ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø Heritage is a living collection rooted in the academic and social life of the university. It spans science, education, and the broader university community, capturing cultural developments that have shaped campus life over the decades. This heritage takes many forms, both tangible and intangible, from art, physical artefacts, and monumental buildings to digital imagery, special archives, and personal memories.
Once scattered across faculties, services, and buildings, these collections now have a single home. Together, they shape a collection that tells the story of this university: where it came from, where it stands today, and where it is headed. Although all-encompassing in scope, ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø Heritage is not everything ever saved or stored. Various departments contribute from their own areas of expertise, selecting the objects, images, and moments they feel responsible for keeping.
This platform is open to anyone: whether you are a student, researcher, alumnus, or curious visitor from outside the university.
Digital Exhibition Big Five
The Big Five is a digital exhibition of ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø heritage, first developed as a pilot in collaboration with the EAISI Digital Twin Lab in conjunction with the university's 70th anniversary. For this edition, five heritage items have been chosen by a Selection Committee made up of diverse representatives of the ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø community, digitized, and interpreted in 3D form for virtual exploration. But the Big Five is not fixed: every lustrum, a new selection is made by new representatives, keeping the story of ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø's heritage alive, evolving, and open to new perspectives.
Collections
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Art
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Architecture
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Artefacts
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Archives
Storytelling
Voices that bring ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø heritage to life.
Live Events
Walk Through ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø History
Join academic heritage specialist Erik Geelen on a guided walk through ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø history — from the founding of the university to the early campus buildings and their art. The walk takes approximately one hour and starts at 12.00h from the Market Square at MetaForum. Available in English and Dutch; groups welcome by arrangement. Contact Erik Geelen to book.
Committee
Since its founding by campus architect Samuel van Embden in 1964, a formal committee has been responsible for setting the policy and activities around the ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø Art Collection. In 2025, the committee’s responsibilities were expanded, and since then it has been known as the Art and Heritage Committee. The committee is appointed by the Executive Board to advise on the permanent art collection in the public areas of the campus as well as ancillary programming. In addition to providing advice to the Executive Board, the committee has the following duties:
- Expanding, maintaining and providing accessibility to the ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø Art and Heritage Collections.
- Stimulating art, heritage, history and culture in the broadest sense at the ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø
To ensure the Executive Board's confidence in the committee's legitimacy, it adheres to the Cultural Governance Code, the Fair Practice Code and the Diversity & Inclusion Code. These provide frameworks for effective governance within cultural organizations.
Members
The committee consists of ºÚÁϸ£ÀûÍø employees in various positions within the organization. Members are appointed for a four-year period and resign, in accordance with the schedule of resignation, four years after his/her/their appointment with the possibility of extension when circumstances require continuity. The committee elects a chairman, a secretary, and a treasurer from among its members.
Chair: Prof. Dr. Juliette Bekkering
Secretary: Drs. Britte Sloothaak
(Interim) Treasurer: Drs. Britte Sloothaak
Members: Ir. Alfons Bruekers, Ir. Dorine Peters (Vice-Chair), Prof. Geert-Jan van Houtum, Drs. David Ernst, Drs. Myra Loog