Over the past few days, we have held conversations with the 63 employees affected by the reorganisation, 46 of whom have been informed that they are directly threatened with dismissal. Meanwhile, we have informed all affected employees. We realize this is an intense and uncertain period for everyone in our faculty, which demands a lot from everyone. We remain in close contact with the affected colleagues and offer them the necessary support in the coming period.
This reorganisation will impact not only the staff directly affected, but also the colleagues who remain. This is an intense time for everyone in our faculty and we understand that there are many questions and emotions involved. The changes may also mean new responsibilities, new organisational embeddings and new work divisions for the staff who remain. We continue to work towards a strong and sustainable faculty and encourage you to always contact HR or your supervisor if you have any questions or need support.
Why the reorganisation?
As you know, we face major challenges. Declining student numbers, a disbalance between teaching and research and sharply increased costs threaten the future of our faculty. Without this reorganisation, we would not be able to ensure the quality of our teaching and research. The aim of the reorganisation is therefore to achieve a balanced budget from 2027 onwards.
Important aspects of the reorganisation are sharpening our education and research profile and ensuring a better balance between teaching and research, with attention to an adequate ratio of support staff (OBP) to academic staff (WP). These strategic choices are necessary to make the faculty stronger and more sustainable in the long term.
Sharpening the teaching and research profile
The reorganisation plan includes the following sharpened teaching and research profile:
Education and research of the faculty of S&T are strongly intertwined, focusing on systems and devices for the application areas of health, climate, energy, water, and chiptech. Fundamental and applied research is conducted on materials and processes essential to emerging technologies.
In line with this strategic direction, it has been decided to discontinue the groups MD&I, HTI, BNT, OS, BioEE, BE, NBP and COPS. In addition, colleagues are affected within other groups, education programmes and support units of the faculty. Affected employees were informed on 10 and 11 February.
Engaging in the S&T Dialogue
We invite you to the S&T Dialogue on February 27. During this session, we will inform you about the reorganisation process, the decisions made, and how we will move forward as a faculty. This is an important opportunity to engage in dialogue and discuss the path ahead.
We look forward to seeing you there.
