University of Amsterdam

[EduCativ]

On 8 January 1632, Gerardus Vossius opened the Athenaeum Illustre, the University of Amsterdam's predecessor, with his inaugural lecture 'De Historiae utilitate' (On the usefulness of history). The next day, Caspar Barlaeus gave his famous lecture on the wise merchant, 'Mercator Sapiens.' These two professors were already well-known figures in the international world of learning that the University of Amsterdam's history started around four centuries ago. Vossius came to Amsterdam from the University of Leiden, where he had become a renowned scholar. The City seems to have been very keen to tempt him to join the Athenaeum, as they offered him an annual salary of 2600 guilders, making him the best-paid professor in the Republic of the United Netherlands. Barlaeus, on his part, was a celebrated orator and poet who was also at home in the academic environment.

Barlaeus's inaugural lecture was an ode to the City government, which had the wisdom to bring together successful tradesmanship and letters and philosophy within the Athenaeum. The bond that was forged then between the University and the City would always remain strong in the centuries to come.

The University of Amsterdam is one of Europe's most prominent research-led universities. It is a modern institution with a long and rich history dating from 1632. The University of Amsterdam is one of the world's intellectual hubs. A university with a leading international reputation, it is firmly rooted in the City of Amsterdam. With five thousand staff members, thirty thousand students, and a hundred different nationalities, the UvA is connected to thousands of researchers and hundreds of public and private institutions in the Netherlands and worldwide. It has an international outlook, fitting in with Amsterdam's character and history as an independent, innovative, and engaged city.

The UvA's mission is to provide academic education for tomorrow's leaders and innovators, carry out pioneering research, and use the results to develop socially relevant applications.

• We provide research-intensive education for a broad group of students – irrespective of their origin, background, or beliefs, preparing them for the global job market.
• We provide our academic staff with space and facilities required to carry out innovative and interdisciplinary research.
• We foster an innovative environment and have an enormous impact on society.

The University of Amsterdam has over 30,000 students, 8,000 employees, and an annual budget of €850 million, making us one of Europe's largest broad-based research universities. At the University of Amsterdam, teaching and research are organized within seven faculties: Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine, and Dentistry.

Teaching and research at the University of Amsterdam are conducted at seven faculties: the Humanities, Social and Behavioural Sciences, Economics and Business, Law, Science, Medicine, and Dentistry. A dean heads each faculty. The teaching and research activities are divided among various institutes within the faculties. Each faculty also has a central services department which is responsible for operational management.

The UvA's international character is also reflected in its organizational culture. The UvA offers various services designed to help students, researchers, and lecturers from other countries feel at home in Amsterdam and the Netherlands. The University also uses bilingual communications to help ensure that they feel or continue to feel part of the UvA community.

Like its students, UvA lecturers are also expected to have explored the wider world and obtained international competencies. The UvA stimulates them to teach for a semester at an international university, participate in international conferences, or teach or attend a summer school abroad.

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