‘The Sound of the North’
“The Sound of the North” is an artistic tribute to the groundbreaking discoveries and innovations that originated in Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. These regions are the cradle of discoveries which, born of curiosity, perseverance and imagination, have changed the world. In a substantial coffee-table book, 14 northern inventions and breakthroughs are placed in their historical and international context. The stories are not only told, but also brought to life through illustrations, poetry and music. At the back of the book is a CD featuring
14 songs, each of which, in both lyrics and music, is directly linked to a discovery or innovation. The premiere takes place
on Saturday 18 April at the Forum. Read more.
Do you speak Low Saxon? Donate your voice via the University of Groningen initiative proaten.nl
Do you speak Low Saxon? If so, from 31 March you can donate your voice via the online platform proaten.nl. This initiative by Professor Martijn Wieling of the University of Groningen aims to contribute to the development of speech technology for dialects including Drents, Gronings, Stellingwerfs, Twents, Veluws and Achterhoeks. Which dialect can mobilise the most speakers? And who will be the first to ensure that a phrase like “pien ien mien pokkel” is understood by people who don’t speak Low Saxon, even if they’re on the phone? Lees meer.
Podcast series Echoes of the Ukrant
The history of the University of Groningen is full of crazy, extraordinary and moving stories. In the Echoes series, we tell you all about them. Available to listen to as a podcast, or to read.
Episode 8: Alicia Boole Stott saw dimensions that other mathematicians could only calculate.
Read more.
Studium Generale: Groningen Night of
Philosophie 2026
Who are we, how do we connect with one another, and what does ‘we’ mean in an ever-changing world? Listen to local and international speakers such as Roxane van Iperen, Haroon Sheikh, Dimitri Goossens, Lisa Herzog, Philip Kitcher, Elke Wiss and many others. Discover new perspectives and share your own thoughts. This edition is dedicated to the theme of Philosophy Month: Know Thyself. Featuring Roxane van Iperen, Elke Wiss, Barbara Stok, Patricia & Philip Kitcher, and others. Read more.
Microplastics: a boomerang effect. The cheaper the clothing, the faster it ends up in the air.
As part of the ‘Clothing Under the Microscope’ monitoring campaign, Barbro Melgert has spent the past few months quantifying the amount of microplastics that residents of Groningen release from their own clothing. By raising awareness of people’s own role in the spread of microplastics, she hopes to promote a healthier environment. Read more.
Space-based data centres threaten astronomy and
the ozone layer
Entrepreneur Elon Musk has already launched around ten thousand Starlink satellites into space to provide customers with high-speed internet. Now Musk wants to launch another million satellites, which together will form a gigantic data centre in space, in order to provide the enormous amount of computing power required for AI. Astronomers are concerned about the impact of those million satellites: they will disrupt astronomical observations, but also damage the ozone layer, says University of Groningen astronomer Reynier Peletier. ‘Without the ozone layer, the radiation reaching us would be comparable to that of an atomic bomb.’ Read more.
PHOTO: NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY
PHOTO:
In Science podcast: Roelof Hut on the circadian rhythm in humans and animals
‘In Science’ is the University of Groningen’s podcast. It features interviews with researchers, news and reports from the academic world in Groningen. The podcast is for anyone interested in science!
Listen to the episode with chronobiologist Roelof Hut here.
How the scent of the sea affects the clouds over Antarctica
On 15 December, Jacqueline Stefels and Maria van Leeuwe boarded the icebreaker Polarstern for an expedition to Antarctica. During the expedition, they will collaborate with an international team of scientists to investigate the state of biodiversity in the Weddell Sea. Stefels and Van Leeuwe aim to investigate the influence of sea ice and the composition of algal communities on the regional climate in Antarctica, and in particular the Weddell Sea. They hope their research will help to protect the biodiversity of the Weddell Sea. Read more.
On the University Library’s website, you’ll find a wide range of digital exhibitions on all sorts of different topics. These include 400 years of Groningen and Oldenburg, medieval echoes of Troy, Erasmus and Luther, as well as two wonderful collections by the Groningen poet Hendrik de Vries (1896–1989).
Read more
Virtual exhibitions at the UB
The Groningen Students’ Union (GSb) was founded in 1971. This did not come out of the blue. Advocacy and social engagement had long been the driving forces behind the student movement.
