Profile

CTIT (Centre for Telematics and Information Technology) of the University of Twente is one the largest academic ICT research institutes in the Netherlands. Over 375 researchers actively participate in the research programme; the 2012 budget amounts to 29 M-€. CTIT closely cooperates with many public and private organisations, and is part of the Netherlands Institute for Research on ICT (NIRICT), a cooperation of the three technical universities in the Netherlands (Delft, Eindhoven and Twente).

Combining knowledge of ICT systems and applications

Research is more and more done in a thematic way. Therefore, it is of growing importance for research institutes to be involved in the phase when the research agendas are defined (creating access to funding for the research groups) and to participate in large national consortia formed around these research agendas. To strengthen the bond between ICT and its applications and to create sufficient critical mass around a limited number of strategic areas, CTIT has bundled its research activities into six important ICT themes. These six Strategic Research Orientations combine high-quality research from at least five research groups and have sufficient visibility, focus and mass to play an important role at the (inter)national level.

Because CTIT is organized in this way, the institute is able to play a central role in the selection and formulation of the relevant national research and innovation agendas. Having SROs with sufficient critical mass and focus also proved to be a successful strategy with national research consortia as COMMIT, as well as to become partner in the recent discussions around the Topsectors. The leading role of CTIT is not only visible in the increase in volume of externally funded research and the active role in national policy discussions about ICT, but also in the increase in quality of research, the increase in valorisation impact and the substantial role in NIRICT, CeDICT. CTIT scientists are well embedded in their international research environment, and partipate on an annual base in more than 30 European Framework projects. CTIT was co-initiator of EIT.ICT Labs, and participates in it through NIRICT.

ICT is at the heart of innovation. The integration of technology-based research and its application in specific domains has become a clear focus of CTIT. The use of ICT in key application areas, and access to all the base competencies needed to realize this, gives the institute a unique position. This is reflected in close ties with industry and, for example, special connections with high-tech start-up companies. The institute has an average of approx. 5 spin-off companies a year, and currently more than 30 UT spin-off companies have strong bonds with CTIT, facilitating a natural flow from knowledge to products and services. Also the ties with TNO ICT, Embedded Systems Institute (ESI), Telematics Institute (TI), CWI, and also with more application-oriented organizations such as the rehabilitation centre ‘t Roessingh and ITC are stronger than ever. The recognition among these institutes that we need each other to cover the whole innovation chain, each with our own expertise, is there.

There is an enormous drive for growth and change available in the ICT domain. The upcoming years will be crucial for the position of ICT research, both academic and industrial. The growing cooperation among the three Universities of Technology through the 3TU centre-of-competence NIRICT (Netherlands Institute for Research on ICT) and the 3TU Centre-of-Excellence Dependable ICT Systems (CeDICT), with institutes like TNO ICT, ESI, TI, and CWI, among industrial R&D labs (Philips, Thales, NXP, ASML, Océ, to name a few), and among companies in general should make the Netherlands a leading ICT R&D region in the extending Europe. At the same time, the (inter)national visibility of CTIT has increased considerably. The organization has proven to be a strong basis for scientific progress and interaction. The multidisciplinary programs strongly support scientific communication, and are an outstanding stimulus for top-level research. This can be seen from the excellent external funding attracted by the institute.

Integration of technology-based research and its application in specific domains is a clear focus of CTIT. The spectrum of groups involved ranges from primarily technology oriented towards highly application oriented. This broad participation is a key condition to enable fast response to the needs of multidisciplinary research. Research groups of the Electrical engineering, Mathematics & Computer Science faculty provide a solid technological foundation through their contribution to ICT systems research. These research groups interact intensively with disciplines which are oriented more towards ICT applications research, such as Management & Governance, Engineering Technology (traffic and transport systems, product development, virtual reality) and Behavioural Sciences.

Partnership

By deliberately choosing to combine technology and application oriented research, CTIT has situated itself in a unique position. Exploiting a thorough knowledge of operational processes in specific application areas to identify ICT needs in that area, and at the same time being able to fill in these needs based on the latest technological developments, is a combination that is seldom present in one research institute. The unique multi-disciplinary approach makes the institute an attractive partner: the institute maintains an extensive international network of contacts and working relations with academia and industry. This network includes ICT and manufacturing companies, universities and research institutes, health care organisations, financial institutes, governmental organisations, and logistics service providers.