Browse news

The Board of the University has appointed Prof. Evrim Ursavas as scientific director of the Wubbo Ockels School for Energy and Climate per September 1^st 2026.

In this interview, the professor of Energy Logistics discusses her own research and her plans for the School. ‘Scientists are very good at bringing knowledge, but collecting knowledge from society is just as valuable.’

How do people rebuild their society following a period of conflict? Kiki Santing, specialized in issues relating to religion, politics, and sectarianism in the Middle East, is conducting research into this.

The new academic year has begun. The University of Groningen (UG) marked its start during the 2026–2027 Academic Year Opening Ceremony on 31 August in the Martinikerk. The central theme was ‘The university at the heart of society’. We look back on an inspiring ceremony featuring excellent speeches, fruitful discussions and a festive atmosphere.

It came as a shock earlier this year: the US AI company Anthropic, based in San Francisco, claims to have developed a generative language model, Mythos, which exposes a multitude of vulnerabilities — i.e. software flaws — in computer operating systems, browsers, and servers. ‘You can compare it to a situation in the physical world where you can no longer lock anything,’ says Aline Klingenberg. Her colleague Evgeni Moyakine adds: ‘After all, an AI model like this can also be misused.’

In regularly appearing opinion pieces we share the view of one of our academics on a topical issue. This is how we show that UG researchers contribute to the societal debate.

Quota-based publishing agreements: 2026 caps expected to be reached for Springer, Taylor & Francis, Oxford University Press, LWW and Emerald

It had already become clear before the summer during the parliamentary inquiry into the coronavirus measures: the closure of schools during the coronavirus pandemic caused a great deal of harm to young people. According to clinical and developmental psychologist Bertus Jeronimus, this was quite simply the wrong decision.

‘Smoking, online gambling, shooting heroin, nail biting. A daily glass of wine, as enjoyed by so many academics. Using social media. It’s all much the same,’ says Arie Dijkstra, Professor in the Social Psychology of Health and Illness, specializing in the psychology of health behaviour and addiction. ‘They are all types of behaviour that become disproportionately important to some people, at which point, behavioural psychology calls it addiction.’

This summer, the RUG and the UMCG are again present at Noorderzon. Join discussions with scientists and attend interesting lectures.

Noorderzon “Festival of Performing Arts & Society” is one of the biggest festivals in the city of Groningen. This year, the festival takes place from 20 to 30 August.