Rector Magnificus Bert van der Zwaan of Utrecht University, a strategic partner university of TU/e, will be one of the speakers next week Thursday at the celebrations marking the university's sixty-first year. Van der Zwaan has authored the book, Haalt de universiteit 2040? [Will universities still be around in 2040?], which appeared in November.

In his book, the Rector Magnificus of Utrecht calls for a radical reform of the higher education system in the Netherlands. With the withdrawal of government involvement and the huge influx of students, he foresees that education in the Netherlands will eventually become prohibitively expensive. This will lead to more privatization and, ultimately, to a social divide.

Van der Zwaan also addresses the problem within the academic world of the strong pressure to publish and, he believes, Europe is losing its competitive edge in the race for talent and innovation thanks to the rapid Asian development of mega-cities, and the large knowledge ecosystems that are emerging there.

The solution lies, he believes, in more selective admissions to university education and an investment in higher vocational education, so that universities can become smaller and better. He also thinks that institutions must start collaborating more closely, enabling education clusters and metropolitan economic regions to unite in taking on competition from other regions of the world.

Super brands

Patrick Aebischer, who until the end of last year was President of the Swiss EPFL, will talk mainly about the development of his university in the sixteen years that it was under his leadership. In this period Aebischer succeeded in transforming EPFL into a university of international stature, which included his introduction of the American research model involving tenure tracks.

He was also very successful in securing endowments, for which the counter now stands at one billion euros. Aebischer emphasizes that this is governed by strict rules: donators have no control over the research. The emergence of a number of elite universities in Europe is something he views as necessary if Europe is to continue to play a role of global importance. “You have to build super brands in order to attract the best people.”

TU/e researcher Ilja Voets will give us a brief insight into her research at the Department of Chemical Engineering and Chemistry. About a year ago, she and scientists from the United States and Canada received much praise for research  on antifreeze proteins. These are proteins that inhibit the growth of ice crystals, which makes them interesting for a wide range of applications; from defrosting spray and road salt to extending the shelf life of frozen food and organs.

Honorary doctorate

This year Rector Magnificus Frank Baaijens is awarding an honorary doctorate to Professor Lars Arge of Aarhus University, Denmark. Arge is a pioneer in the theory of I/O-efficient algorithms, which are vital to the efficient study of big data. He is the founder and director of the Center for Massive Data Algorithmics (MADALGO), a leading Danish research institute, and he is the chairperson of the board of SCALGO, a company that delivers the latest algorithmic technology necessary for the efficient analysis of massive terrain data.

In addition he is currently Secretary General of the Danish Royal Academy of Sciences and Letters. In the past Arge has worked with the Eindhoven honorary supervisor Professor Mark de Berg and Dr Herman Haverkort of the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science. A symposium for the honorary doctor will be held on April 21.

The university's sixty-first Foundation Day is being celebrated on Thursday April 20, 2017 at 15.30 hrs in the Paterskerk, Tramstraat 37 in Eindhoven. Everyone is most welcome. Registration is not required. Guests are kindly requested to be present in the church at 15.15 hrs. Proceedings can be followed live on the day by a live stream. The church event will be followed by a reception from 17.15 hrs until 18.30 hrs in Hotel Pullman Eindhoven Cocagne, Vestdijk 47, 5611 CA Eindhoven.