Laptops, phones and tablets banned from UvA's interdisciplinary social science programme

Students of the interdisciplinary social science programme at the University of Amsterdam (UvA) are not allowed to use laptops, phones and tablets during lectures. This academic year, the program introduced the prohibition to promote concentration. "60 to 80 percent of students are doing other things than listening during lectures with digital equipment," says Cyrilein Evertsen, associate professor of the program. "Whether that's shopping online or forwarding things to each other via Instagram.