Jasper's day
Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.
Monday 26 May – ‘I settle in between Leuven and Bologna and let the Polish polonaise pass me by’
‘I wake up feeling cheerful: next to my bed is a carefully packed suitcase. This afternoon, I’m flying to Krakow to attend Una Europa’s annual General Assembly. From there, I’ll travel on to Indonesia and Singapore, where I’ll visit universities, ministries and embassies with colleagues from the faculty. It’s going to be a period full of meetings and travel. In Indonesia, we’ll be travelling by train – something I haven’t done there before. I’ve heard it’s beautiful, and also quick and comfortable. I’m looking forward to it.
As always on a departure day, there’s a rush of last-minute things to sort out. It’s a bit more complicated this time, with both Xuefei and Jasmijn abroad, which means we’ve had to make a few extra arrangements for Kamiel. Luckily, his favourite aunt is stepping in to help out, so he’s really not too bothered.
I’ve still got a few meetings in the morning. One of them is about Knowledge security, the security of our scientific data. As agreed, our faculty will soon be switching over to the new university-wide approach. We were originally aiming for 1 June, but it turns out implementing it properly within our faculty requires more work than we expected. So, we’ve had to push the date back to 1 October. Our faculty faces by far the most knowledge security issues of all the faculties, so for us, doing this carefully is the top priority. We’re glad we can work closely with the central university team on this.
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View from the plane approaching Krakow -
Cloth Hall in Krakow’s old town -
UNA dinner -
Staircase with all UNA partner names
At 1 o’clock I board the train to Schiphol. Before my flight, I manage to tie up a few loose ends. The rest of the waiting time I spend preparing for the upcoming meetings in Krakow. UNA Europa meetings are complex. Getting eleven excellent, but independently-minded, universities to agree on future plans, priorities and potential investments in joint programmes is never easy. I co-chair the group responsible for research strategy and by now, I’ve gained quite a bit of experience within the alliance. It’s crucial to have a clear view of what we want in Leiden and to bring those ideas to the table at the right moment. And since the meetings are usually too short for everyone to speak at length, it helps to get others on board with our position beforehand.
I truly believe this alliance can offer us a lot. Especially for early-career researchers, it can be a powerful way to build a strong network. PhD candidates, too, benefit from the opportunity to join summer and winter schools and collaborate with well-known, high-quality partners. There’s also the added bonus of easier access to specific research infrastructure. My aim is to turn these patient paper plans into real-world practice. Everything I’m doing over the next two days – in three key meetings – is geared towards encouraging our partners to make this a shared priority.
Around half past five we land in Krakow. I quickly find the train into town – everything’s well organised here. I decide to walk to the hotel through the beautiful old town, about a half-hour stroll. Unfortunately, halfway there, it starts pouring, and I arrive completely soaked. I just have time to drop my suitcase in my room before heading out again at half past six for dinner with the delegations from all eleven partners. I settle in between Leuven and Bologna and have a great evening, using the time to align on a few points with some colleagues. I watch the Polish polonaise go by with a mix of curiosity and amusement. Around half past ten, I walk back to the hotel with some colleagues from Leiden. I check in briefly with home – everyone scattered across the globe – and go over the main meeting documents one last time before switching off the light around midnight. My suitcase stands ready beside my bed again – and will do so for a while yet. Though not always next to the same bed.’