Cyberattack in Maastricht

In the dark days before Christmas Maastricht University found itself targeted by a ransomware cyberattack that downed the institution’s entire system. Staff and students were no longer able to log onto their email and all kinds of scientific data were suddenly inaccessible.

According to university newspaper Observant, the hackers were paid a ransom perhaps as high as several hundred thousand euros. Had the university not paid, it could have taken months to clean up the system, likely at much higher cost. Moreover, some data could have been irretrievably lost.

With classes now starting up again, all students and staff have to reset their passwords. Wifi is back up and running, but email is still down and access to systems is limited.

Fire at Arnhem art academy

On New Year’s Eve a serious fire broke out in a workshop at the ArtEZ art academy in Arnhem. The cause of the fire, which started beside the building’s roller door, is suspected to be arson, possibly involving fireworks.

Around fifty ArtEZ students have studios inside this workshop and many student artworks are also stored there, including pieces by examination candidates. Some of the works have sustained soot damage. It is not clear yet if they can be cleaned.

‘We are doing all we can to minimise any delays for our exam candidates’, assured spokesperson Marieke de Boer. ‘At the moment we’re talking with the examination board to see if we can make special arrangements.’

The studios will be off limits for at least three months. ‘We want to find a solution on our own premises where possible and also look whether students can use facilities at fellow institutions’, said De Boer.

Iran and North Korea barred from missile-building tuition

Four hundred students and researchers from Iran and other ‘high-risk countries’ have been assessed by a Dutch special commission on the question what kind of knowledge they want to attain in higher education and research.

Western governments are concerned that states such as Iran and North Korea are developing nuclear bombs and gaining the scientific knowhow to do so in countries like the Netherlands. In ‘ten cases’ the commission found a real risk that students or researchers aimed to use their knowledge for the Iranian missile programme, the responsible minister wrote to the Dutch House of Representatives. Universities have been told to take appropriate measures. As a last resort they may suspend the education or research.

The minister’s letter came about two weeks before the United States killed an Iranian military general.

Elsevier a step closer to open access

Details are still pending, but scientific publisher Elsevier reached a framework agreement on improved access to scientific publications just before the Christmas holiday.

As from this year, it allows Dutch researchers to publish an unlimited number of open access articles in Elsevier journals. This means these scientific articles will be available for everyone to read free of charge, and also that more research data will become available.

News of the agreement was announced by the Dutch universities and academic medical centres, the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) and the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The agreement is to be finalised before 1 May.

Minister happy about science communication

Science is amazing, sure, but how do we know that? Someone has to get the word out. Education Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven wants the government to invest several million euros in science communication.

She is planning the appointment of ‘ambassadors’ in a range of fields, to be tasked with training colleagues to present their scientific insights to a wider public. Also planned are public campaigns, some in cooperation with science museums.

The minister further said she was happy that universities are rethinking the ‘accreditation and evaluation’ of their employees, emphasising that good science communication should also be recognised as a valid part of a scientific career.

Most student loans duly repaid

The vast majority of Dutch graduates repay their student loans, reported BNR news radio on the basis of figures supplied by the Education Executive Agency DUO. Compared to the approximately 800 thousand euros DUO collects annually, it has to forgive only 2 percent of student debts.

These figures pertain to the old student finance system, in which students received a basic grant with a maximum repayment term of 15 years. What will happen under the new system is still unclear.

Since the termination of the basic student grant scheme, student loan debt has grown sharply. However, this doesn’t mean a larger share of the debts will be forgiven, as graduates now have 35 years to repay them.