Start of the Academic Year 2026-2027

The annual celebration of the start of the academic year of Utrecht University will take place at 31 August 2026.

Livestream

Programme

This year, the Start of the Academic Year will focuses on healthy youth. This is a topic that calls for collaboration. Collaboration across disciplinary boundaries and beyond the university, because when young people, researchers, professionals, civil society organizations, and policymakers come together and learn from one another, solutions that truly matter emerge. And this aligns perfectly with our anniversary theme, ‘Connect. Create change.’ Knowledge only becomes meaningful when we connect it to society and use it to make a real difference.

By putting youth at the center and collaborating closely with many others, Utrecht University and the strategic theme Dynamics of Youth are building a better future for all young people.

Ceremony 

Our President, Hans Brug, will open the programme. The keynote speakers are Mirjam Sterk, Minister of Long-term Care, Youth and Sport, and Sanne Nijhof, Professor of Interdisciplinary Preventive Paediatrics at UMC Utrecht. They will be followed by a panel discussion on the theme of healthy youth featuring Heidi Lesscher, Odilia Laceulle, and Sara Brouwer.

The Rector Magnificus, Wilco Hazeleger, will announce the winners of the Student Awards: the Best Master’s Thesis Award, the Vliegenthart Thesis Prize and the Social Impact Award. Following this, Hans Brug will announce the Alum of the Year, after which Vice President Margot van der Starre will deliver the closing remarks.

Would you like to attend? Please register via the link below.