About us

Welcome to the Wubbo Ockels community

Wubbo Ockels was the first Dutchman in space. He was also a pilot, a physicist, and a professor. Just before he died in 2014, Ockels wrote a farewell letter in which he called on mankind to focus on sustainability and humanism, and to stop destroying planet Earth and choose a different path instead.

The School that was named after Wubbo Ockels aims to answer this call and to boost the UG’s contribution to a fairer and greener energy transition. In doing so, we apply Wubbo's three principles:

1. We are all astronauts on spaceship Earth
2. Optimism about sustainability is a responsibility
3. Sustainability is not less, but different and much more fun

Aim and mission

Teaching, research, and public involvement thrive in an environment that encourages students, researchers, external parties, and interested parties to meet up and talk. Expanding a community is therefore an integral part of all activities of the School. It is via this community that the Wubbo Ockels School aims to achieve its mission and aim: Towards a greener and fairer energy transition and climate policy together!

Connection

Making connections, both internal and external, is the motor behind the Wubbo Ockels School. Internal collaboration means bringing experts from various faculties together in the School to encourage interdisciplinary research and teaching in order to create more impact. To this end, the Wubbo Ockels School also collaborates with the three other interdisciplinary Schools: one for governance, politics, and sustainable processes (Rudolph Agricola School), one for digitization, digital technology, and artificial intelligence (Jantina Tammes School), and one for public health (Aletta Jacobs School).

External collaboration with parties such as New Energy Coalition, the University of the North, and the Global Center on Adaptation helps to refine research questions, develop the northern and national strategic agenda, and pool resources when deploying external funding.

The Wubbo Ockels School will organize lectures, workshops, and debates in order to engage the general public. In addition, anyone who is interested in the theme can glean information from podcasts, exhibitions (preferably interactive), and social media.

Added value of the Wubbo Ockels School

What is the added value of the Wubbo Ockels School?

• The development of interdisciplinary teaching for students who want to address energy and climate issues. The School community and its external contacts can offer students opportunities to take part in projects together with external partners, or do placements with relevant employers.
• The development of new research alliances for innovative questions and the stimulation of new insights.
• Greater opportunities to involve the general public in the energy transition theme, by promoting the work of the Schools and engaging in dialogue.

Let’s meet

In order to work in an interdisciplinary way, people first have to meet. So: would you like to contribute to the Wubbo Ockels School? Are you motivated to share your knowledge? Do you support our aim of creating a fairer and greener energy transition together? Are you interested in collaboration, degree programmes, courses, or workshops? Feel free to contact us.