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Our guest this episode is Martijn Wieling. He is a Professor by Special Appointment of Dutch Low Saxon and Groningse Language and Culture. Wim and Hanna talk to him about the use and preservation of regional dialects in today's digital age. Among other things, Martijn discusses the Proaten project, through which he is developing speech technology for Dutch Low Saxon, and the mobile Speech Lab, which he uses at festivals to conduct research on regional languages.

The Deeptech Pioneer Fellowship of the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) at the University of Groningen has completed a successful first year. Five PhD candidates and postdoctoral researchers were given the opportunity to dedicate a full year to transforming their research into commercial ventures. The first results demonstrate that this approach is working.

The US government recently decided to remove monitoring equipment that has been collecting data on the oceans since 2009. However, that decision was reversed by Congress on 17 June. ‘It would have been a real disaster for climate research,’ says University of Groningen professor Richard Bintanja.

Jan Anton Koster jokingly calls himself the ‘device doctor’. Fellow researchers from all over the world can approach this professor at the University of Groningen if they want to know why their solar cell is not as good as they had hoped.

Professor Mladen Popović has been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant of €2.5 million. Under the project title ‘Tracing Tribes and Scrolls’, he and his team will spend the next five years working in the laboratory and using AI to trace the origins of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Frank van Tubergen, Professor of Sociology at Utrecht University and, since February, Honorary Professor at the University of Groningen, has also been awarded an ERC Advanced Grant.

How can we relate to the world around us, which is changing rapidly? And how can you help shape the future? Find out on Friday 25 September during Eureka!, a vibrant science festival at Forum Groningen. Residents of Groningen, students, researchers, and non-researchers: everyone with a sense of curiosity is welcome!

The online world has undeniable negative effects. For young people, however, digital tools are also an important means of civic engagement and activism. According to Annamária Neag, an assistant professor at the University of Groningen, we should adopt a nuanced view. ‘Technology isn’t inherently good or bad. We need to teach young people to use it critically’.

During the mid-year meeting in Galway, the University of Groningen (UG) signed the ENLIGHT Joint PhD Framework Agreement. With this agreement, the universities within the ENLIGHT network are taking an important step towards further strengthening their international research collaboration.

The ceremony for the annual sub-Saharan Africa Thesis Award took place Friday afternoon at House of Connections. In the PhD category, the prize was awarded to Emília Come Zebra for her research on hybrid renewable energy systems in Mozambique. ‘These energy systems enable development in education, healthcare, and social progress.’

It is with great sadness and deep sorrow that the Board of the University of Groningen has learnt of the death of Professor Emeritus and former board member Professor D.F.J. Bosscher, on 15 June 2026.