Through strong connections with study associations, participatory bodies, and national politics, UReka strives to voice a well-informed, critical opinion on the policies presented by the executive board and initiates the change the student community of the UT desires to see. UReka sees the university as a platform for self-development and inspiration, where students should receive a world-class education from motivated professors in coherent modules, where internationalisation creates a new perspective and teaches all students what it means to be inclusive and live in a globalised world, learning from each other through face to face interaction.
Party Programme 2026
Vision
Students should get ECs for being active
If the 180 EC’s of a bachelor’s stand for the things you’ll learn – and the university values the extracurricular development of students as an integral part of their education – students should be awarded ECs for their extracurricular work. This year, the university should develop ways of doing this, by, for example, expanding the board minor and making it more flexible. This should be done in close collaboration with students.
The University should prioritise and promote sustainable energy usage.
The UT should prioritise energy efficiency and actively promote reducing energy usage across all its buildings. This includes optimising lighting, electricity, heating, insulation, and water usage, which in turn reduces utilities costs of the campus. Additionally, UT should aim to increase the percentage of green energy sourced from its energy suppliers. The UT should focus on increasing the sustainability of the buildings that are currently being renovated, or those that are planned to.
Education
Ensuring quality for all programmes
UReka aims to guarantee the quality of education at the UT. Each decision made by the university on a policy level will affect the overall quality of education, and we will take the educational perspective as a starting point in the conversation. These topics include digitalisation, assessment types, educational models, the EER, and more. For example, UReka supports small-scale education to ensure that the focus remains on teaching with individual feedback rather than simply broadcasting knowledge. UReka recognizes the role Student Assistants play in making this possible in a cost-effective manner. It is especially important in the time of reorganisations and uncertainty in the university, when financial health may challenge educational quality. To ensure a high standard of education, it is of great importance that the Quality Assurance (QA) systems of all programmes are up to standard. To achieve this, the university should have a central overview of how each programme deals with this. As well as providing bottom-up guidance on how to ensure evaluate the quality assurance processes. This will enable programmes to learn from each other and guarantee a high quality of education for all students. In addition, we believe that QA dependence on active students should be evaluated.
English level has to be up to par
The English level of students at the UT is an important factor in upholding the academic position and quality of education. We believe that the entry requirements regarding the English level of all students need to be raised to an equal level to that of comparable universities in the Netherlands. In the past years, we have already worked on stimulating this initiative by sparking the conversation about keeping English levels to par. Previous proposals towards this initiative have fallen short in their implementation. We believe that the university should also provide enough support to improve the language skills of teachers, not just students.
We want to keep Twente Education Model 3.0
The UT has a unique education model, which focuses on small-scale, student-driven learning as well as module and project based learning. This model was introduced in 2020-2021. UReka believes that despite the challenges faced by the University, the preservation of our educational model should be prioritized.
One of the recent improvements to the educational model is the validity of partial grades according to the EER, which allows students to mitigate study delays. Additionally, we also think that it is crucial to enable students to change their study program in the first months. To ease the transition, an overview of programs that students can switch to without getting a study delay should be created for students to see.
Lifelong Learning is valuable, but student education should be prioritized
Lifelong learning (LLL) is a programme that seeks to educate people who are no longer students on topics that are relevant to their work., LLL is one of the targets of Shaping2030 and is considered the fourth key operation of the UT. The University intends to expand on its plans for LLL, using part of its existing capacity. We want to be certain that this is done in such a way that we can be sure that the initial quality of education provided to the students will not be harmed, while not interrupting both the teaching and learning processes.
Shifting the language of programmes to Dutch should only be allowed with certain conditions
The education within the UT has been taught officially in English since 2020. Keeping English as an academic language will preserve the quality of the current level of education, especially as it allows us to keep existing infrastructure and make use of up-to-date materials and resources. However, there has been a national discussion on increasing the use of Dutch language in more educational programmes across the Netherlands. UReka believes that transitioning programmes towards Dutch should only happen if there is clear evidence that the change would lead to improved educational outcomes and does not disrupt the operations of an English taught counterpart of the programme.
Reducing student pressure and preserving the quality of our education should be the main priority in high level academic decisions.
