• The University
  • 27/06/2024

TU/e looking for new president of Executive Board

The TU/e will search for a new president of the Executive Board starting in July, writes the university in its strategy update. The current president, Robert-Jan Smits, is retiring. He will step down in April 2025.

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photo Freekje Groenemans Fotografie

It had been known for some time now that Smits would stop next year, but not when he would retire. That is now officially announced.

The university will begin the search for his successor in early July and will also publish the vacancy for the presidency at that time. Smits will remain in office until April 2025. He has been president of the Executive Board since 2019. During that time, he had to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the growth of the Brainport region and the Beethoven project.

Before his role at TU/e, he was Director-General of Research and Innovation at the European Commission. In that position, he was one of the architects of the Horizon 2020 program, which funded hundreds of research projects worth 80 billion euros from 2014 to 2020.

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