One hundred days of listening, learning and connecting have given Maarten van Schaik a first-hand view of the 4TU.Impact community. As programme manager, he has explored perspectives and opportunities across the four universities of technology. Now the focus is on strengthening those connections to create greater impact for society.
Ask Maarten what gave him energy during his first hundred days as programme manager of 4TU.Impact, and his answer is clear: the many conversations he had across the 4TU community. âCoffee helped,â he laughs, âbut it was really the conversations that mattered.â
From students to directors, these conversations have helped him understand the people, ideas and initiatives within and around 4TU.Impact.
Making connections comes naturally to Maarten. He describes himself as curious and a jack of all trades. Rather than being a specialist who knows everything about one particular subject, he is a generalist who looks for relationships between people, ideas and initiatives.
Listening first: understanding the 4TU.Impact community
Maarten was already familiar with 4TU when he started his new role. 4TU.Impact, however, was much less familiar territory. He was therefore curious to discover what collaboration between the four universities of technology looked like in practice. One of the things that stood out was peopleâs willingness to share knowledge and experience.
The close-knit 4TU.Impact community also surprised him. His first months were therefore largely about listening: understanding how people work, the obstacles and opportunities they see, and how these relate to 4TU.Impactâs wider ambitions.
Working at the intersection of strategy and community
That approach builds on Maartenâs previous experience in alumni relations at Wageningen University & Research and community management at EAGE (European Association of Geoscientists & Engineers), where he worked at the intersection of strategy and community. At 4TU.Impact, the context is more complex: four universities bring different perspectives and interests, something he sees as both a challenge and an opportunity. That diversity is precisely what attracted Maarten to the role.
Many opportunities, but attention is limited
Maarten sees many opportunities for 4TU to work together, from encouraging entrepreneurship and joining forces around shared missions to making better use of the wider 4TU network, including 4TU.Alumni. But with many developments competing for attention, collaboration does not happen automatically. He sees his role as connecting people and initiatives and keeping the community engaged.
Looking ahead
With a new strategic period for 4TU on the horizon, Maarten is looking ahead. "There are exciting developments ahead for 4TU.Impact. We're currently shaping a number of ambitious plans together with our stakeholders. It's a bit too early to share them publicly, but I look forward to discussing them with the community in the near future."
From making connections to deepening relationships
Maarten sums up his first hundred days in three words: energy, learning and connecting. And the learning is far from over. At the end of introductory conversations, Maarten often asks the same question: Which book, podcast or article should I explore to better understand your work?
After one hundred days, he has not received the same recommendation twice. âSo there is still plenty for me to learn.â His first hundred days were primarily about meeting people and making connections. The next hundred will be about deepening those relationships.
Although there will always be room for another cup of coffee and another conversation.