Lowering the BSA has been a nationwide debated topic as it creates pressure for students due to the high amount of ECs (45) to get the BSA. We believe that lowering the BSA to 30 EC’s is a good way of lowering pressure for students while also ensuring a high chance that the student will complete the Bachelor programme. We want to continue representing the opinions of students from the UT in conversations with stakeholders to make sure that the quality of education can be preserved for the entire UT community, and to ensure that the decisions, which are made on a national level, are implemented in the best way possible for UT students.
Student-Wellbeing
Student Well-being should be made more accessible and stimulated within the UT.
Currently, it has become clear that the demand for mental health support at the UT is very high. Students often experience a long waiting list for this service. Therefore, UReka believes that the Executive Board should increase the number of student psychologists available despite the budget cuts and communicate alternative support options for students in periods of long waiting times. Moreover, Students are also unaware of where to look for help. We therefore believe the Executive board should communicate clearly and consistently about the available mental health services and how students can access them.
UReka recognizes social safety as a crucial component in enhancing student well-being. We value the various effective initiatives that have collaborated with the University of Twente, such as the Confidential Contact Persons (CCP), Amnesty UTwente, and the ‘Look After Your Friend’ training from the Student Union. To further improve and stimulate these initiatives, UReka advocates for embedding social safety education into skills courses within all study programmes. The reason for this stance is to improve awareness of the issue, confidence and competence of the student body in addressing social safety issues.
We advocate for the review of the newly integrated budget coach and increasing its visibility.
Since January 2026, the UT offers to students a budget coach to help them keep control of their money. To ensure this service works, we want to gather feedback from students who use it. The service can only be used if students know about it, which is why visibility is also important for the budget coach. UReka calls on the Executive Board to take steps to further increase the visibility of the budget coach programme among students. One way this could be achieved is by encouraging study associations to organise at least one lunch lecture per year about what the budget coach can offer open to all students, not only those who are part of the association.
Students at the University of Twente should feel socially and physically safe, regardless of their background.
International students and staff members enrich our university with their perspectives, knowledge, and culture, and it is our responsibility to actively foster an environment where every student feels welcome and supported. Therefore, it is essential that during the introduction period (Kick-in) extra attention is given to the integration of international students with the broad community that the UT has to offer. This support should be continuous, not limited to the Kick-In.
We urge the Executive board to also enforce regular check-ins throughout the year at associations that still struggle to create welcoming environments for international students.
Campus, Housing & Facilities
Cooptation should be retained, yet all students should be given a fair chance to get housing.
The people you share a house with as a student, can be a big influence on your comfort during your time here. That is why we think it is important that students retain the choice of who they decide to live with (cooptation). Still, students should also be given a fair chance for housing in the form of deciding by lot for studios.
Lecture rooms should be multifunctional
Having enough places to work with your project group and study together is essential for students. Therefore, we want the UT to open up lecture halls for students during unscheduled hours and provide a clear overview of which lecture halls are available at any given time. In this way, it will be easier for students to find a suitable space and work together with their project groups. In the past, UReka has already brought up this option to the University, but the policy for empty lecture rooms was not developed. We will continue looking into the possibilities of providing lecture room spaces for students to do group work.
Renovations should not cause a shortage of study places.
Despite the University’s planned budget cuts, multiple renovations of University buildings are being planned and executed to bring them up to modern standards. With the success of the new Langezijds building, we support these renovations where possible. It should be kept in mind that some study facilities will no longer be available during the renovations, and the renovations should be planned accordingly to ensure enough study spaces remain available.
Students should be able to practice Sports and Culture in suitable, qualitative, and safe environments.
The thriving community of Sports and Culture associations is unique on our campus. However, current facilities are outdated and designed for 8.000 students, instead of the 12.000 we have now. Some sports and culture associations now host training or rehearsals at external locations. Furthermore, due to the financial situation at the UT, the plans to expand the existing sports and culture facilities are currently off the table. To ensure the quality of the facilities, investments are needed, and these should be stimulated at the central level.
Digitalisation & AI
UT should incorporate AI literacy into education.
With the constant improvements in AI, it is deeply embedded in everyday life as well as academics via new tools and services for all students and staff. Although some AI tools can enhance learning, with the current academic climate, AI is generally considered academic fraud. We believe that instead of directly banning the use of AI, the University should provide training on AI usage at the academic level, with sessions on practical and ethical uses of AI. This should improve the visibility of AI and align its application with the University’s values on learning and teaching.
