The University of Twente concluded a strategic collaboration agreement with the Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey during last week’s visit to the United States. A UT delegation consisting of Rector Magnificus Ed Brinksma and BMS dean Theo Toonen received a warm welcome from the research university and a Letter of Intent was signed in confirmation of the collaborative aspirations.
Over the coming period the University of Twente and Stevens Institute of Technology intend to further shape their joint intentions and efforts. What is clear, however, is that the asset that is the University of Twente's social science expertise will play a key role in the process. Stevens is a technical university with a strong interest in the link between social and technical sciences; a discipline the University of Twente with its High Tech Human Touch is well versed in. For the University of Twente, this collaboration rhymes well with the existing internationalization policy, which sees the UT seek out and establish connections with strategic partners across a global network.
Launching project
The collaboration will be substantiated with concrete proposals and projects from the very start. As early as this month the universities will commence a launching project. This project will see an exchange of students and staff, who will work on the theme of urban intelligence and water safety. The project is a continuation of the Dutch-American Rebuild by Design (RBD) initiative currently underway, under the lead of Henk Ovink as the Dutch government's Special Water Envoy.
"We bring to the table our expertise in technology, management-organisation and policy," explains dean Theo Toonen. "In return, we can learn from their experience in handling disasters and crisis situations. Their recent experiences with hurricane Sandy and the consequences for a large metropolitan area provide invaluable input."
Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevens Institute of Technology was founded in 1870 and is the Alma Mater of Frederick Taylor (1856 - 1915), one of the founders of Scientific Management. Stevens is one of the oldest technical universities in the United States. The university's campus with its 7000 students is located in Hoboken (New Jersey), opposite Manhattan on the west bank of the Hudson River. In the presence of Minister Koenders (Foreign Affairs), among others, Hoboken was recently recognised as one of the ‘cities’ in the Rockefeller Foundation's 100 Resilient Cities Project. Stevens encompasses three large international expertise centres and specialises in themes such as enterprise systems and systems engineering for financial markets, health, urban development, energy, maritime safety, infrastructure and sustainable coastal regions.
