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Mission, vision, strategy and core values

Our mission

Radboud University contributes to a healthy, free world with equal opportunities for all.

Our vision

Radboud University is a private university that emerged from the Catholic emancipation movement at the start of the twentieth century. In keeping with this tradition, staff and students feel a commitment to one another, to society and to the world. Our focus is on caring for each other and the world around us. We remain committed to the empowerment of social and cultural minorities. We want to have an impact, and in this we are guided by both academic questions and societal challenges.

Our strategy

Our 2019 strategy, ‘A Significant Impact’, describes how we put our mission and vision into practice.

Research and education at Radboud University are closely intertwined. Our researchers and students explore and push the frontiers of knowledge and expertise, giving true meaning to their findings. We educate students to become expert, committed, critical and self-confident graduates who help to shape society by taking on positions of responsibility in which they demonstrate their understanding of issues. We are active across a wide range of collaborative disciplines and ask questions about the relationship between academia, society and sense of purpose. We also provide space for open discussion on social and ethical issues.

We are committed to providing high-quality research and education that is independent and accessible to all. We encourage an open intellectual climate in which students and staff inspire and challenge one another; a climate in which the talents and abilities of all individuals can flourish. Through rigorous, honest and transparent academic endeavour, we push the boundaries of our knowledge. We have the courage and responsibility to continually subject our findings and ideas to critical review. We reflect on our own actions and offer space for reflection to others.

Our strategy can be condensed into six goals:

  1. We conduct high-quality and internationally accredited academic research with a focus on collaboration and pushing the boundaries of our knowledge.

  2. We guarantee quality, commitment and personal contact in our education to help students develop into critically-minded scholars capable of taking on responsible positions that make a positive contribution to society.

  3. We take a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approach to solving issues of social relevance.

  4. We are an inclusive university that is committed to social safety and invests in the continuous development of its students and staff so they can inspire and challenge one another.

  5. We have a (digital) campus that is sustainable and conducive to studying, collaboration and interaction.

  6. We are committed to maintaining a strong and balanced financial position to ensure the continuity of research, education and support.

Our core values

The core values of Radboud University underpin our mission, vision and strategy and are at the forefront of everything we do.

Connected

  • our students and staff are connected to the world around them;

  • our education and research are connected;

  • our academic disciplines are connected;

  • the university of today is connected to its tradition, born out of the Catholic emancipation movement.

Curious

  • about the world;

  • about each other;

  • about ourselves.

Reflective

  • in our thinking;

  • in our actions;

  • in the social debate and the world around us.

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