Aletta year: 20 April 2021 – 20 April 2022

On 20 April 1871, Aletta Jacobs was the first woman in the Netherlands to register at a university as a regular student. Prime Minister Thorbecke himself wrote a letter to Jacobs’ father to grant her permission to start a degree programme at the University of Groningen. Exactly 150 years later, on 20 April 2021, the UG, UMCG, Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health, University Museum and Studium Generale will jointly kick off the Aletta Year in honour of Aletta Jacobs.

The UG will use the Aletta Year to highlight the theme of ‘women in academia’. The University community will be honouring Aletta Jacobs with a year-long programme filled with jointly organized activities to draw continuing attention to the role of diversity in academia.