On Monday 31 August, the University of Twente opened the 2026–2027 academic year at Muziekcentrum Enschede. The event also marked the start of UT’s 65th anniversary year. Under the theme Courage, the university reflected on 65 years of entrepreneurship and innovation, while looking firmly ahead: to the challenges of the future and the courage needed to make a difference.
Rector Magnificus Tom Veldkamp welcomed new students, staff, alumni and guests. Alumni played a prominent role throughout the afternoon: almost everyone who took to the stage had once studied at the University of Twente. Among them was Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate and UT alumna Heleen Herbert, who had travelled to Enschede to deliver the keynote despite a busy political agenda and ongoing negotiations in The Hague.
It was also a special day for Herbert personally: it was her birthday. As she took to the stage, the audience joined together to congratulate her, adding a warm and personal touch to the start of her address.
In her keynote, Herbert connected the theme of Courage to the major challenges facing the Netherlands. The Dutch economy and industry need to become more competitive and future-proof; the country must seize the opportunities offered by digitalisation and artificial intelligence while reducing its dependence on other countries for critical technologies and raw materials. At the same time, the Netherlands faces an ageing population and shortages of talent, space, water and energy.
Her central message was clear: it can be done, but only if we work together and have the courage to collaborate across boundaries, share knowledge, take risks and invest in solutions that may not deliver immediate returns.
Herbert knows the university from personal experience. In 1990, she began studying Industrial Engineering and Management at UT. Back then, too, 31 August was her birthday: she celebrated turning 18 during her introduction week. In her speech, she reflected on the sense of community she found in Twente and on Twentse noaberschap: looking out for and helping one another, based on the understanding that we need each other.
According to Herbert, Twente is a prime example of what collaboration can achieve. She praised UT as a driving force behind an ecosystem that brings together people, knowledge, innovation and entrepreneurship. She highlighted Kennispark Twente, Demcon and the MESA+ NanoLab and spoke about developments in areas including medical technology, semiconductors, robotics, new materials, and intelligent and unmanned systems for defence and security.
Veldkamp also explored the human side of Courage in his address. Courage is needed to explore new ideas, ask critical questions and challenge established views. But that courage does not emerge in a vacuum. Courage is not a solo gig was one of the key messages of his contribution.
Students, researchers and staff need one another to achieve results and create societal impact. Trust is essential in this: having the space to ask questions, to try something new without an unsuccessful attempt immediately being seen as failure, and to allow yourself to be vulnerable.
Veldkamp explicitly linked this to social safety. Social safety is not created by policies, procedures and support structures alone, but above all by the way people interact with one another every day. It also means standing up for others when boundaries are crossed.
At the same time, Veldkamp stressed that a socially safe university does not mean that everything should always feel comfortable. Strong opinions can clash. An academic environment should be a place where people can challenge assumptions, ask difficult questions and disagree with one another. Friction is part of that. What matters is having enough trust to deal with that friction.
The reach of entrepreneurship originating in Twente was illustrated by the inaugural presentation of the Van den Kroonenberg Oeuvre Awards. The University Fund Twente honoured four alumni who, as pioneers or driving forces, played a defining role in the development of internationally leading technology companies: Martin van den Brink (ASML), Jitse Groen (Just Eat Takeaway.com), Sytse Sijbrandij (GitLab) and Geert-Jan Bruinsma (Booking.com).
During the presentation, Jitse Groen turned the focus to the generation that comes after them. The successes of companies such as ASML, Just Eat Takeaway.com, GitLab and Booking.com are, he argued, already partly a thing of the past. It is now up to a new generation of students and entrepreneurs to build the innovative companies that the Netherlands will need in the future. In doing so, he turned the anniversary theme of Courage into a clear challenge for the next generation.
The new and next generations also took centre stage during Courage in Practice. Four UT alumni discussed their time at the university, developments in their respective fields and the challenges ahead from the perspective of four different societal domains.
Daan Geijs, an alumnus of Biomedical Engineering, represented the Health domain. He works as Solution Delivery Lead at Kaiko.ai and Lead Developer at Romion Health. Computer Science alumna Danique Lummen brought the Safety & Security perspective to the discussion through her work as Cyber Security Specialist & Analyst at Royal Schiphol Group.
Representing Chip Technology was Els Knoef-Vollenbroek. The Industrial Engineering & Management alumna works at ASML as Quality Manager, Product Generation Process Factories Worldwide. Femke Merkx, an alumna of Philosophy of Science, Technology and Society who also obtained her PhD at UT, brought the Climate & Innovation perspective to the discussion as a Senior Researcher at the Rathenau Institute.
Their stories underlined one of the central messages of the afternoon: societal impact does not come from a single discipline or individual, but from bringing together knowledge, people and different perspectives.
That the next generation is already stepping forward became clear towards the end of the afternoon with the presentation of the five UT Graduation Awards 2026. The awards celebrate students whose graduation work represents exceptional achievement. Following a short film, the winners were honoured on stage.
The awards tied in neatly with the message Jitse Groen had shared earlier that afternoon. While the Van den Kroonenberg Oeuvre Awards honour four alumni who have already made their mark, the Graduation Awards showcase what a new generation of UT talent is capable of. Their challenge is to build on what previous generations have created and use new ideas to make an impact of their own.
Following the awards ceremony, the members of the Executive Board came together on stage. Gregor Halff, the new President of the Executive Board, was also invited to join them. His first official working day at UT is 1 September. During his introduction, he brought an energetic presence to the stage and said he would begin his new role with countless questions.
Together with the other members of the Executive Board, he officially opened the 2026–2027 academic year and, with it, the University of Twente’s 65th anniversary year.
The Bartenders Reunion provided the musical finale and even managed to get the traditionally somewhat reserved academic audience out of their seats and moving to the music. It was a fitting conclusion to an afternoon centred on Courage: the courage to innovate, ask critical questions and explore new paths, but above all, the trust and confidence to do so together.