The university should take more cybersecurity measures.
As many will have seen in the news, digital safety is not guaranteed, and there are many malicious actors trying to get hold of personal data or access to digital machines and services. Individuals, the university, or companies providing digital services to the University can all be targets of cyber attacks. We therefore believe that more effort should be put into securing our systems and educating students and staff about the risks and avenues of digital attacks.
Additionally, providers of digital services may be compromised by individuals, institutions, and governments opposing the ideals of the university and student community. We therefore believe that these should be continually monitored to ensure that access to services will not be shut down without notice, and data does not get shared with unauthorised parties.
Students need to be involved in the digitalisation process.
Students often have to interact with the digital tools provided by the UT. Therefore, we believe that the UT should involve students in the process of choosing the digital tools at the UT. This should be done by informing students well about the options and actively inviting them to discuss. Involving students in this process will improve the digital experience at the University.
UT should ensure up-to-date and well-maintained digital resources.
UT relies on online facilities and digital domains for many processes. Thus, maintaining and making these readily available to all students should be one of the goals of UT. With the expansion of digital knowledge, we believe the UT should also reevaluate the current access to databases and ensure the wide range of courses, research, and graduation projects are not limited by the lack of access to databases for online papers, tools, and software. Having access to the latest information and updated state-of-the-art software licenses enhances the learning experience for all involved and strengthens the education in UT. In parallel, we aim to improve the applications used throughout the University to ensure their relevance and smooth functionality in terms of user-friendliness, efficiency, and responsiveness.
Facilities for hybrid & online lectures should be of high quality and aligned with demand
Every lecture hall has the facilities that are needed to facilitate physical, hybrid, and online lectures. However, to make optimum use of these facilities, a general technology proficiency of staff members and students is required. We expect that recording equipment is maintained and optimized in all lecture halls and that the provision of lecture recordings will be streamlined. Specifically, we envision sufficient facilities and assistance provided on campus, such as Light Boards inside of proper ‘recording rooms’, allowing lecturers to create online content as an additional tool. We deem the provision of general workshops on how to design such online content as very crucial and suggest that such opportunities be provided to staff to make effective use of the aforementioned facilities.
Activism
Student engagement is an essential part of our University
UReka values student engagement as an essential part of our University. Next to enabling the personal development of students, it also gives students a social network that is crucial for many people. That way, student engagement in many cases increases the academic performance of many. Lastly, being active also stimulates students to take charge in their life which has a beneficial impact on the future of every active student. The vibrant student community is thus crucial to the identity of our university and should be treated as such.
Student engagement supported and stimulated by the University
UReka sees that the number of active students at the University has been decreasing over the past couple of years. This decline is threatening the organisation of several valuable events such as the Kick-In which had difficulty finding a new committee, the Batavierenrace which had to take an alternate form, and the decline has already taken out CreateTomorrow. Besides that it is also threatening the existence of study associations who are struggling to find boards. Given this undesirable trend, UReka stresses the need for vision and policy to stimulate student engagement. UReka aims to lower the threshold of becoming an active student by encouraging the University to communicate the possibilities of becoming an active student next to your studies. UReka strives for a University that values and encourages student engagement accordingly and makes active students feel appreciated for their efforts.
When students want to organize something themselves, it can be a burden for them that they do not know what resources are available to them. UReka finds that the University should make enough spaces available to students to facilitate this extracurricular work, such as meeting rooms which you can book for committee meetings or having enough open working areas where you can confer about an event you are organizing. Additionally, UReka thinks that the University should work on making the resources to organize events easy to find and clearly accessible to all students.
Rewarding student engagement in (full-time) boards and beyond.
From next year, FOBOS will be reworked and named StOF. UReka wants the university to explain the new system clearly to all students, so all students know what to expect when they qualify for a FOBOS/StOF compensation. UReka will monitor the effects of the change from FOBOS to StOF, by frequently asking associations about this.
UReka sees fair compensation for student efforts vital to facilitate and stimulate student engagement at the UT. Therefore the university should increase the FOBOS/StOF programme’s visibility and extend the range of activities eligible for FOBOS/StOF grants, while continuing to evaluate whether the amount of compensation suffices in an ever-changing study climate. Next to this, UReka thinks that other ways of compensating students, for example with EC’s, can also be a good way to reward students for the work they do.
