Jasper’s day – From Beijing to Paris to Leiden
Thursday 15 January starts with a long journey and ends with an equally long working day full of current issues. Jasper visits the Mathematical Institute with the scientific directors of our faculty and attends a meeting on collaboration with the Ministry of defence.
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.
‘The day starts ten kilometres above the ground, without a clear sense of time or place. I’m travelling from Beijing to Paris and, after a largely sleepless night, on to Schiphol. I’ve been in Xi’an with colleagues Marcello Bonsangue, Martin Bright and Yun Tian to discuss further collaboration with our partner Xi’an JiaoTong University.
The meetings went well and offer plenty of promise for the future. Xi’an JiaoTong University is one of China’s top ten universities. As a faculty, we’ve been working together for more than ten years in education and research, including through joint PhD programmes.’
Long live the short-connection pass
Because of headwinds, today’s flight to Paris takes longer than expected. On top of that, we leave late because the aircraft needs to be de-iced before departure. The result: we arrive in Paris far behind schedule. When we reach the gate, we have just 35 minutes to get to the gate for Schiphol. That gate is in another terminal, via the Schengen area and, of course, a security check. Thanks to a ‘short-connection pass’, we just make it. Three minutes before boarding, we’re at the gate.
The flight to Schiphol is short. The sun is coming up, making for some beautiful views. I quickly read through a document for this afternoon. From Schiphol, I take the train to Leiden. By a quarter to eleven, I’m at the office. I catch up with colleagues at the faculty office and work through a few emails.
At noon, we have an informal lunch meeting with the scientific directors. We’re visiting the Mathematical Institute, where director Gianne Derks gives us a short tour. In her presentation, she talks about the excellent work being done here and about collaboration with the other institutes.
Diversity and inclusion are essential
After that, we discuss emerging topics, such as encouraging spin-out companies based on research within the institutes. We also talk about the New Year’s reception, including the presentation of the faculty awards and the announcement of the theme leaders for our research themes. Although diversity is a clear priority within our faculty, we did not succeed in reflecting that here. I find that deeply disappointing.
Diversity and inclusion are essential to a strong, future-proof faculty. That is why they are part of our strategic plan and why, in line with our implementation agenda, we will be working on them actively this year. Together, we will consider how to embed this properly, so that diversity and inclusion are visible in everything we do.
Working with Defence – yes or no?
After lunch, I have a one-to-one meeting with one of the scientific directors and an agenda meeting with Carey. The long day ends with a faculty-wide meeting on possible collaboration with defence. The focus is not so much on which topics we should or should not work on, but on giving our staff the space to talk to each other about this sensitive issue and to form their own views. What different perspectives are there?
The meeting has two sessions. The first is informative, with presentations by Thomas Dohmen and Anouschka Verschleijen (both from Luris) and by Frans Osinga, Professor of War Studies at the Faculty of Governance and Global Affairs. Osinga’s presentation, in particular, on current global tensions and Europe’s position, makes a strong impression. After a short break, the Lorentz Center leads an engaging second session. Participants are invited to discuss collaboration with defence in pairs and later in groups of three: whether or not to collaborate, on which topics, and under what conditions.
At the end of the session, many people take the opportunity to share where they now stand. What is striking is that a large majority indicate that, in light of the situation in the world, they are (much) more open to cooperation with the defence sector than they were a few years ago.
My international dilemma
In my closing remarks, I outline the dilemma I’m grappling with. I’ve just returned from China, where I was strengthening an existing partnership. I strongly believe in international collaboration: for our university (staff, students, programmes), for our partners, and as part of ‘science diplomacy’. Especially in education and research, maintaining connections and keeping dialogue between countries alive matters. At the same time, I also see the importance of a resilient Europe and hear the call to contribute to strengthening it. The tension between these two perspectives is significant, with knowledge security as a crucial issue in between. It saddens me deeply that this is the state of the world we’re in. I sincerely hope that universities can help to break this downward geopolitical spiral and increasing polarisation, rather than becoming part of it.
I briefly join the drinks afterwards and am home by seven, where everyone is doing well. The leak in the central heating system that I left behind last week has, bizarrely enough, stopped on its own. I can’t bring myself to worry about it tonight. After dinner, I quickly prepare for a job interview tomorrow and make sure I’m in bed by ten. Fragments of the journey and the long day keep running through my head, and sleep comes less easily than I’d expected.’