University Forum
The University Forum is a democratic advisory body that hosts a biyearly event in which participants discuss a subject relevant to the broad UvA community. Attendees are randomly drawn from students and employees of the UvA. Furthermore, members of the executive board, as well as faculty deans, are present and take part in the discussions.
Guided by a series of statements, participants exchange views on the evening’s topic in smaller subgroups. The event concludes with an open discussion involving all attendees.
The secretary of the forum compiles the main conclusions of the discussion into an advisory report, which will be submitted to the university’s executive board and published on the website.
Next edition
The next edition of the University Forum will be held on Thursday, 6 November 2025. The theme will be announced on this webpage as soon as it is confirmed.
Chair
As of 1 September 2024, the University Forum is chaired by Tamar de Waal. Her appointment is for a period of two years. De Waal is a legal philosopher, associate professor of Legal Theory and director of the Amsterdam Honours College of Law at the Faculty of Law.
Agenda committee
The subjects to be discussed at the meetings of the University Forum will be determined in collaboration with an independent agenda committee (consisting of the CSR, COR, UCO, UOC and student assessor, etc.). Its members will choose a theme that is relevant to both students and employees.
Origin
The University Forum was established following a recommendation from the Democratisation & Decentralisation Committee to set up a ‘broad-based deliberative forum’. After an evaluation of the forum’s first few years (2018-2023) the Executive Board decided that the University Forum will continue in its current form.
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The University, Democratic Values, and Academic Freedom
We see that authoritarian regimes worldwide increasingly target universities — putting pressure on academic freedom, undermining critical scholarship, and restricting institutional autonomy. How should Dutch universities, including the UvA, respond? What role do they play in protecting and strengthening democratic values and academic freedom, both within and beyond the academic world? In other words, how should universities shape their position and responsibilities in an evolving political landscape. The participants of the University Forum discussed the university’s role in the protection of democratic values and, more specifically, academic freedom.
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Meetings 2024
1 October: The resilient university in times of political upheaval
The second edition of the 'new style' University Forum took place on Tuesday, 1 October. The topic was 'The resilient university in times of political upheaval'. After a plenary introduction, the participants discussed various subtopics related to the role of universities in a changing political landscape. The discussions dealt with not only the announced cutbacks, but also issues such as academic freedom (and how it is under pressure). The evening was concluded with a plenary discussion.
16 April: The university as a degree mill?
The first meeting was on 16 April 2024 at public debate centre De Balie. The thema was ‘The university as a degree mill?’. One hundred students, employees, researchers and other representatives of the UvA community had been invited to attend after their names were selected by drawing lots. Following a plenary introduction, they were split up into small groups to discuss various subtopics related to education at the UvA. For example, critical thinking and the increasing regimentation of university education. The evening ended with a plenary debate about the main points of discussion.
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Reports of the forum meetings 2018-2023
Reports of the forum meetings in the pilot phase, in both English and Dutch, can be found on the Dutch web page about the University Forum.
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Contact
The secretary to the University Forum, Nienke Booij, can be reached via email: universiteitforum-bb@uva.nl.