Universiteiten van Nederland (UNL), previously Vereniging van Universiteiten (VSNU; 'Association of Universities in the Netherlands') until November 2021, is a

trade group A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. Through collaboration between compani ...

of government-funded research universities, including three special universities, and the

Open University of the Netherlands The Open University of the Netherlands () is a Dutch institution for distance learning at university level. It is an independent government-funded university and uses a variety of methods, including written materials, the Internet, and occasi ...

. It formed as the Vereniging van Samenwerkende Nederlandse Universiteiten in 1985, as a successor to the (est. 1956).

Organization

The UNL acts as a consultative body for its members. It is also the mouthpiece for universities in the

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

media. It represents university education and research in the

Cabinet of the Netherlands The cabinet of the Netherlands () is the main executive body of the Netherlands. The current cabinet of the Netherlands is the Schoof cabinet, which has been in power since 2 July 2024. It is headed by Prime Minister Dick Schoof. Composition an ...

, the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

, and the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, and in

price A price is the (usually not negative) quantity of payment or compensation expected, required, or given by one party to another in return for goods or services. In some situations, especially when the product is a service rather than a ph ...

negotiations with academic publishers such as

Elsevier Elsevier ( ) is a Dutch academic publishing company specializing in scientific, technical, and medical content. Its products include journals such as ''The Lancet'', ''Cell (journal), Cell'', the ScienceDirect collection of electronic journals, ...

Springer Springer or springers may refer to: Publishers * Springer Science+Business Media, aka Springer International Publishing, a worldwide publishing group founded in 1842 in Germany formerly known as Springer-Verlag. ** Springer Nature, a multinationa ...

, and the

Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) is a learned society and professional association in the United Kingdom with the goal of "advancing the chemistry, chemical sciences". It was formed in 1980 from the amalgamation of the Chemical Society, the ...

(UK). It is the

employers' organization An employers' organization or employers' association is a collective organization of manufacturers, retailers, or other employers of wage labor. Employers' organizations seek to coordinate the behavior of their member companies in matters of mutu ...

of Dutch universities. The association was located in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

until 2005. The institutions that are important for university policy, however, are often headquartered in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

. To optimize the interests of the universities towards these institutions, the UNL moved to The Hague in March 2005. Almost every country in the world has a university association that brings together common interests. There is also an umbrella of European university associations (the

European University Association The European University Association (EUA) represents more than 800 institutions of higher education in 48 countries, providing them with a forum for cooperation and the exchange of information on higher education and research policies. Members of ...

) and of universities worldwide (the

International Association of Universities The International Association of Universities (IAU) is a membership-led non-governmental organization working in the field of global higher education. It has more than 600 members in over 130 countries, including institutions, organizations, aff ...

Members

The association consists of the following 14 institutions: * Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam * Open Universiteit Nederland *

Radboud Universiteit Nijmegen Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, , formerly ) is a public university, public research university located in Nijmegen, Netherlands. RU has seven faculties and more than 24,000 students. Established in 1923, Radboud University has consistentl ...

Rijksuniversiteit Groningen The University of Groningen (abbreviated as UG; , abbreviated as RUG) is a public research university of more than 30,000 students in the city of Groningen, Netherlands. Founded in 1614, the university is the second oldest in the country (after ...

* Technische Universiteit Delft *

Technische Universiteit Eindhoven The Eindhoven University of Technology (), Abbreviation, abbr. TU/e, is a public university, public technical university in the Netherlands, situated in Eindhoven. In 2020–21, around 14,000 students were enrolled in its Bachelor of Science, BS ...

* Universiteit van Amsterdam *

Universiteit Leiden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; ) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. Established in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange as a Protestant institution, it holds the distinction of being the oldest university in the Neth ...

Universiteit Maastricht Maastricht University (abbreviated as UM; ) is a public research university in Maastricht, Netherlands. Founded in 1976, it is the second youngest of the thirteen Dutch universities. In 2023, 22,976 students studied at Maastricht University, 59% ...

Universiteit van Tilburg Tilburg University is a Catholic research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business sciences, theology and humanities, located in Tilburg, Netherlands. Tilburg has a student population of about 19,15 ...

* Universiteit Twente * Universiteit Utrecht *

Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam The (abbreviated as ''VU Amsterdam'' or simply ''VU'' when in context) is a public university, public research university in Amsterdam, Netherlands, founded in 1880. The VU Amsterdam is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in ...

* Wageningen Universiteit In 2022, the Universiteit voor Humanistiek (University of Humanistic Studies) became an associated member.

References

External links

Official site
* WorldCat
Vereniging van Samenwerkende Nederlandse Universiteiten
Educational organisations based in the Netherlands Universities in the Netherlands College and university associations and consortia in Europe Non-profit organisations based in the Netherlands 1985 establishments in the Netherlands Organisations based in The Hague {{netherlands-stub

Organization

Members

See also

References

External links