With the founding of the - at the time - Technische Hogeschool (TH) in Eindhoven, many people mainly think of Philips as the driving force in the background. The first Dies Natalis speech of the TH was indeed delivered by Frits Philips in 1957, but the celebration of that Dies Natalis took place in the canteen of DAF in Eindhoven. At the time, both Philips and DAF, as major employers, made joint efforts for many years to get TH Eindhoven off the ground.  

The sisters Tiny and Anny van Doorne, the eldest daughters of DAF founder Hub van Doorne, placed a part of their fortune in a foundation. Initially, they mainly supported cultural activities in Deurne, where the Van Doorne family comes from.

Scientific activities

In recent years, the foundation also supports scientific activities. For example, there was a donation for Villa Pardoes, a vacation home for seriously ill children. There was also support for the Máxima Medisch Centrum Foundation in Veldhoven for setting up a Woman-Mother-Child Center. And there were donations for research focused on the long-term effects on extremely premature children and for the Prinses Máxima Centrum Foundation in Utrecht for research in the field of pediatric oncology.  

Now, a donation of 120,000 euros follows to the UFe, which uses it to finance a project to diagnose bacterial infections in newborns more quickly. Through a simple blood test and a sticker on the skin, infections should be easily diagnosed. This 'non-invasive' method allows the baby to stay with the mother. A clinical PhD student will conduct research in the Biomedical Diagnostics lab of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering at TU/e. The doctoral student will work together with experts from the Máxima Medical Center. 

Sustainability and health

The involvement of DAF and Philips is no longer as close as in the past. Nowadays it is mainly ASML with which the TU/e collaborates. But operational director Jos Habets of DAF Trucks and former Philips Benelux director Hans de Jong are both on the board of the UFe.  

The UFe supports research themes in the fields of sustainability and health. The fund also supports students from Ukraine or Iran, for example, who have run into financial difficulties due to currency fluctuations or other reasons. A donation from the UFe allows them to continue their studies.