News
Abstract submissions are open for the session “Power to the People: Participatory Modeling for Societal Resilience” at the XXI ISA World Congress of Sociology, taking place at Chonnam National University in Gwangju, South Korea, from 4–10 July 2027.
The Ubbo Emmius Foundation is pleased to announce the next edition of M20 PhD grants, which will take place in 2027. The M20 PhD Programme is an initiative of the UEF in collaboration with the University of Groningen Schools for Science and Society aiming to provide opportunities for young researchers to make their way into academia. The call is expected to open in October.
Climate disasters, pandemics and geopolitical upheavals: major crises are piling up these days. These are moments when our world seems to be collapsing, and yet they also offer an opportunity for positive change, emphasizes Valentina Lozano Nasi. You can hear all about it at Eureka!, the science festival taking place on 25 September at Forum Groningen.
This brief draws on the Groningen Sanctions and Economic Security Roundtable 2026, whichbrought together scholars, policymakers, think tank experts, and private-sector practitioners for a closed-door discussion on sanctions, export controls, and economic security. In line withthe Chatham House Rule, it synthesizes cross-cutting themes from the discussion without attributing views to individual participants or institutions. The discussion suggests that academic research can contribute in eight main ways.
From 10 to 12 June, Stories of This Abled City turned the House of Connections into a space where research, lived experience, and creative practice came together to explore accessibility and disability in urban life. Grown out of roughly ten years of collaboration between UG researchers and 's Heeren Loo / Noorderbrug, the exhibition let visitors encounter disability through games, film, maps, and stories, moving co-researchers from subjects of study to designers, players, and city users. Groningen's city poet Jaimy Hindriks also contributed a poem written for the occasion.
Innovatie en verduurzaming ontstaan door samenwerking. Tijdens het plesTic Ready Jaarevent kwamen verschillende partners, bedrijven, kennisinstellingen en andere betrokkenen samen om ervaringen te delen, nieuwe verbindingen te leggen en gezamenlijk te werken aan de toekomst van een circulaire plastic-keten.
To celebrate this year’s #Earth Day (22nd April) and to commemorate the annual Justice Awareness Week at the University of Groningen, the Environmental Humanities Network organised a workshop with a critical focus on the Global South. The workshop was facilitated by Gabriel Dinda, a PhD Candidate at the Faculty of Spatial Sciences.
Curbs, parked bicycles, and stairs: we don’t always think about it, but a city is certainly not equally accessible to everyone. In this episode, we discuss accessibility, inclusivity, and the collaboration between the University of Groningen and the care institution 's Heeren Loo.
Until recently, infrastructure studies were separate from growth and post-growth studies. Yet to achieve sustainable development, Malcolm Campbell-Verduyn argues that one must not only confront economic growth with the various post-growth alternatives but also consider how growth and post-growth have been, are and might be entangled in the infrastructures of our lives.
Food systems and sustainable development are more deeply intertwined than is often recognised. Transforming the way we produce, distribute, and consume food is not merely one step towards sustainability but a vital condition for it, one that reaches far beyond the ambitions of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This transformation is crucial for ensuring global stability, health, and well-being. This is the premise of the recently published The Elgar Companion to Food System Transformation for Sustainable Development, co-edited by RAS Fellow Prajal Pradhan (Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Groningen).
€ 7.750.000, - EFRO-subsidie voor samenwerkingsprogramma Noord-Nederland verdient Circulair
On 16-17 April 2026, InfraCARE held its kick-off workshop in Groningen, NL, where members from partner universities met to exchange ideas and formulate the outline of a framing article, one of the key outcomes of the project.
De podcast Plastic Positivity belicht een positief en realistisch perspectief op plastics en hun rol in een circulaire en duurzame toekomst. In deze serie gaan onderzoekers, beleidsmakers en professionals met elkaar in gesprek over innovaties, samenwerkingen en uitdagingen rondom circulaire kunststoffen.
Will you join this year and involve curious residents of Groningen in your research? Are you joining (again) this year with an experiment, mini-lecture, installation, workshop, debate, science show, or do you have another idea? Or are you taking this opportunity to collect data or get participants interested in your research? (Read about the experiences of Francesca Bulian and Jesca de Jager in this article.) If so, please sign up using this form by May 15, 2026.
In the fifth and final episode of the Wijze Raad (Wise Council) podcast series, Danny Dorling shares his perspective on the world of the super-rich. Danny is a professor of Human Geography at University of Oxford and a leading expert on social inequality in the United Kingdom. He recently visited the House of Connections, where he was interviewed for the podcast. In the conversation, he explains, among other things, why the United Kingdom could become a potential next “target” for the super-rich.
Our scientific director, Frans Sijtsma, has announced that he will be leaving as of the 1st of September. Like you, we wanted to understand why and to hear his reflections on legacy, impact, reflection, and future outlook. An interview with 10 questions.
Plastic is onmisbaar in onze samenleving, het lost problemen op maar veroorzaakt ze ook. Startups die deze problemen proberen op te lossen door zich in te zetten voor de transitie naar circulaire plastics kennen vele uitdagingen en niet alle innovaties komen hierdoor op de markt. Met het project plesTic Ready wil Noord-Nederland daar verandering in brengen met een nieuw te ontwikkelen, multidisciplinaire plesTic-aanpak.
Op een verrassend koude vrijdagochtend 27 maart vond in het Werelderfgoedcentrum Waddenzee (WEC) te Lauwersoog het symposium “Verbeeldingen van de Wadden” plaats: een samenwerking tussen het Environmental Humanities Network, de Rudolf Agricola School en het Programma Gastheerschap, dat een duurzame omgang met de Waddenzee nastreeft. Tijdens deze dag werd in verschillende sessies ingegaan op de vele manieren waarop wij de Waddenzee verbeelden en beleven, en hoe die verbeeldingen samenhangen met de manier waarop we die beheren en de natuur er al dan niet beschermen.
Waar ooit bussen werden gestald, komt een plek voor innovatie, samenwerking en talentontwikkeling. In Emmen is vandaag officieel gestart met de bouw van het Innovatiecentrum van Greenwise Campus. Het circulaire gebouw wordt het kloppende hart van de campus.
New Fellows, successful projects, interdisciplinary education, and major events - highlights from the RAS community in 2025.