Folia International

The dream of owning a home has been out of reach for young people for years - at least if you don’t receive a sum of money from your parents. But building more houses is not the solution, writes journalist and UvA alumna Maaike Schoon in her book. folia.nl/en/actueel/173…

Whilst universities are still breathing a sigh of relief at the reversal of the cuts, academics from the Amsterdam Young Academy (AYA) warn in the book Fixing Academia against a return to business as usual. folia.nl/en/wetenschap/…

The new Minister of Education, Rianne Letschert, has an additional 1.5 billion euros to spend, which she aims to use to restore “stability and calm”. “Of course, you never know how long I’ll remain in office.” folia.nl/en/actueel/173…

Science seems doomed, observes Tim van Opijnen. And that’s not only the case in the US, but in Europe as well. The result? China is overtaking us. “While we’re debating whether investing in science is necessary, China is going all-in for the long term.” folia.nl/en/opinie/1729…

The World Happiness Report shows that Dutch people – especially young people – have been feeling less happy in recent years. The Netherlands now ranks seventh, its lowest position ever. Do international students also feel less happy in Dutch society? youtu.be/c5v4CDsPzkQ

Research shows that the binding study advice mainly has drawbacks. It was intended as a ‘stick behind the door’ to motivate students, but that hasn’t proven to be the case. The UvA has been planning a pilot with a non-binding study advice for some time. folia.nl/en/actueel/173…

On April 1, 2001, four same-sex couples said “I do” in Amsterdam: a world first. For Amsterdam it felt like a logical step: at the UvA, a department of gay studies had already spent a decade working on the so-called “conceptualization of the homosexual”. folia.nl/en/actueel/172…

What do you do when someone says something that makes you very upset, but you are still in the same class? That question was at bay during the first edition of “Vrijplaats voor Verschil”, a new dialogue evening for students with diverse perspectives. folia.nl/en/actueel/173…

This week, it may be wise to follow the news with a healthy dose of skepticism: April Fools’ Day is approaching. But can such pranks still thrive in a society where fake news plays an increasingly prominent role? folia.nl/en/actueel/172…

“Humans have always had to relate to nature. In the 16th century, the Dutch manipulated the landscape to live in harmony with the water. That was a matter of life and death as well. Even though the current climate crisis is far more acute.” folia.nl/en/wetenschap/…

“It is typically Dutch to try to have it both ways. Instead of making a fundamentally necessary choice, we build an ecological bridge over the highway. That way, the highway can perhaps even be a bit wider, and the wolf can still reach the Veluwe.” folia.nl/en/wetenschap/…

Greenpeace and Shell once worked together. During the Solaris campaign in 1998, climate activists and the oil company sold solar panels to Dutch households. How did it come to that? And what can the climate movement learn from this? folia.nl/en/wetenschap/…

The 26th Kohnstamm Lecture was delivered this afternoon by José van Dijck, professor of media and digital society at Utrecht University. In her talk, she warns about the dangers of the growing power of Big Tech in education. folia.nl/en/actueel/172…

Also at the UvA polling stations, GroenLinks emerged as the clear winner of the municipal elections. folia.nl/en/actueel/172…

Fewer students are choosing climate and sustainability courses folia.nl/en/kort

More than a third of recent PhD graduates in the Netherlands experienced inappropriate behaviour during their PhD programme, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands. At the UvA, more than a quarter of PhD students face this problem. folia.nl/nl/wetenschap/…

Communication & Media Studies at the UvA once again ranked 1st in the world folia.nl/en/kort

Exams that start early in the morning tend to lead to lower grades on average, research shows. Yet a significant proportion of exams at the UvA still begin at 09:00 in the morning. Could this not be done differently? folia.nl/en/actueel/172…

What does it mean to work as a journalist in a war zone? Palestinian Al Jazeera journalist Hisham Zaqout recently began a fellowship at Nias to investigate the survival strategies of Palestinian journalists. folia.nl/en/actueel/172…

Geopolitical conflicts are all around us. It’s now clear that we need to keep a stock of large bottles of water, non-perishable food and cash to hand. That should see us through the first 36 hours of an emergency. But what if all hell really breaks loose? folia.nl/en/actueel/172…