Student Life & Wellbeing

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Investing in Your Future

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Limitless Learning

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Student Life & Wellbeing 🍊 Investing in Your Future 🍊 Limitless Learning 🍊

Life Outside the Lecture Halls 

Learning happens far beyond the lecture halls. At the RUG, students grow through associations, work, caregiving, and many other activities outside the university. SOG stands for a university where every student has the time, support, and opportunity to fully participate in student life, despite growing financial pressure and declining student engagement.

  • Student organisations are at the heart of student life. They give students the chance to develop themselves and gain experience outside their studies. However, declining membership numbers and growing financial stress are making it harder for students to get involved and for associations to remain active. SOG wants to reduce these barriers by improving promotion for associations, increasing awareness of financial support, and reviewing how university resources are distributed, so student organisations can continue to thrive.to participate, grow, and thrive beyond the classroom.

  • Financial stress should not stand in the way of student life. Rising living costs and financial insecurity make it harder for students to participate in extracurricular activities and student organisations, affecting both their well-being and personal development. SOG wants to reduce these barriers by improving awareness of financial support, making university policy more responsive to financial stress, and creating clearer access to available benefits and student discounts.

  • Doing a board year is one of the most valuable experiences students can have outside their studies. However, it is becoming harder for associations to find successors, partly because students feel a board year may delay their studies without formal recognition. SOG put the board minor on the University Council agenda to change this. From 2026–2027 onwards, students doing a board year will be able to earn 15 ECTS through a recognised minor programme, making board years more accessible and rewarding

  • Starting university should not feel overwhelming. SOG wants to improve student onboarding by making information about housing, healthcare, social safety, and extracurricular opportunities clearer and more accessible for both Dutch and international students. We work towards better promotion of associations, minors, and programmes outside the standard curriculum, while strengthening buddy systems that help students connect, integrate, and feel at home in Groningen from the very start.

  • Groningen would not be Groningen without its international community. SOG wants to strengthen international student organisations and build stronger connections between Dutch and international students through better promotion, collaboration, and integrational activities. We also advocate for more equal career opportunities and clearer support for students facing financial pressure from rising tuition fees, so every student can feel at home in Groningen.

RUG as a Second Home

The RUG is more than a place to get a degree. For many students, it is where they spend much of their time, build friendships, and grow as people. SOG believes the university should feel like a second home, where students know where to turn when things get difficult and feel supported in the choices they make about their education. Studying at the RUG should feel accessible, flexible, and livable for all students.

  • The university should feel comfortable and liveable for the students who spend their days there. SOG wants to improve study and break spaces by investing in practical amenities like microwaves, seating, functioning chairs, and menstrual products across all faculty buildings. A pleasant study environment, with enough space and the right facilities, helps students feel at ease and supports their well-being and academic success.

  • SOG also wants to improve the availability and quality of food options at the RUG. Current catering is often expensive and does not always meet student needs. When the Beijk contract ends in 2028, we want to use this moment to renegotiate its contents and explore collaboration with MBO schools for internships, strengthening ties within the University of the North. We also want to look into affordable evening meals on campus for students who continue studying and options for student organisations to provide food for their members and boards.

  • Too often, students face overcrowded libraries, missing power outlets, or uncomfortable furniture, while classrooms remain unused during peak exam periods. SOG wants to open up more classrooms during exam weeks to reduce pressure on the UB and ensure everyone can find a suitable place to study. We also want to improve reservation systems and the UB app, make study spaces easier to navigate, and ensure basic facilities like outlets, seating, and stable temperature are properly in place.

  • We believe interdisciplinary study should be a genuinely supported choice for every student at the RUG. While the university already offers opportunities such as the Honours College, ENLIGHT, and double-degree pathways, many students are unaware of them and advisers do not always have a full overview. SOG wants to actively promote these options, bring them together in one clear overview, and improve coordination between faculties to reduce timetable and exam conflicts for students studying across disciplines.

