He isn't here to discuss what happened to him some years back, he says. But eventually he was able to return to his post at Finance & Control. This and his present opportunity, the advisory role that means he can carry on generating new ideas with colleagues, are sources of joy to him. “A fine example of good employership,” is how Ruud van de Donk describes the situation in hindsight. His position, he says, is “the best job” at “the finest university”.

A recollection of past events by the spider in the financial web of the university; that's how he saw his former role at TU/e. He likes to give it the acronym that also identifies his favorite soccer club: PSV, which stands, in this case, for Planning, Sturing and Verantwoording (Planning, Management and Accountability). “At Finance & Control we can show everyone which direction the university can or should take, and we do that in a responsible way. We also offer advice across a broad range of fields and, if need be, we can adjust the course taken. At the end of the day, we're accountable for our work in the annual accounts.”

Rise in turnover

Van de Donk names the largest clusters on which the university's financial resources are spent: staff costs (some 60 percent of the budget) and real estate. A look at the long-range planning shows that the university's turnover is set to increase considerably in the coming years: from close to 380 million in 2022 to an expected 500 million in 2026.

That's a sharp rise in the space of a few years; what's the root cause? Van de Donk: “Sure, it will come as news to some people at our university that in a couple of years' time we'll be achieving a turnover of half a billion. And we're a relatively small university. It's attributable to a number of factors. For example, in the coming years we'll really see the financial impact of the huge growth we've experienced in recent years in terms of student numbers. This is because the state funding the university receives in recognition of its student numbers is largely paid out after the student graduates. In addition, the tuition fee has been re-indexed in recent years, which means the university collects more money. And we'll be receiving extra studievoorschotmiddelen [institutional funding available under the student loan system, ed.] and funding under the sector plans – budgeted at roughly 10 million in 2023 – and we're participating in a couple of large Gravitation Programs, under which we also receive funding every year.”

Stable pattern

It is very much to the university's benefit, says Van de Donk, that for many years now Eindhoven university's administrative units – nine departments and ten support services – have been set in a stable pattern. This creates stability and means there's no need to continually reorganize the university's financial structures.

He believes this creates the scope to finance new policy directions, such as the four research institutes, for which several tens of millions of euros have been made available. And for initiatives like the Irène Curie Fellowship program, or for laying out plans for more social safety and the costs this involves. "Those last budget items don't involve a lot of work because they don't directly involve very large sums,” says the former director. “But of course we set aside funding for them in the budget.”

Proud

Looking back over the past eleven years, what is Van de Donk most proud of? “The setting up and launch of JADS in Den Bosch in 2015 in the former Mariënburg convent. That's something I'd have to mention. I still think it's fabulous how TU/e managed to get that off the ground and financed, working in close cooperation with Tilburg University, the municipality of Den Bosch and the Province of North Brabant. Something else: when we lost the FES funding [extra research funding financed by government from natural gas revenues, ed.] in 2011, we did a really good job of plugging the gap by introducing the Impuls program. That boosted our cooperation with trade and industry and created a lot of extra doctoral positions.”

An agreement that Van de Donk managed to reach with the Dutch tax authorities and that relates to that part of the university's education and research on which a VAT refund can be claimed, resulted in an unexpected windfall for the university of about twenty million euros, he says, smiling broadly. “It meant investing heavily in the relationship we had built up with our tax inspector, which took us a couple of years. It was a real team achievement but it's a little known fact even in the corridors of TU/e. Since then many other universities have pricked up their ears and are wondering how we managed it.”

Switch

So, Van de Donk has left his directorship as of April 1st and will act as advisor to the Executive Board. About the department he is leaving behind him, he says that its staff work very hard and that keeping all the balls aloft is a challenge, as is the recruitment of enough well-qualified new people. All of which, he believes, only increases the work pressure.

“Recruiting suitable people is a highly competitive business, and not only for our department.” His advice for his successor is clear: “Trust the heads of department within the TU/e service. As director you're this institution's treasurer - to use an old word - and responsible for keeping it financially healthy. F&C does this across a broad range of fields, from the financial arrangements for all kinds of research projects to the financing of the university's real estate. That's why this position requires empathy and subtle intuition.” Installed in his new role, Van de Donk would be happy to lend a helping hand.