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.
Tuesday 4 February
‘This Tuesday promises to be a varied day, with Kelly Chibale’s Tuesday Talk in the afternoon. I’m looking forward to it. Breakfast and lunch preparations are done on autopilot. Jasmijn gives me a quick hand in choosing a tie, and then I hop on my bike. It’s chilly, a bit misty, and for the umpteenth time this month, the top of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) building is shrouded in light fog—almost as if symbolising policy without a clear vision.
We start with the faculty board meeting. There are few decisions to be made today, but plenty to discuss. On the agenda is the 2026–2030 Framework Memorandum, which outlines the first contours of the university’s multi-year budget. This year, it’s more pressing than ever due to OCW’s budget cuts. We discuss it in detail and prepare ourselves for questions about budget items that specifically concern our faculty. This will keep us busy in the coming months. We also spend a great deal of time reviewing meetings that Bart, Suzanne, and I attended last week.
By the time the meeting ends, the lunch break has been swallowed up by an extra discussion on knowledge security—one I actually requested myself last night. The next meeting concerns the accountability of ongoing sector plans. As I am well acquainted with the national monitoring committee, we quickly arrive at a clear course of action.
The third meeting of the afternoon is the Research ICT Council, a five-person body that prioritises plans for developing the university’s ICT infrastructure. It’s complex material, and I’m grateful for the extensive advice from our faculty’s information manager, Johan Detollenaere. Today, data storage is the key topic—also the university’s top ICT focus for the near future.
‘Kelly Chibale makes an inspiring case for testing medicines on the African continent’
The online ICT meeting is immediately followed by an online meeting of the ICLON board. ICLON is the interfaculty centre for teacher training, educational research, and professional development. This is particularly important for our disciplines, as the shortage of teachers in most science subjects is extremely concerning. On the agenda is a plan for Leiden’s approach to this issue, with a focus on raising awareness among students about the possibility of becoming a teacher and the available pathways to do so. We are also working closely with other science faculties across the country on this matter, including through a successful joint lateral-entry programme for aspiring teachers transitioning from other professions, called Bèta4all.
Afterwards, I quickly skim through a few emails before heading to the lecture hall for Kelly Chibale’s Tuesday Talk. Chibale, from the University of Cape Town, will be awarded an honorary doctorate this Friday as part of our university’s 90th lustrum celebrations. He is receiving this doctorate for his work in drug development, particularly for his focus on how medicines interact with genetically diverse African populations.
His talk is truly inspiring. He clearly explains how genetically determined differences in metabolism play a major role in the effectiveness of medicines and makes a compelling case that most medicines are not tested for efficacy on the African continent. The discussion is lively, as is the reception afterwards. A better showcase for the Tuesday Talks would be hard to find—I only wish more colleagues and students had been there to enjoy it.
After the reception, I head home quickly. Over dinner, we discuss the children’s test results. After eating, I prepare for tomorrow, when I will chair the appointment advisory committee for a new prefect of the hortus—the successor to Paul Kessler. Paul is retiring soon after nineteen years of dedicated service to the hortus. This is an important role for both the hortus and the university, so it deserves careful and thoughtful consideration. I take extra time to review the candidates’ dossiers once more. Tomorrow promises to be another interesting day.’