Analogy between research and Olympic sport provokes fury

Dutch academics up in arms after research council president emphasises importance of competition and rivalry

Academics in the Netherlands have expressed outrage after the head of the NWO, the national research council, compared research to competitive sport. 

Marcel Levi, president of the NWO, wrote in a blogpost on the funder’s website in late July that research was often “as competitive as the rivalry between top athletes”. He drew parallels between vying for gold medals at the Olympic games and striving to win grants, saying that such competition spurred excellence.