Participating parties, standpoints and candidates

De Vrije Student

Disagree. The university is currently facing major challenges as a result of budget cuts. Preserving jobs and educational standards are a higher priority than sustainability initiatives.

SOG

We agree with this statement. The University must take a leading role in sustainability; only in this way can we achieve a future-proof university. Even in these difficult budgetary times, investments in energy-efficient buildings, sustainable heating, and groundbreaking research, among other things, remain essential. In addition, the University of Groningen is a leader in hydrogen technology and has partnerships with the region under the Hydrogen Valley project. The University of Groningen must continue to invest in this as an alternative to fossil fuels.

Lijst Calimero

Agree. the RUG is a worldwide leading university when it comes to sustainability. In order to maintain this, the university needs to adopt an ambitious yet realistic sustainability roadmap, even if this entails additional costs on the short term.

De Vrije Student

⁠Agree. While we understand that careful decision-making is extremely important, efficiency and less bureaucracy are certainly necessary, especially in times of tight budgets and cutbacks.

SOG

We agree with this statement. Within the University, there is too often a duplication of tasks and a lack of clarity regarding responsibilities. Determining which areas fall under central administration and which fall under the faculties takes up a great deal of our organization’s time; students are largely unaware of their rights and obligations and quickly become overwhelmed by the complexity. A number of projects, such as the New Scheduling System and Smart Buildings, simply get bogged down in administrative red tape. This is not befitting of a modern university.

Lijst Calimero

Agree. The RUG involves its students and staff too late in the decision making process, causing a delayed feedback cycle. More transparency would allow all stakeholders to voice their opinions sooner, leading to faster decision making.

De Vrije Student

⁠Agree. Themes such as social safety and mental well-being are incredibly important, but they do not fall under the university's primary mandate. Education and research should remain the main focus.

SOG

We agree with this statement, with the caveat that this is the University’s primary mission. The purpose of a university is education and research. According to SOG, the University of Groningen should therefore focus primarily on effectively organizing these two areas. Students and faculty do not choose a university because of an extensive social safety program, but because of its quality.

At the same time, it has recently become clear that students are increasingly suffering from stress, performance pressure, and financial pressure. The University of Groningen must be a socially safe environment, where there is space and attention for mental health. That is why we believe it is important for the University of Groningen to further expand its student psychology services and raise the visibility of campaigns on social safety. If the university ignores this, it will ultimately come at the expense of academic performance and personal development.

Lijst Calimero

Disagree. Although high quality education is of utmost importance, this cannot be provided if students or teachers are not socially safe or have poor mental health. The university should continue to strive to provide social safety and mental health support for students that need it in order for them to be able to complete their studies as well.

De Vrije Student

⁠Partly agree. Provided that the predictable consequences are properly submitted to the university beforehand, we see this as a necessary evil to ensure educational standards remain at their current level.

SOG

Agree, with reservations. The university is under pressure due to budget cuts and declining student enrollment. That is why it makes sense to take a critical look at how faculties are organized. In some cases, a merger can help make the university more future-proof, for example by grouping programs into larger units. However, small-scale operations, accessibility of faculty, a sense of belonging, and educational quality must be preserved. If a merger is primarily intended to save money without clear benefits for students, then that is not a good choice for us.

Lijst Calimero

Disagree, many of the merging faculties provide great education. The smaller size of these faculties is frequently explicitly mentioned as a reason for this. Merging these faculties puts that quality in danger, along with risking that smaller programmes might be discontinued in the larger faculties.

Lijst Calimero focuses on the important things in your degree programme. We are committed to the quality of teaching and the value of your future diploma. We advocate for small-scale teaching, student wellbeing, and better employability.

SOG represents a community in which active students — whether on a committee, a board, or at a sports association — can feel supported. By advocating for development inside and outside the classroom, we stress the importance of your teaching as well as providing a platform for your future career, in an inclusive, sustainable, and future-proof university.

De Vrije Student wants a university where students have the freedom and opportunities to develop as a person alongside their studies. We stress the importance of freedom in the curriculum for a student to participate in extracurricular activities and social networking. In short, we wish to provide students with a professional and personal university experience.

Characteristic of our Personnel Faction - with nine members the largest faction in the university council - is the diversity of its members, scientific staff as well as support staff and Phds working in many different Faculties and Departments. Therefore we can combine our knowledge and experience and represent all layers of our organization. There is ample opportunity for a diversity of opinions but on a common base.

The Science Faction fights for the interests of the academic community in Groningen: to reduce bureaucracy, to distribute resources more fairly, to improve working conditions, to combat power abuse, and to protect the privacy of employees. We urgently need your support to prevent our administration from irresponsibly cutting the budget for research and education and driving away our international colleagues.

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From April 3 until April 16, 2026, candidates can fill their candidate profiles. They can use the blue button "Candidate: update profile" on this page.

In this period List submitters can update their party's information with the blue button " Submitter: Update Party Information"

The list of candidates for the elections will be determined on April 2, 2026.

The list of participating parties and candidates can be found in

Further information about the elections themselves can be found in