The neoliberalization of university: Understanding the structural causes of our individual struggles as PhDs
On Wednesday, November 19th 2025, the annual 4TU.Ethics PhD Day will take place at Quinton House, in Utrecht. This year we aim to create a space for critical reflection and collective discussion regarding the neoliberalization of university, arguably a structural issue that shapes our job instability, well-being, and capacity for thinking as philosophers.
In light of recent events such as severe budget cuts in our universities, the institutional complicity of the latter with institutions related to a live-streamed genocide, national reports showing PhD contracts fall short of the time most PhD candidates need to complete their dissertations, as well as current trends in our academic environments such as the imperative to publish or perish, the privilege of paper-based dissertations, the subordination of philosophy to the STEM, or the blurred distinction between supervision and co-authorship… In light of these symptoms, we believe it is crucial to open a space of collective reflexivity to better understand how the current transformation of university by neoliberal capitalism affects us as early-stage researchers, both in terms of the material conditions as workers and in terms of the task thinking represents to us as philosophers.
The program will include keynote lectures, informative talks and participatory discussions to broach this topic from different perspectives. We also envision this event as a chance to strengthen our PhD community: by raising awareness that our individual struggles are structural and thus political; by exploring how our discomfort could be politicized in the context of the 4TU.Ethics; and, last but not least, by enjoying food, drinks and good company.
Programme
10:30-11:00 Reception
11:00-11:15 Introduction by 4TU.Ethics PhD Council
11:15-12:30 Keynote by Filippo Santoni de Sio: "Democratizing technology and universities"
12:30-13:30 Lunch
13:30-15:30 Presentations and collective reflection
- 13:30-14:00 Teebah Abu-Zahra (labor conditions officer at the Promovendi Netwerk Nederland) presents their report “Four years of contract, Five+ years of work”
- 14:00-14:30 Maureen Sie (chair of OZSW) presents on "philosophy and budget cuts", reflecting on past changes in the discipline of philosophy in light of national budget cuts
- 14:30-15:00 Delft Student Intifada on their initiative “Educate to liberate!”
- 15:00-15:30 Open discussion
15:30-16:00 Coffee break
16:00-17:15 Keynote by Nolen Gertz: "Why AI ethics is unethical"
17:15-18:00 Snacks and drinks