Under the title 'Sapiens', the educational institutions joined the scientific institute and museum to jointly give a purpose to part of the 'Valley building' on the Zuidas. In research and education, interdisciplinary teams would work together on themes such as biodiversity, climate and sustainability. Cultural themes would also be developed within the building.
President of the Executive Board of VU Amsterdam, Mirjam van Praag: "It is very disappointing that we failed to turn this important and promising initiative into a successful scientific venture. I would like to thank all those involved for their efforts and hard work. VU's drive to find answers to today's challenges is undiminished and we will use the coming time to strengthen our work on this."
Director Amsterdam Sustainability Institute, Philipp Pattberg: "The ecological crisis continues; current policies to halt climate change and biodiversity loss are insufficient. ‘Sapiens’ was an attempt to create a movement to address this fundamental crisis based on scientific excellence, combined with societal creativity and the boundless energy of young people. I still believe this is a formula for success. Ending ‘Sapiens’ is a huge setback, but not the end of our story."
Work on the winding-up of ‘Sapiens’ will take place in the near future together with the initiators.
'Sapiens' partnership ended
3 February 2023
The ‘Sapiens’ partnership, in which Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam is partnering with Inholland University of Applied Sciences and Naturalis Biodiversity Centre, is being terminated. The partners have determined that a viable business case cannot be realised.