New Department Board working energetically on the future of Chemical Engineering & Chemistry

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Decaan Jos Keurentjes en rector Silvia Lenaerts. Foto’s: Angeline Swinkels
Decaan Jos Keurentjes en rector Silvia Lenaerts. Foto’s: Angeline Swinkels en Freekje Groenemans
The Executive Board recently appointed a new Department Board for the Chemical Engineering & Chemistry department. Their challenge is a considerable one since there is much that needs attention. However, Jos Keurentjes, the new dean, also sees great opportunities and has a clear picture of the way forward. Rector Silvia Lenaerts and Keurentjes set out their vision of the future for the department.

Lenaerts, a chemist herself by education, likes to emphasize how vital the CE&C department is to TU/e. "We think a chemical engineering and chemistry department is essential for our university," she says. "Chemistry, like physics and mathematics, is a basic discipline needed to support the other departments. Moreover, high-quality research in chemistry, process technology, and materials is indispensable for the societal transition to a more sustainable economy."

No easy challenge

The Chemical Engineering & Chemistry department is known for its scientific excellence and many major personal research grants. Nevertheless, not everything has been at a crescendo in recent years. Therefore, The Executive Board kept its finger on the pulse for quite a while, spoke with many stakeholders, and requested former dean Jaap Schouten to present a thorough picture of the state of affairs last year.


Guided by the Schouten report, the Executive Board sought a decisive new Department Board. At the end of last month, Jos Keurentjes was appointed dean. He had been a professor at the CE&C department from 1997 to 2007 before moving on to management roles at AkzoNobel, TNO, and the University of Twente, among others. Lenaerts: "What lies ahead is no easy challenge, but with his background, ideas, and drive, Jos is the ideal person to achieve a future-proof and stable department."

Contribution to the world

Although Keurentjes has only been at work for a few weeks, he has already met with all the group’s staff, presenting his first ideas to them. Keurentjes: "Traditionally, the department has been divided into separate disciplines and groups. However, the domain of this department lies at the heart of several major societal challenges, such as the energy transition, the transition from fossil to renewable resources, and the circular economy. For me, this is where the rethink for the organization should begin: we need to focus much more on these societal themes and form clusters around them, with the disciplines supporting them."

"It is a shift that is evident at universities abroad. This is the picture I presented during my discussions with the research groups, and the reactions to this were mostly positive, although there were, of course, questions about how to organize this. But I feel that many share a sense of urgency. I therefore want to formulate ambitions and goals for the department for ten years from now: what contribution will we make to the world around us then?"

Collaboration

Furthermore, Keurentjes sees great opportunities for the department by seeking more collaboration. Both inside and outside the university, for example in Brainport and with Chemelot as well as in Europe. "In recent years, the department has been rather heavily preoccupied with itself and consequently has somewhat lost touch with its surroundings. Of course, currently each individual member of staff has a multitude of personal contacts, but we need to join forces and broaden our horizons. We play a crucial role in improving health and care, and I also see a crucial role for us in the high-tech ecosystem of this region. For example, we can do much more for the semicon ecosystem, in which chemistry and chemical technology are enormously important. There are real opportunities there. When the question was asked last week whether the department is viable, I answered with full conviction ’yes, definitely’."

Lack of prospects

During his conversations in recent weeks, Keurentjes saw much that confirmed the findings in the Schouten report, but this was certainly not the case for everyone, and not to the same degree. "I noticed overwhelmingly in the interviews that everyone is very passionate. But many people experience a very high workload along with far-reaching compartmentalization and a lack of prospects. The absence of decisions has led to a lack of clarity about career prospects in many places, especially for young academic staff."

Career Policy

Keurentjes therefore wants to get to work on career policy soon. "There has clearly been a backlog in recent years in the advancement of young assistant professors to associate professors and full professors. A ’fleet review’ is therefore now underway, and that can help us take concrete steps in the coming months."

"In addition, it is important that we waste no time in quickly introducing the PI system [principal-investigator system, which gives young researchers the opportunity to develop their own line of research, ed] and at the same time, as far as I am concerned, an organizational tilt toward societal themes. This should accelerate the ability of young staff to take on their own research responsibilities as well as give them the recognition and visibility to do so."


"I have found that everyone is very eager to contribute to this. That is essential because I can only shape the plans with full support from the department."

Taking decisions

Rector Silvia Lenaerts is pleased with the energetic start of Keurentjes, who is on a one-year appointment in principle. "We wanted to attract an external dean for a year, because he should not be inhibited in taking decisions that would be more difficult if he was also building his own career. He can also look at who could step forward and help take the lead, so that after that year a number of potential deans emerge to be able to continue the building process."

Clarity

"We now need to clarify and make decisions about the department’s strategy to bring about personal transparency and growth for staff and scientific personnel. When Jos hands over the baton, there should be results in terms of research priorities, clusters and career profiles so that as many people as possible feel they can grow in our university. Furthermore, there should be improved internal and external collaboration and trust, and better alignment with overarching teaching, research and valorization policies. We are confident that Jos, together with the new managing director, will make this happen."

Taking decisions

Rector Silvia Lenaerts is pleased with the energetic start of Keurentjes, who is on a one-year appointment in principle. "We wanted to attract an external dean for a year, because he should not be inhibited in taking decisions that would be more difficult if he was also building his own career. He can also look at who could step forward and help take the lead, so that after that year a number of potential deans emerge to be able to continue the building process."

Clarity

"We now need to clarify and make decisions about the department’s strategy to bring about personal transparency and growth for staff and scientific personnel. When Jos hands over the baton, there should be results in terms of research priorities, clusters and career profiles so that as many people as possible feel they can grow in our university. Furthermore, there should be improved internal and external collaboration and trust, and better alignment with overarching teaching, research and valorization policies. We are confident that Jos, together with the new managing director, will make this happen."