What do you think are the job prospects for students who will graduate at the end of this year, so the beginning of July, from the TU/e?
"The economy in Brainport is robust. The high-tech manufacturing industry is doing relatively well, also in these difficult times. Many companies are at work, adhering to production environments set up to observe the one and a half metres distance requirement. In my opinion, this will stay like this. Many companies and organisations in our region work in markets in which we expect to have a healthy demand in the future as well. Solutions for digitalisation? That demand will stay. Solutions for sustainably? That too, will remain. Medical equipment? That demand will also persist. We work in markets with great social demand. This gives us trust in the future. And precisely our model, in which we do not only make up patents, but also industrialise them here, seems to fit well with the geopolitical Zeitgeist."

Many of those graduates - the TU/e often refers to around 80 percent - get their first job in the Brainport region. Do you think that will still be possible?
"Yes, I trust this will be possible. Before corona, there was already a high demand for technical talent, and in my view, that has not suddenly changed. In addition, a small proportion of those graduates become entrepreneurs in a start-up, and yes, for them, these are uncertain times. After all, it is currently more difficult to find external funding opportunities. Thankfully, in the Netherlands and in the region generally, we are able to set up funds to also help start-ups, not least, because their dynamism and capacity to innovate remains essential to us."

Is it already possible to give an indication of whether it will be difficult to find a job later for graduates from specific education programmes?
"Of course, we do not know how long the current situation will last. However, leaving that aside, I dare to predict that the demand for digitalisation, healthcare solutions, energy transition, and so forth, will remain. In those sectors, job opportunities will remain. Very specifically, you can be sure that the demand for engineers with knowledge of AI will only increase. There lie many future job opportunities."

Does the government have a responsibility to ensure that this generation of graduates will also be able to get a job quickly? To prevent this from becoming a ‘lost generation’?
"That responsibility resides with all of us. First of all, we have to make sure there are enough internships and public-private assignments for students, both of which are not self-evident when companies are being more careful when making new investments. The government most definitely has a role to play in this by continuing to invest in innovation. In the long term, this will give us thousands of jobs in the manufacturing industry in ten years’ time. Emergency measures are phase 1, but longer-term recovery has to come from smart investments."

How about the situation in the regions surrounding the other three technical universities: in Enschede, Delft, and Wageningen? Do you have contacts with people in those regions?
"Universities, especially technical universities, are prerequisites for innovative ecosystems. I have no accurate overview of the exact numbers around those universities, but I do see they have a good position from which to move forward. Ultimately, we will have to strengthen the Netherlands’ economic position by linking new knowledge with new products. Hence, we are very lucky to have those excellent universities."