UReka will also advocate for a more personal approach with FOBOS/StOF grant distributions. Students are more than just numbers in a system, when looking at the eligibility for a student more than just the first date of registration and the UT should be looked at.
Sustainability
Associations have to be sustainable
We want associations to act more sustainably. Students should help with this by organizing sustainable activities and taking into account sustainability in decisions they make in associations. The UT should help with this by stimulating sustainable behaviour in associations. Furthermore sustainability associations like Green Hub Twente, Sustainability Fund and the Sustainability, Energy and Environment programme should be actively supported and their work should be taken seriously by the UT.
The UT should conduct sustainable research.
We want research at the UT to be conducted sustainably. This means that travelling by plane for conferences should be kept to a minimum. Additionally, we want research to have sustainable outcomes. To ensure this, research that benefits the fossil fuel industry will have to be critically examined. The UT holds the responsibility to conduct research that moves us in a sustainable direction.
Sustainable consumption options must be the default.
We strongly advocate for making vega(n) and sustainable food options the default on campus, starting with expanding the current selection. Prioritising plant-based and environmentally friendly choices can significantly reduce the environmental impact of food consumption at the University. These measures will not only reduce UT’s environmental footprint but also foster a stronger culture of sustainability across the campus community.
Communication & Transparency
All students should be aware of how they can influence the university
UReka represents the students at the UT. This is our task as Faculty and University Council representatives. UReka wants to make sure all students of the UT can understand what the different councils do and what type of decisions they can influence. We will invite associations for coffee dates to introduce us, but also to hear about what issues they are experiencing. This way, UReka strives to get more input from its constituents. In addition, the University Council started the walk-in hours for members of the UT community who have questions. We aim to keep this up and to explore other methods of increasing visibility.
Councils should establish and maintain transparent communication
For us to effectively represent students, what the Councils discuss should be communicated clearly and transparently. This way, students can form informed opinions about the discussions on the relevant topics and assess whether they are properly represented. We think this open and proactive communication is vital. Consequently, we are pursuing this goal of complete transparency by summarizing the important topics of every meeting cycle and sharing these with students. UReka will maintain this project to continue to better inform the students of UT.
The university should put extra effort into reaching every student about important topics
From UReka’s point of view, the university should be transparent about relevant topics that are going on at the university. Those topics, including organisational changes, budget, or changes to the campus, should be communicated to the students. In UReka, we believe that the means of communication are crucial too: UT should actively use its social media accounts along with the website and the email to reach the most students. We therefore advocate that the UT communicates with students in a clear and timely manner, especially when changes may affect UT students’ education.
The Executive Board (EB) should do more to involve students in decision-making processes.
UReka serves as the students’ voice in decision-making processes relating to finances, strategy, academic policy, and many more. We advocate that the EB take action to involve students more in these processes. This will not only change the “hidden” perception of the EB but also build sincerity, resulting in more student satisfaction. We believe that the students will feel heard, and events like ‘Lunches with the Rector’, which increase the visibility of EB, are supported, as we wish to see them more frequently
Important information for everyone in UT should be easily accessible.
Body: A majority of UT students struggle with finding their desired information on the UT website and opt for indirect methods of searching instead. Even though the UT acknowledges this problem and took action by reworking the website, it is still neither intuitive nor optimal to search for information. We believe that the UT should effectively rework the website based on student input, and we envision a tailored website experience based on people’s role within the UT community ( e.g., student, lecturer…)
Student initiatives should be fully supported by the university
UT should facilitate student initiatives aiming at improving the university. Many students have great ideas, and UT has multiple platforms that can be used to implement these ideas. We desire more communication from the university about these facilities, to make it easier for students to work out their initiatives together with the UT. To prevent overlap, all of the initiatives and facilities should be coordinated centrally by the university.
UT & Society
Career related events and entrepreneurship within students should be more stimulated.
UReka sees the goal of company collaborations to provide career orientation and to secondarily self-development to students. The UT should continue to support student organised career events such as: Student Career Services, Businessdays, Create tomorrow, symposia and others. Moreover, there should be more practical forms of company collaboration offered inside of a programme curriculum. Some examples entail and are not limited to training, workshops, and CV checks, as these are of great value to students’ career development.
