Since 2011 Elphi Nelissen has been a professor and the first female dean of the Built Environment department at TU/e. She is enthusiastic about her new role. "I can learn a lot from it and it is good for the link-up between TU/e and the provincial and national agendas. For myself, I see this as an opportunity to learn about an entirely different kind of organization. And I hope that my experience and knowledge can contribute to innovation in the region and the future of Brabant."

Provincial Executive member Christophe van der Maat: “With her wide knowledge and experience in business along with her excellent Brabant network, Ms Nelissen is the perfect candidate to chair the Brabant Socio-Economic Council and make a good contribution to the new BrabantAdvies advisory system. She is intrinsically very well informed of the latest developments in the new economy having been active for some years in the field of innovative building and technology. Especially in terms of the developments occurring in technology, education and employment in the near future, Ms Nelissen, as chair of SER Brabant, can be hugely significant for Brabant.”

Brabant Socio-Economic Council (SER) advises the provincial council on the main thrust of the socio-economic policy that has to be implemented. In BrabantAdvies the Provincial Health Council (PRG), Brabant Socio-Economic Council (SER) and the Provincial Environment Committee (POC) collaborate to help improve policy and the political debate around it. Recommendations concern topics that are directly or consequentially important for the key tasks of the province.

The board of SER Brabant comprises an independent chair, seven employer association members, seven trade union members and five representatives from the regional chambers of commerce. The board meets six times a year and is supported by a full-time secretary and a part-time management assistant.

Recommendations are generated by four committees: economy & innovation, education & employment, space & environment, mobility & infrastructure. SER Brabant advises exclusively the province of Noord-Brabant. The organization’s activities are subsidized by the province, the national SER and the regional chambers of commerce.

Source: TU/e press team