Mariya Gabriel, European Commissioner for innovation, science and education, visited Eindhoven today, together with Minister Ingrid van Engelshoven and State Secretary Mona Keijzer. During a lunch discussion organized by TU/e, they discussed European science policy and the role of innovation ecosystems.
The lunch meeting took place at Strijp-T, where the visiting ministers spoke with TU/e Executive Board president Robert-Jan Smits, Rianne Letschert (rector of Maastricht University), Mayor John Jorritsma and assistant professor and Irène Curie Fellow Lisanne Havinga, among others. Two topics were central: European science policy and the role of innovation ecosystems, and improving the appraisal system for academics and scientists, which is currently primarily based on numbers of publications. The European Commissioner highly praised the achievements of TU/e and the Irène Curie Fellowship programme.
After the meeting, the eminent visitors took a look at the car built by the student team TU/ecomotive Luca, which is made entirely from waste. The delegation then proceeded to Fontys-ICT at Strijp-T, where they were informed about AI projects and education.
TU/e president Robert-Jan Smits expressed his delight with the working visit of the European commissioner. "I think it is a particularly good sign that the European commissioner for innovation selected Brainport for her first working visit to the Netherlands. It underlines that this region, with its strong innovation ecosystem, is a model for Europe."
"We showed the commissioner and the secretary of state how committed Brainport is to European cooperation and the European agenda," says Smits. "We were also able to make it clear that, as far as Brainport is concerned, the Netherlands is complying with the European agreement to invest three percent of its GDP in research and innovation. At the same time, investments must continue to be made at the European level in 'key enabling technologies', to secure our earning power of tomorrow."
This article was first published on May 31 by TU/e.
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