Vinod Subramaniam (University of Twente): “We need to stop thinking small.”

“We need to broaden our perspective”

Subramaniam immediately sets the tone during the Masterclass on portfolio management for universities when he remarks: “We’re not competing with each other, but with Shanghai.” He later clarifies: “As institutions, we shouldn’t act out of self-interest. We need to broaden our view. The Netherlands has 18 million people, and I grew up in an Indian city with 25 million inhabitants. We need to stop thinking small. We need to optimise the local context in order to serve a global agenda.”

He also puts this into practice at the University of Twente, as he elaborates on how his university seeks collaboration. He expresses genuine concern about the challenges faced by Saxion University of Applied Sciences, which directly impact the University of Twente. “The Civil Engineering programme is struggling at the university of applied sciences, but civil engineering is vital to the region. That’s why Saxion and we are exploring ways to join forces, such as combining the first year of the programme. Other institutions are exploring this too. The advantage for students is that they can decide later whether to continue at a university of applied sciences or a university. We want to move forward together. Our worlds are not separate. In that sense, we aim to be pioneers of the regional agenda.”

“This university has always been a pioneer. Public Administration didn’t exist in the Netherlands until we launched it fifty years ago. Now it’s offered at many universities. Technical Medicine is another example. It’s our way of responding to the needs of today’s generation.”

In Subramaniam’s view, Dutch universities could do much more to respond to societal change. “We’re still offering degree programmes designed twenty, thirty, or even forty years ago, based on the thinking of that time, while today’s students are looking for something completely different. They ask me: where is the climate? Where is sustainability? Where are the energy partnerships? You have to move with the times and consider what society truly needs. Of course, you need a classical foundation – physics and chemistry – but you don’t need to do everything. You have to make deliberate choices. We no longer focus on traditional process technology – others do that. We’ve chosen different focus areas: membranes, sustainable process technology, mesoscale systems. This is a strategic decision to set ourselves apart.”

That naturally goes hand in hand with fundamental scientific research. “Research and education are intrinsically linked,” says Subramaniam. While research is not solely regionally focused, it is always in service of a larger purpose. “We conduct a lot of fundamental research, but it’s driven by real-world problems. We have outstanding researchers inspired by the challenges at ASML and other companies. These are our Spinoza and Stevin Prize winners. Take Detlef Lohse, a theoretical physicist working in fluid dynamics. He’s won every prize you can win – except the Nobel. He’s worked with Océ on inkjet printing, with ASML on tin droplets, with Philips, and many others. You can’t say he doesn’t do fundamental research, but his work is sparked by the questions these companies face.”