This was particularly true from the 1960s onwards, when new groups of students began to populate the universities and a new youth culture took shape. This book describes the history of its origins and shows the influence the GSb managed to exert in the 1970s. It also shows how, eventually (in the late 1970s), doubts arose, a decline set in, and the concept of the ‘political union’ was cast aside. It is an inspiring story of organisational strength and determination. It is also for everyone who is now committed to improving the position of students, combating climate change and promoting international solidarity. Read more
Nait Soez’n: The Groningen Students’ Union in the 1970s – and what came before – A New book by
Ruud Weijdeveld on the Groningen Students’ Union
PHOTO:
Do you speak Low Saxon? Donate your voice via the University of Groningen initiative proaten.nl
Do you speak Low Saxon? If so, from 31 March you can donate your voice via the online platform proaten.nl. This initiative by Professor Martijn Wieling of the University of Groningen aims to contribute to the development of speech technology for dialects including Drents, Gronings, Stellingwerfs, Twents, Veluws and Achterhoeks. Which dialect can mobilise the most speakers? And who will be the first to ensure that a phrase like “pien ien mien pokkel” is understood by people who don’t speak Low Saxon, even if they’re on the phone? Lees meer.
‘The Sound of the North’
“The Sound of the North” is an artistic tribute to the groundbreaking discoveries and innovations that originated in Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe. These regions are the cradle of discoveries which, born of curiosity, perseverance and imagination, have changed the world. In a substantial coffee-table book, 14 northern inventions and breakthroughs are placed in their historical and international context. The stories are not only told, but also brought to life through illustrations, poetry and music. At the back of the book is a CD featuring 14 songs, each of which, in both lyrics and music, is directly linked to a discovery or innovation. The premiere takes place on Saturday 18 April at the Forum. Read more.
PHOTO: NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY
Podcast series Echoes of the Ukrant
The history of the University of Groningen is full of crazy, extraordinary and moving stories. In the Echoes series, we tell you all about them. Available to listen to as a podcast, or to read.
Episode 8: Alicia Boole Stott saw dimensions that other mathematicians could only calculate.
Read more.
Studium Generale: Groningen Night of
Philosophie 2026
Who are we, how do we connect with one another, and what does ‘we’ mean in an ever-changing world? Listen to local and international speakers such as Roxane van Iperen, Haroon Sheikh, Dimitri Goossens, Lisa Herzog, Philip Kitcher, Elke Wiss and many others. Discover new perspectives and share your own thoughts. This edition is dedicated to the theme of Philosophy Month: Know Thyself. Featuring Roxane van Iperen, Elke Wiss, Barbara Stok, Patricia & Philip Kitcher, and others. Read more.
Microplastics: a boomerang effect. The cheaper the clothing, the faster it ends up in the air.
As part of the ‘Clothing Under the Microscope’ monitoring campaign, Barbro Melgert has spent the past few months quantifying the amount of microplastics that residents of Groningen release from their own clothing. By raising awareness of people’s own role in the spread of microplastics, she hopes to promote a healthier environment. Read more.
Space-based data centres threaten astronomy and the ozone layer
Entrepreneur Elon Musk has already launched around ten thousand Starlink satellites into space to provide customers with high-speed internet. Now Musk wants to launch another million satellites, which together will form a gigantic data centre in space, in order to provide the enormous amount of computing power required for AI. Astronomers are concerned about the impact of those million satellites: they will disrupt astronomical observations, but also damage the ozone layer, says University of Groningen astronomer Reynier Peletier. ‘Without the ozone layer, the radiation reaching us would be comparable to that of an atomic bomb.’ Read more.
The Groningen Students’ Union (GSb) was founded in 1971. This did not come out of the blue. Advocacy and social engagement had long been the driving forces behind the student movement.
This was particularly true from the 1960s onwards, when new groups of students began to populate the universities and a new youth culture took shape. This book describes the history of its origins and shows the influence the GSb managed to exert in the 1970s. It also shows how, eventually (in the late 1970s), doubts arose, a decline set in, and the concept of the ‘political union’ was cast aside. It is an inspiring story of organisational strength and determination. It is also for everyone who is now committed to improving the position of students, combating climate change and promoting international solidarity. Read more
Nait Soez’n: The Groningen Students’ Union in the 1970s – and what came before – A New book by
Ruud Weijdeveld on the Groningen Students’ Union
On the University Library’s website, you’ll find a wide range of digital exhibitions on all sorts of different topics. These include 400 years of Groningen and Oldenburg, medieval echoes of Troy, Erasmus and Luther, as well as two wonderful collections by the Groningen poet Hendrik de Vries (1896–1989).
Read more
Virtual exhibitions at the UB
In Science podcast: Roelof Hut on the circadian rhythm in humans and animals
‘In Science’ is the University of Groningen’s podcast. It features interviews with researchers, news and reports from the academic world in Groningen. The podcast is for anyone interested in science!
Listen to the episode with chronobiologist Roelof Hut here.
How the scent of the sea affects the clouds over Antarctica
On 15 December, Jacqueline Stefels and Maria van Leeuwe boarded the icebreaker Polarstern for an expedition to Antarctica. During the expedition, they will collaborate with an international team of scientists to investigate the state of biodiversity in the Weddell Sea. Stefels and Van Leeuwe aim to investigate the influence of sea ice and the composition of algal communities on the regional climate in Antarctica, and in particular the Weddell Sea. They hope their research will help to protect the biodiversity of the Weddell Sea. Read more.