Employee in need of a new smartphone? Radboud University opts for Fairphone

Employees of Radboud University who need a replacement smartphone will now receive a Fairphone.

Radboud University in Nijmegen has chosen Fairphone as the standard company smartphone due to the phone’s sustainability, cost efficiency, and management support.

“The Fairphone is a sustainable smartphone with easily replaceable parts such as the battery and screen. This makes the device last longer. Fair and recycled materials, such as plastic and aluminum, are used as much as possible in the production of this smartphone,” the university said in a press release.

It also mentions that the smartphone manufacturer pays attention to sound and safe working conditions in its factories. In addition, Radboud University only needs to purchase, manage, and support one standard model.

“This results in smaller stock, easier management, and faster support. Manuals and instructions also only need to be maintained for one device,” it says.

Lastly, the service desk doesn’t need to have the knowledge to maintain different brands and models, which helps to speed up incident handling and smartphone replacement.

Therefore, starting from February 1st, 2026, employees will no longer have the option to choose between an Android smartphone or an iPhone. Workers who would rather have a Samsung phone can reissue a used device. Employees who have an iPhone can continue to use it. However, returned iPhones will no longer be reissued.

Staff members also have the option to use their private phone for work. They can request a SIM card at the university. If a smartphone breaks for whatever reason, the device will not be reimbursed.

Fairphone is a Dutch smartphone manufacturer that was founded in 2013. The company’s mission is to minimize the environmental impact of smartphone production and to create safe working conditions in its factories.

Fairphone not only uses recycled materials and replacement parts to meet its sustainability goals. Devices also receive up to eight years of software updates and a five-year warranty. This fits right in Radboud University’s circularity strategy, which focuses on the longest possible use and reuse of IT hardware.

Fairphone’s latest model is the Fairphone 6, which has a 6.31” OLED display, a 4415 mAh removable battery, Qualcomm Snapdragon 7s Gen 3 CPU, an expandable microSD slot, three cameras on the back, and is upgradeable to

the latest Android version.

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