VU Amsterdam publishes its 2025 Annual Report

With the adoption of the Institutional Plan 2026–2030, VU Amsterdam has set a new strategic course, based on broad input from the university community and societal partners. In doing so, the university explicitly affirms its societal role: educating global citizens, fostering dialogue between different perspectives, and contributing to solutions for complex challenges related to health, sustainability, and justice.

2025 was a year in which VU Amsterdam made significant progress in education, research, innovation, and societal impact. The university invested in the further development of education and student success, strengthened its research and valorisation activities, and continued to build partnerships with societal stakeholders. Work also advanced on innovation in the areas of digitalisation and AI, open science, and knowledge utilisation. At the same time, sustained attention to wellbeing, social safety, and an open academic community remained a key priority. The annual report shows that, despite a challenging context, VU continued to pursue its ambitions and performed financially better than expected.

Financial challenge
Declining student numbers and cuts in higher education funding also made 2025 a financially challenging year in which firm decisions were necessary. Overall, 2025 closed with a deficit of €3 million. This is €19 million more than budgeted and strengthens VU’s financial position for the coming years. On the one hand, this is due to faculties and services achieving better results than expected; on the other hand, the Ministry offset earlier implemented cuts in other areas.

Adjustment task
Despite the better than budgeted result, adjustment measures remain necessary. These will enable VU Amsterdam to continue addressing financial uncertainties in the coming years and ultimately achieve a structurally balanced budget by 2028. Declining student numbers, cuts in higher education, and uncertainties surrounding the government’s education budget mean that not only VU Amsterdam, but universities nationwide, face significant financial challenges. The situation requires clear choices to ensure that high-quality education and research can continue to be delivered in the long term.

Investments
In addition to adjustment measures, VU Amsterdam sees the need to continue investing in innovation, including in the fields of digitalisation and AI, and in strengthening its alignment with societal challenges and the labour market. At the same time, VU Amsterdam continues to invest in student success and in the development and support of teaching staff. Important steps are also being taken in research and valorisation activities. VU Amsterdam focuses on strengthening collaboration in dynamic networks, promoting open science, and intensifying cooperation with societal partners. Through entrepreneurship and knowledge utilisation, research findings increasingly find their way into applications that contribute to solutions for challenges related to health, sustainability, and justice.

Campus
The VU campus and organisation are also evolving in line with this development. We are working towards a sustainable campus where meeting and dialogue are central, and where, in a time of increasing societal tensions, both near and far, continuous attention is paid to an open and safe community.

Outlook to 2027
The 'Kadernota', which sets the financial parameters for 2027, shows that VU Amsterdam expects financial stability in the coming year. Financial results remain within acceptable margins. A deficit of €7 million is anticipated for 2027, followed by a transition to positive results. Achieving this requires the full implementation of the planned €60 million adjustment programme and an increase in income from other funding sources. This will create a broader and more future-proof financial foundation for education, research, and knowledge valorisation.

The 2025 annual report was adopted by the Executive Board on 16 June 2026. It was subsequently submitted to the participational bodies for advice and approval by the Supervisory Board. The full 2025 annual report can be accessed via this link.