UReka strives to stimulate entrepreneurship within students by ensuring that they start taking ownership of their ideas. This can be done by supporting the Incubase, DesignLab, UT Challenge, and other existing start-up initiatives for young entrepreneurs at UT, where students are able to further learn the skills and make use of resources they may need for starting their own entrepreneurships.
The UT has the responsibility to empower the local region.
Both letters in the abbreviation ‘UT’ are of equal importance to UReka. Not only are we a University, but we also hail from Twente and find it important that our University can benefit the region. In particular, we must closely collaborate with Kennispark since it provides a place for starters and start-ups to develop themselves after their studies and is therefore crucial to keeping talent in Twente and stimulating the local economy.
As a societal stakeholder, UT has the responsibility to contribute to empowering local citizens, increasing the trust in science, and facilitating stronger interaction between academia and society. The DesignLab, Techmed, as well as current initiatives regarding Life Long Learning (LLL) should continue to have a priority next to the main tasks of Teaching & Research, as they provide clear societal value to the region.
There should be clear guidelines about commercial collaborations with the fossil fuel and defense industry.
For years, there has been an ongoing discussion about commercial collaborations with the fossil fuel industry and defense industry, and whether the UT as a knowledge institution should have stricter guidelines regarding these. UReka believes that the UT should create clear guidelines with its company collaborations, in line with the values it aims to uphold. The actions needed to comply with these guidelines must then be clearly communicated to its departments, student associations/organizations, HR, and the like.
Growth
Small scale education should be prioritized despite changing student population
UT’s teaching strategy of small scale education has been a major advantage over other technical universities. Personal contact, possible due to university’s teacher to student ratio, is one of the things that makes UT attractive to incoming students. We acknowledge that student influx is unpredictable. However, we believe that small scale education vision should remain despite fluctuations in our student population. Wherever possible and relevant, the teacher to student ratio should remain small. To ensure that the needs and desires of students are met, student input as well as clear communication from faculty should be prioritized in these plans.
UT should position itself as a strong national university
University of Twente positions itself as an important regional university. Simultaneously, UT desires a stable student influx. We encourage strengthening the national image of the university through a comprehensive marketing strategy. UReka appreciates the continuous efforts of Pre-U and urges the University to continue spreading its name in high schools across the Netherlands. UT should also remain open to international students by marketing abroad to the extent that this is still possible. Together these actions will sustain UT’s size for years to come.
We also support collaborations with universities and research centers in the Netherlands and abroad.
University must maintain itself as much as possible despite external pressure
Changing legislation, reduced funding, and shifting public opinion about higher education institutions are creating uncertain times for Dutch universities. In this context, UReka emphasizes the importance of the UT remaining true to its core identity. A strong campus culture, student-driven initiatives, and active student involvement are central to what makes the UT unique. UReka believes that, especially in these uncertain times, the UT must continue to prioritise excellence in education and maintain its small-scale, personal learning environment. These values are not only key to student success but are also what sets the UT apart and should be protected in discussions regarding the future of this university.
Budget
The executive board must directly update the students on important financial manners
With the university being in more turbulent financial waters the past couple of years, the need for budget cuts and tough financial decisions is apparent. With the major restructuring of faculties, there are people wondering how it was determined that certain decisions made were the best way to go. Students make up a very large proportion of the people at the university, and should be informed about how choices were made and how this will impact them. We are determined to ensure that students and staff will be notified in time about major financial decisions, how these were made, and what impact they will have.
Active students must be financially supported
Active students must be adequately financially supported to facilitate their extra-curricular development. Recently, the university has cut down on its financial support to students through transitioning from FOBOS to SToF, which we see as a short-sighted decision that contradicts what the university stands for. This has, for example, led to many students not being able to pursue the extracurricular activities that shape their university experience. We are committed to pushing the university to free up more budget to support active students financially.
Education should be the priority in times of budget cuts
We believe that even when financial resources are scarce, educational quality should not decrease. The cutting of teaching assistants significantly lowers the quality of education. Thus, we do not support this measure and we would like enough budget allocated to hiring teaching assistants. Instead, the UT should look for other ways of cutting costs before looking at education. For instance, postponing big investments into building renovations that are not immediately required could help to resolve budget issues without a decline in educational quality.