Jasper's day
Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.
Wednesday, 7 June
'I'm on my bike to the station at 6.45 am. The city is still very quiet and the ride is faster than usual. Today will be a long day. Today in Leiden there is a big assembly of Una Europa, the alliance of 11 top European universities of which we have been a member since last year. My day will be filled with it from start to finish.
I represent our university in Una Europa's Research Strategy Group (RSG), which deals with research programmes and collaborations. Often, the RSG meets together with the Board of Directors, which oversees all areas of work. Some of us today also wanted to sit together without the Board. As the day is otherwise completely full, we decided to have breakfast together at the Golden Tulip Hotel at 7.30 this morning. The early rise proves worthwhile. It is good to meet informally and have time to get to know each other better in person.
At half past eight, I cycle to the Kamerlingh Onnes Building (KOG), where the meetings take place. I love coming here. During my PhD period in Utrecht, I already came to the KOG to attend national seminars on statistical physics. Back then, it was still the laboratory for physics and I still remember the characteristic smell associated with a mechanical workshop. No physics today, but as always the good memory.
A day at KOG: no physics today, but as always the good memory
I start with a brief consultation with the Leiden team. The pile of papers for Una Europa meetings is always impressively large. Fortunately, there is always help from the university's central support team in studying, annotating and pre-discussing these papers.
The rest of the morning follows a series of introductions, reports and proposals, with extensive discussions. Much discussion takes place on the seed funding projects, where the consensus is that there should be another call in the autumn, that there should actually be more budget for it and there should be sufficient opportunities for younger group leaders.
Another topic of much discussion concerns the EU Cofund proposal through which the alliance hopes to win dozens of PhD places. A number of partner universities have problems with the own contribution required for Cofund projects and cannot commit to the proposal. Many of us see too small a programme as risking the alliance pricing itself out of the market for a high ranking with Cofund. After much deliberation, we decide to take a closer look at the budgets for each position in the coming weeks. The hope is that adjusting them downwards will encourage some universities to join after all.
After a good and animated lunch, an interesting afternoon follows. I follow with interest the reports of the "self-steering committees" that deal with strategy on Una's big content themes. These include AI, OneHealth, Future Materials and Sustainability.
We end the day with a festive reception in the garden of the academy building. The weather is beautiful, the food is delicious, the atmosphere excellent. The many guests have a great time and will travel back with a good feeling about Leiden. Nice to experience! By half past seven, I think I've had enough, twelve hours in the same company is enough. It's time to go home.
Back in The Hague, nothing resembles the calm of this morning. Muse is performing on the Malieveld and droves of people are on their feet. The bike ride from station to home has to take a diversion, intensely accompanied by rock music that we can enjoy to some extent the rest of the evening in the garden. Not something for every day, but today it fits well with the festive feeling with which I left Leiden.'