and reach, for example among their own scientists, “X is still relevant for us. We know, for example, that the media (still) follow it well.” And the harshening? “As a whole, X has a serious problem, but our own – obviously not harsh – messages do usually not incite ‘rough interaction’.” That doesn’t mean that UM puts all its energy into X: “Two platforms, LinkedIn and Instagram, jump out when it comes to use and (growing) reach. That is what we focus on.”
Professors’ sidelines
Illustration: Simone Golob
Professors who have jobs on the side continue to be a hot topic. Last week, all Dutch universities published new registers – accessible online – in which professors note down their ‘sidelines’. It enhances transparency and therefore also their scientific integrity, says Universities of the Netherlands. A look at UM’s register shows that there are 459 Maastricht professors. Of these, 369 have additional jobs, a total of 1,066, or an average of about 3 per person. They are large shareholders of companies, members of the editorial staff of journals or have board positions in their research field: relevant information. But is that the case with all these ‘side jobs’? Many FHML professors dutifully report that they also work in MUMC+, because their faculty and the hospital are, after all, (still) separate organisations. Then there is that one professor who once ran UM and who reports an ‘additional position’ as rector of another university. Sometimes, it is difficult to suppress a grin: one professor reveals that in her free time – and on a voluntary basis! – she feeds the animals at a care farm. Is it possible that a university is too transparent?
Preference for women
A familiar phenomenon in Maastricht: study programmes with a majority of female students. A huge difference with TU Delft, where men dominate the lecture halls. At the bachelor’s of Aerospace Engineering, the ratio is lobsided to such an extent (only one in five first-year students is female) that the faculty is now taking action. In the selection procedure for the next academic year, women will receive a preferential treatment: of the 440 available places in first year, 30 per cent will be reserved for them. Just like the male counterparts, however, they still need to survive the first round of selection (in which their knowledge and motivation are tested). The other places will be assigned on the basis of a ranking.
This makes Delft the first Dutch university to introduce such a policy of preference for a study programme. The decision to switch to positive discrimination was taken after ‘long deliberations’, says the university’s website. Previous interventions, such as more role models and a different tone of voice in communication, had insufficient impact. “I hope that this measure is soon no longer necessary, although sufficient diversity continues to be a hard nut to crack,” says education director Joris Melkert to sister newspaper Delta.
With contributions by Peter Doorakkers and Dennis Vaendel