Features
Taking Action01 December 2021‘Undocumented people have a right to proper healthcare too’
LONGREAD - If you are homeless, your asylum application has been rejected, or are for some other reason uninsurable, then you can forget about getting treatment from a physiotherapist or dietician. Medical student Elif Sali (26) and her MEDIC association think this needs to change.
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Taking Action25 November 2021‘Refugees are people, not things’
LONGREAD - Whatever the weather, Loes Mulders, staff member at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam spends an hour every month standing outside Amsterdam City Hall. Her aim is to draw attention to the inhumane treatment of refugees.
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Science16 November 2021Can you replace laboratory animals? You can!
LONGREAD - During the Helpathon, scientific experts and researchers spent two days pondering the question of how to reduce the use of laboratory animals. ‘Focus your research on the Maradonas of this world.’
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Science15 November 2021You’ll be rejected anyway, but it matters how
LONGREAD - Anonymous reviewers can sometimes be really brutal when assessing an article. When that happens, pettiness and academic rivalry seem to be more important than the quality of thought. It’s time for another system says the philosopher; time for a better process says the lawyer.
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ICT11 November 2021‘Build your own mail server, it’s really not rocket science’
Honorary doctor Marleen Stikker thinks we are putting our fates too easily into the hands of parties which don’t necessarily have our best interests in mind. ‘AI should not be developed with the purpose of contributing to The Netherlands Inc.’
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Campus10 November 2021New rector Jeroen Geurts: ‘I hope to be an example’
LONGREAD - Neuroscientist Jeroen Geurts will take up the position in January as successor to Vinod Subramaniam. ‘It’s a job that lets me do everything I want to do.’
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Campus02 November 2021Students can share their worries at Wellbeing Point & Panel
LONGREAD - It’s been a long time coming, but today VU Amsterdam is launching its Student Wellbeing Point & Panel, or rather a pilot phase for it. The twin initiatives are intended to increase the accessibility of help and information for students.
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Housing04 October 2021Homelessness throws students’ lives into disarray
LONGREAD - As the housing crisis in Amsterdam continues to unfold, the academic lives of potentially hundreds of students are in jeopardy as they spend their days worrying about where they will sleep. At least one international student has already quit and went back home because he couldn’t find a room.
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Students21 September 2021Quarantine at Uilenstede: ‘It felt like each day would never end’
LONGREAD - Studying abroad can be an isolating experience, especially when you’re literally isolated to comply with the quarantine rules of the Netherlands. Three VU students share their quarantine struggles.
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ICT21 September 2021‘Frankly, we did not foresee such a setback’
LONGREAD - VU Amsterdam finds itself in deep water after a failed effort to replace several IT systems. An outright drama, some staff are calling it. But not Marcel Nollen. The Executive Board member is confident things will work out.
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