‘Prestatiecommissie’ voorziet omvangrijke klus

Vanochtend publiceerde ScienceGuide de naam van voormalig UT-voorzitter Van Vught, nu onder meer onderwijsadviseur van de Europese Commissie. Hij bevestigt zijn nieuwe functie tegenover het HOP en maakt de leden van zijn team bekend, “al moet de commissie nog formeel worden ingesteld”.



Van Vught zal worden geflankeerd door voormalig commissaris van de Koningin in Gelderland Jan Kamminga, UvA-hoogleraar economie Henriëtte Maassen van den Brink en KNMG-voorzitter Arie Nieuwenhuijzen Kruseman. Olchert Brouwer, oud-voorzitter van de Amsterdamse Hogeschool voor de Kunsten en voormalig vicevoorzitter van de NVAO, completeert het vijftal.



“Er is een enorme tijdsdruk”, zegt Van Vught. “Het is de bedoeling dat wij uiterlijk 1 maart een beoordelingskader aan de instellingen sturen. Die moeten dan voor 1 mei hun profileringsplannen en prestatievoorstellen inleveren. Wij worden geacht daarover in het najaar advies uit te brengen aan de staatssecretaris voor elke individuele instelling.”



De commissie, die voor vijf jaar benoemd wordt, zit nog midden in de voorbereidingen, aldus Van Vught. Ze zal jaarlijks de resultaten monitoren en in 2014 een midterm-review schrijven. In 2015 zal ze haar eindadvies uitbrengen en beslist de staatssecretaris over de financiële consequenties.



“De commissie zal waarschijnlijk een beroep kunnen doen op adviseurs. Maar veel meer kan ik u op dit moment nog niet vertellen, u weet nu ongeveer net zoveel als ik. Het lijkt inderdaad een vrij omvangrijke klus te worden.”



Staatssecretaris Zijlstra heeft zeven procent van het reguliere hogeronderwijsbudget gereserveerd om instellingen te belonen die de gemaakte afspraken nakomen. In 2012 is daarvoor tachtig miljoen euro beschikbaar, oplopend naar 260 miljoen in 2015. Daar bovenop kunnen de instellingen die zich ‘goed profileren’ geld krijgen uit een pot van vijftig miljoen.

Student drowns
A 22-year old TU Delft mechanical engineering student drowned Sunday during a weekend trip to a boy scout complex in Capelle aan den IJssel. The student was among a group of fellow members of the Sint Jansbrug’s cabaret club, Abracadabaret. According to police, six members of the group boarded a raft at approximately 4 a.m. in a small canal near the complex. For reasons as yet unknown, four of the six students then fell into the water. Three of them managed to get out of the water safely, but one student remained missing. A police diving teams then searched the waters, but visibility was poor due to the darkness, mud and ice. Divers eventually found the student’s lifeless body some three hours later. The police are still investigating the role that alcohol played in the tragedy.

Student organisers
The TU Delft Science Centre will ask students and scientists studying and working at the university to help organize exhibitions and presentations. In this way the Science Centre hopes to fill some of the tasks currently being performed by members of the centre’s permanent staff. The museum is currently undergoing a reorganisation. Technology will be emphasized in future.

Draft law
Despite the series of recent student protests, the Dutch government has published a draft law in which fines are given to students who study too long. The government has dropped the plan to also fine universities for their slow progressing students. Universities must now find other ways to cut 190 million euros. The student unions have reacted angrily to the draft law and now hope that it will not pass through Parliament. But if it does, the unions are considering initiating legal proceedings.

Vici I
Three TU Delft researchers have been awarded Vici grants worth 1.5 million euro each by the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). Philosopher Ibo van de Poel will conduct research into the advantages and dangers that new technologies, such as biotechnology and nanotechnology, present to society. Van de Poel sees technological developments as social experiments and intends to investigate whether these kinds of experiments are admissible: “Although technologies such as biotechnology, nanotechnology and nuclear energy can involve significant advantages for society, they also entail a certain degree of risk. For example, nanoparticles could actually be toxic or carcinogenic.”

Vici II
Professor Paul Hekkert, of the faculty of Industrial Design Engineering, will use his Vici grant to study the aesthetic experience of everyday products. His hypothesis is that product aesthetics appeal to two extremes: the human need for security and the desire for change. Prof. Hekkert is interested in finding answers to questions such as: what do we find beautiful or pleasant to use, why do we feel this way, and how can designers use this information when designing products. “A simple example is the new Mini Cooper,” he explains. “This little car has enough in common with the familiar, ‘safe’ model from the 1960s and 70s, yet also enough new aspects to appeal to the desire for change and progress.”

Vici III
The third Vici grant was awarded to Erik Bakkers, a researcher at TU Eindhoven and part-time professor at TU Delft’s quantum transport section (Applied Sciences). His research will focus on semiconducting nanowires that might one day be used in a quantum computer.

Global Holland
The Dutch economy ranked eighth on a globalisation index of the world’s 60 largest economies, according to a report titled ‘Winning in a Polycentric World’ co-published last week by Ernst & Young accountancy firm and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). The report measures globalisation according to 20 indicators in five categories: openness to trade, movements of capital, technology and intellectual exchange, labour movements and cultural integration. The Netherlands received high grades in the first three categories, but received lower marks for the latter two categories, which are of particular interest to international students contemplating post-university careers in the Netherlands. Hong Kong, Ireland and Singapore ranked as the top three countries on the globalisation index.