An estimated one in four research jobs will be cut at WUR next academic year. The domains of Nutrition & Health, Climate Resilience and Earth Systems & Global Change will be most severely affected. Many jobs are no longer needed now that more and more members of the public are doing their own personal research.
‘Given the times we live in, spending public funds on research is no longer justifiable,’ explains spokesperson Wan Billem Jol. ‘Whether you are talking about climate change, how bad is nitrogen really or the risk of hardcore sunbathing, these days everyone knows how to get to the truth of the matter by consulting YouTube, TikTok or their uncle Tom.’
The practice of members of the public conducting their own research has been increasing for years, says Forum security guard Nico Tiene. ‘It started about ten years ago, but it really took off during the Covid pandemic, especially among alert types like me. That’s what I reckon, and that’s confirmed by what I see in Instagram clips.’
These days, everyone knows how to get to the truth of the matter
There are several reasons why this societal development is only just starting to have consequences for Wageningen, says Jol. ‘Here at WUR, we don’t like to get carried away; we prefer to wait and see how things develop. Also, YouTuber WAKEUP_RIVM_stop_the_rot and Ricardo75 (TikTok) weren’t agreed on exactly how many people are doing their own research. They have both investigated this issue but while Ricardo75 drew on his intuition, WAKEUP asked her followers. Anyway, the precise numbers don’t matter because the truth is relative and you can have alternative facts.’
That is why the percentage of jobs that will be cut is mainly based on how much money will need to be saved due to the government’s policies. A cut in the number of researchers by a quarter will mean huge savings as of the 2025-26 academic year. WUR will still need to make more savings after that, though, so more research jobs will probably have to go later. Security guard Tiene doesn’t see that as a problem. ‘My neighbour says the number of people doing their own research will keep on increasing.’