In an open letter to the government today, 24 businesses in the Netherlands and 15 national start-ups and scale-ups issued a warning about the severity of the proposed cuts to teaching, research and innovation and the consequences for the future of our economy and society. ‘Cuts to knowledge and innovation are, in fact, cuts to the future earning power of the Netherlands. Moreover, withholding the remaining 7 billion euros from the National Growth Fund means that our country will miss out on large-scale investments in public-private innovations. Research and innovation are the backbone of an innovative and competitive economy. We therefore call on this government to invest in the power of science and innovation,’ the signatories said. The letter is a joint initiative of employers’ organisation VNO-NCW and Universities of the Netherlands (UNL).
Ingrid Thijssen, chair of the Confederation of Netherlands Industry and Employers (VNO-NCW): ‘From small to ground-breaking inventions, they all start with research and teaching. This is about the future of our country: where will we make our money in the future? And how do we ensure that we keep society running with fewer people? Investments in research and innovation are the driving factors in this. Moreover, these investments are actually worth more money in the long run than they cost.’
Caspar van den Berg, president of Universities of the Netherlands: ‘The foundation of the knowledge economy is weakening because of this government policy. Not only students and scientists are deeply concerned about the cuts to teaching and science. A broad group of businesses is clearly signalling to the government that this will hurt future earning power.’
In the open letter, the signatories argue that investing in teaching, knowledge, and innovation contributes to building the skills of future generations and fosters innovation. This is essential for economic growth and addressing the challenges facing society. They also point to the recently published Draghi report, which stresses the importance of large-scale investment in knowledge and innovation to avoid weakening the competitiveness of the European economy vis-à-vis the US and China further.
Ingo Uytdehaage, CEO of Adyen, which has rolled out a global online payment system, explains why he signed this open letter: ‘As a global fintech company, Adyen strongly believes in the power of teaching and innovation as a foundation for technological advancement. If the Netherlands wants to maintain its position as a leading technology hub, we must continue to invest in high-quality teaching and research. Without these investments, we risk missing out on talent essential to our innovative strength and the competitiveness of the Netherlands as a whole.’
André van Troost, CEO of Lely, is also critical of the cuts proposed by this government: ‘Lely has become so successful partly because we leverage the knowledge of Dutch universities and especially the talent that is trained there and eventually comes to work for us. By consequence, making such drastic cuts to teaching and research will affect us as well.’
This is a press release from Universities of the Netherlands.