  • We are committed to fair, consistent, and transparent examining across all faculties. Too often, students lack clarity on grading and how results are determined, which creates unnecessary distance between students and lecturers. SOG believes exams should be transparent so students can understand their performance and improve. We also advocate for stronger oversight by Boards of Examiners, clearer communication of student rights, and student involvement where possible to ensure fairness and accountability across the system.

  • We want to ensure that every student at the RUG can access mental health support when they need it. Although support systems already exist, too many students do not know where to find them or how to navigate them. SOG wants to improve visibility of tools like the well-being flowchart, promote them through advisers and student networks, and make it easier for students to find the right support earlier. We also advocate for more accessible walk-in moments and clearer information about external support options while students wait for care.

RUG to the Future

The world is changing quickly and the RUG is not immune to geopolitical tensions, climate challenges, budget pressures, and restructuring. SOG believes the university needs a clear long-term vision that protects academic freedom and responds to technological change. We envision a broad, agile university connected to the Northern Netherlands economy, with strong international partnerships and a diverse academic community.

  • With the aim of becoming a more agile and efficiently run university, there is ongoing discussion about reforming the RUG’s governance structure. SOG supports this, but believes it must be clearly defined, carefully planned, and not done for its own sake. The process should be transparent, with students involved throughout, and should preserve decentralised structures and the quality of education, research, and student life.

  • Harmonisation of processes across faculties can benefit the whole organisation, but it should be a means to an end, not a goal in itself. SOG supports harmonisation where it improves accessibility, efficiency, or costs, while protecting decentralisation. Better coordination in areas like timetabling, financial policy, and consultation structures has already shown results and can further improve the university. We also want to prevent problems like exam clashes for students across faculties and improve university-wide policies on study advice and lecture recordings.

  • With student enrolment declining due to demographic ageing and national policy changes, the RUG faces a new financial reality with fewer available funds.
    SOG believes budget cuts should not harm education, research, or active student life. Where savings are needed, we support focusing on efficiency and university-wide harmonisation rather than the core of teaching and research. Any cuts to education or research should be reversible when conditions improve. The RUG’s competitiveness must be protected to avoid further declines in student numbers and a worsening financial situation.

  • In times where trust in science and democratic institutions is under pressure, SOG is committed to a university where education and research are free from outside interference. We envision a RUG that is open to diverse academic voices and promotes democracy internally as well. Partnerships with external parties must always serve education or research and never compromise academic freedom or human rights. The university must also safeguard space for research that is valuable but not easily funded through external sources.

  • The rise of artificial intelligence is fundamentally changing how students learn, work, and produce knowledge. Current AI policies are often unclear and differ between faculties, creating uncertainty and inconsistency. SOG believes there should be clear, university-wide guidelines on AI use, alongside active integration into education so students learn to use it critically and responsibly. The university should also support lecturers in adapting to these changes and guiding students effectively.

  • We consider it essential that the university takes a clearer and more proactive role in European digital independence. While the RUG already shows commitment through Open Science and data stewardship, more steps are needed. SOG believes the university should increase transparency about digital tools, explore European alternatives where possible, and embed digital sovereignty more structurally in education. This helps students not only use technology, but also understand its wider implications.

  • SOG is committed to making the university more sustainable, even as budget cuts and other priorities risk pushing it aside. Together with the Green Office, we want to work towards a more sustainable RUG. With a new catering tender coming up, we advocate for a strong vegetarian and vegan offer, short supply chains, and less food waste. We also continue to support small but impactful improvements like more recycling bins, better waste management, and greener university buildings.

  • We live in a time of rapid technological change and shifting labour markets, where the link between academia, industry and society is increasingly important. The RUG already plays a strong role in the Northern Netherlands through initiatives like the Universiteit van het Noorden and regional cooperation. However, many graduates still leave the region after their studies, showing a mismatch between education and opportunity. SOG wants to better connect students to regional partners and innovation programmes, making opportunities in the North more visible so more talent can stay and grow in Groningen.

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