'This is the year of inevitable and painful reorganisation. The bitter thing about the situation is that we have to make strategic choices that irrevocably have personal consequences. It means that we have to say goodbye to top employees. We try to implement this process properly, carefully and with integrity and to give the people it affects all the support and recognition.'
'This first quarter of 2025, we want to have conversations with people who are impacted by the reorganisation plan. We prefer to do this as soon as possible, no later than February. I can imagine that people are getting impatient, since the reorganisation was already announced in September. At the same time, I would like to reiterate the need for prudence in this process. We explicitly wanted to include legal advisors and, above all, our local participation. The role of the faculty council is extremely important – and I am also pleased that the right of consent and advice ultimately remained local. The plan has now been shared confidentially with the council, the Executive Board and the OPUT. When, and insofar as the plan can be shared publicly, we will do so.’
‘Although the reorganization is a top priority this year, there are also other plans. We have a sharpened profile and have gone from eleven clusters to eight departments, each with its own role, direction and strategy. We hope that this set-up will bear fruit, especially when it comes to securing research funding. Because we are still doing good business in this area, such as with the Growth Fund projects and recently two Vidi grants for S&T scientists.'
'Three years ago, I shared the desire to blur the boundaries between faculties. I think that the sector plans, for example, contributed to this. Now, in more difficult times, I see a somewhat retreating movement. Precisely because education and research are incredibly intertwined here at the UT, we have to make sure that we avoid creating islands. After announcing our reorganisation, I therefore shared several scenarios with the other deans. Partly at the insistence of President of the Executive Board Vinod Subramaniam, there was also a so-called selfish scenario. As a faculty, we could solve a large part of our financial problems by not hiring in people from other faculties. Of course we won’t do that, but it shows how broken our system is. The benevolent intention at other faculties is definitely there, yet the reality proves to be a bit more troublesome.’
‘What applies within the UT can also be explained outside the UT: The Netherlands is such a small country, but as institutions we practically fight each other out when it comes to the influx of students and who focuses on which field of research. The sector plans showed that we are able to make agreements and position ourselves. That was in times of growth, I hope we can do the same in times of shrinkage. Because we are all in that phase.'
'I certainly see lifelong learning as an opportunity. If we manage to set up the support structure even better this year, there is a lot of potential in it. In that regard, I also hope that we will be able to visit the regions more. We were already looking at a collaboration between S&T and the Vrije Universiteit. But recently we have also committed ourselves to partners such as TNO, the company Nobian established itself in Langezijds and we are looking for cooperation with Forschungszentrum Jülich and the University of Münster. Even though we have to reorganise as a faculty, we are certainly not standing still.
The fact that we are going to reinvent the UT this year is definitely an opportunity. You're not going to hear me say never waste a good crisis. But we now have the opportunity to take a closer look at what our university is, how it feels and what it means. At the time of the refinement of our profile as a faculty, we were discussing a possible name change. Because S&T, what does that mean? Not just Science and Technology, because that is very comprehensive. But we also came up with Sustainable and Thriving – how corny that may sound. We need to move in that direction this year, both as a faculty and as a whole UT.'
