The Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam (VU) is a leading research university that ranks among the best in Europe. The VU employs many researchers who are among the best in their respective fields, at both national and international level, and for several years has been one of the leading academic research centres in Europe. The VU houses 12 faculties and 14 interdisciplinary research institutes. Through research, education and community service VU seeks to make an important contribution to solving major social problems. Just as important is its task to train young people into critical academics who, motivated by their social involvement, will be able to occupy leading positions in the international and intercultural society of the future. This is why VU places a strong emphasis on the academic formation of students, with a focus on the core values of VU: responsible, open, personally engaged. Education and research are directly linked. VU educates students in the research fields in which its strengths lie, and for which there is a significant demand for well educated professionals.
Faculty of Social Sciences VU
The Faculty of Social Sciences of the VU is a broadly disciplined faculty wherein the classic disciplines political sciences, sociology and cultural anthropology as well as the modern terrains of organization, communication and policy have their own respective places. It gladly uses the gathered knowledge in research for our clients and in active participation in societal debates. The faculty participates in projects concerning integrity, safety, societal ageing, religion and many more. The faculty greatly values that its researchers and students get the space and education to be able to develop and flourish as autonomous and critical thinkers.
Institute of Societal Resilience
The Institute of Societal Resilience of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the VU has expertise in crisis and disaster management and governance. The institute aims to improve our understanding of the fundamental problems societies are facing and how to address them: a resilient society is not just trying to respond to disruption and crisis by trying to bring the system back into balance, but rather trying to develop solutions that bring a system into a new state that is capable of dealing with present and future challenges.
For more information, visit their website.