Performance proposal University of Twente ambitious and ’very good’

4 October 2012

In its final advise to the State Secretary , the Review Committee on Higher Education and Research has given a very positive evaluation of the UT performance proposal. The committee recommends State Secretary for Education, Culture and Science, Halbe Zijlstra, to consider the UT being eligible for both conditional funding and resources from the selective budget.

In a recommendation addressed to State Secretary Zijlstra the Review Committee rates the UT performance proposal, which is the basis for a performance agreement with the State Secretary, as ‘very good’. This recommendation is based on an evaluation of the UT proposal using the following three criteria: 1) level of ambition, 2) alignment with the development of Higher Education in the Netherlands as preferred by the Dutch Government and 3) feasibility. The committee’s conclusion is that based on the proposal the UT is eligible for both the conditional funding and for an allocation from the selective budget. With respect to the latter, the proposal is ranked in the category ‘very good’.

The UT is pleased with the committee’s conclusion as it allows the university to continue working on high-quality and future-proof education, on focused research of continued excellence, on constantly improving the already impressive valorisation achievements and on its collaboration with others.

As of calendar year 2013 seven per cent of the government funding for the higher education institutes will depend on the realization of the performance agreements between the individual institutes and the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science. These agreements will be signed before the end of this year. In the UT’s case several million Euros are involved annually. With the positive recommendation of the Review Committee, the UT will continue to receive its financial support from the Ministry for improving its educational performance. It will receive an extra 2% from the selective budget, intended for speeding up selected improvements in education, research and valorisation. The actual sum amount will be announced later.

According to the committee, the UT is taking numerous positive measures with regard to the development of the curriculum and differentiation in education. By doing so the UT is striving to substantially increase the pass rate of its bachelor programmes, even beyond the ambitions of the other technical universities. At the same time much attention is being paid to the excellence programmes, such as the launch of the unique University College “ATLAS” - the first Liberal Arts and Sciences College with an explicit engineering profile - in September 2013. The same date will also herald the start of the new Twente Educational Model which aims to increase the appeal, quality and pass rate of the UT bachelor programmes and which, according to the committee, is an example of “the UT’s sound policy on differentiation in education”.

The Review Committee also remarks that the proposals for research and economic en societal impact show a strong commitment to collaboration on national and European priority themes. The UT is home to cutting-edge research on three converging technologies, nanotechnology, biomedical technology and ICT, combined with the associated disciplines of governance and behaviour. This High Tech, Human Touch combination is what makes the UT unique. These fields of research join forces to address the important societal issues such as sustainable energy, health, water, infrastructure and mobility, safety and learning. The extent to which the UT topics are connected with the Dutch policy for top sectors is shown by the UT’s substantial involvement in no fewer than eight of the nine top sectors: Chemicals, Energy, Agrofood, Logistics, Water, High Tech Material & Systems, Creative Industry and Life Sciences.

“In the field of economic en societal impact the UT has already realised a great deal. Its professional organisation and entrepreneurial culture enhances the committee’s confidence in a successful execution of the new plans to expand the economic en societal impact.”

Note for the Press: Contact information Bertyl Lankhaar, spokesperson for the Executive Board, Telephone +31 (0)53 489 2210 or E-mail: b.g.lankhaar@utwente.nl

Supplementary information: Click here for a press bulletin of the VSNU (Association of Universities in the Netherlands) concerning the proposals of all the Dutch universities and the recommendations of the review committee.

Contact person
Bertyl Lankhaar, Spokesperson, tel +31 53 489 2210