Victor van der Chijs, President of the Executive Board of the University of Twente, has transferred the position of chair of the 4TU.Federation to Professor Louise O. Fresco. Van der Chijs was chair of 4TU, which was still 3TU when he took office, for the past four years. Fresco is the President of the Executive Board of Wageningen University & Research (WUR), which joined 4TU in 2016.
The 4TU.Foundation expressed its appreciation to Victor van der Chijs for his services to the federation. In his position as chair, Van der Chijs worked tirelessly for over four years towards strengthening and pooling technological knowledge in the Netherlands. Van der Chijs: “The 4TU has become a close-knit federation, and I am proud to have had the opportunity to make my contribution to this. Training sufficient numbers of high-quality technicians will remain an enormous challenge in the future too. I am confident that Louise will also do her utmost to achieve this.”
‘Technology Deal needs to give us a strong basis’
Van der Chijs and his colleagues worked intensively to secure the funds known as the “Van Rijngelden”, the additional EUR 66 million that the government is to invest annually in universities of technology. Van der Chijs: “We can use these funds to expand the teaching capacity of the universities of technology. This is an excellent first step, but much more is needed. We need to have a strong basis through extra long-term funding. The ability of the Netherlands to innovate must be strengthened considerably; there are major social challenges we need to address, and we also wish to be competitive on the international stage. A Technology Deal will enable us to do this.”
Ambitions
During the 4TU event High Tech for a Sustainable Future, Fresco said that the teaching and research taking place jointly within 4TU needs to be made more visible. She added that establishing connections with the other universities and with non-technical disciplines was also important though. Our technical researchers need to develop this competence even better. There are, she said, major, complicated social issues that call for interdisciplinary approaches and integrated solutions, which we will achieve through top-notch knowledge and science. Our country will have to keep investing in science and technology if it is to retain and strengthen its prominent position on the international stage. Broad-based collaboration with universities in the Netherlands and abroad, with government and business will allow us to arrive at innovative solutions to the challenging social issues we face.
Five new 4TU research programmes
Van der Chijs passed the baton to Fresco during the 4TU event High Tech for a Sustainable Future in The Hague. 150 representatives from the worlds of science, government and business got together for the presentation of the five new research programmes, for which EUR 22 million has been set aside. A total of 44 assistant professors and 29 post-docs will be working on the research programmes. The four universities of technology will be collaborating within each of these programmes. With their expertise in key technologies, AI and Big Data, the scientists will be conducting research into personalised medicine, disease prevention and treatment, smart industry, more resilient societies and global demand for food.
Photo: Bram Saeys