The coalition opts for knowledge and aims to secure international talent

The coalition agreement stipulates that a total of one and a half billion will be invested in education and science. The investments are in line with the coalition's ambition to invest 3 per cent of GDP in research and innovation. Van den Berg: "It is an important signal that the coalition-forming parties are embracing the importance of investing in knowledge and are fully committed to make it happen. That step is crucial for the Netherlands to remain an innovative knowledge economy and also for our strategic autonomy." 

Although the exact allocation of the education investments may not yet fully clear at this stage, structural investment will be made in science and research, student welfare, and in undoing the budget cuts. Universities also welcome investments in Lifelong Learning (Social Affairs and Employment), regional innovation campuses (Economic Affairs and Climate Policy) and defence research.

Coalition aims to secure international talent

A talent strategy will be implemented to ensure that the Netherlands attracts, trains and retains enough talent for the labour market and science. In addition, the coalition is abolishing the compulsory Foreign Language Education Test and wants to maintain the current range of foreign-language degree programmes. This means that the foreign-language Bachelor's programmes in Psychology, and Economics and Business, do not have to be converted to Dutch. The coalition thus takes a forward-looking and workable approach to international talent and international science. Universities have recently shown that they are taking responsibility for managing the international student intake and strengthening the position of the Dutch language at universities. 

Van den Berg: “Universities continue to take responsibility for balanced internationalisation, with a targeted intake approach and ongoing focus on language skills and student retention rate. This way, we ensure that internationalisation continues to contribute to education, research and the labour market. In that light, we are glad that the need to change the language of instruction ceases to apply under this coalition agreement.”

Defence budget for research

In the coalition agreement, up to 10 per cent of the Defence budget is earmarked for an innovation authority, through which Defence funds research. Universities can make an essential contribution to the security and resilience of the Netherlands through their research and innovation, while respecting knowledge security, ethics and academic freedom.