TU Delft extends collaboration with fellow technology universities

In the interests of the Dutch knowledge economy, the country’s three technology universities, Delft University of Technology, Eindhoven University of Technology and University of Twente are to further intensify and extend their partnership in the 3TU.Federation.

Plans for the partnership are set out in the Strategic Plan 2009-2012, published last week. Now the three universities are calling on the government to provide annual funding of €65 million to support the joint initiative.

The federation is intended to make the universities of technology more attractive and to increase their value to students, researchers, companies and government, and as a result to further enhance their role in the Dutch knowledge economy and enhance the country’s competitive position.

The trio started working together in 2002. In 2004 they jointly published a plan announcing their intention of forming a federation before 2010. The process of mutual coordination and partnership was so positive that the planned federation was established at the beginning of 2007. Since then, the federation has taken numerous initiatives intended to enable the three universities of technology to join forces in the areas of education, research and technology transfer.

The three universities agree it is now time to further develop these joint initiatives, and form a united front for the interests of the Netherlands as a high technology country.

For example the three universities intend to form a single educational community, offering students a broad, shared range of courses from which they can choose the elements that appeal to them most. If they wish, students can move from one university to another, for example, when they move from their undergraduate degree to a postgraduate degree.

One of the ways in which this is being done is by setting up a single, shared digital learning and working environment for the three universities of technology, including virtual lecture halls.

In research, the three universities have pledged to align their research portfolios by creating new coordination mechanisms, alongside existing joint Centres of Competence, in areas including applied mathematics, logistics and construction.

They also intend to set up new shared research centres to give the Netherlands a unique world position. In addition, they aim to jointly raise the level of their research infrastructure to an internationally competitive standard, to fend off the brain drain.

Finally, to promote the social and economic application of the technologies and know-how developed within the three universities, they will intensify partnerships with industry, and play a leading role in supporting start-ups.

Call for extra funding

To implement the joint plan, the three universities of technology are asking the government for extra funding on an annual basis: €15 million for a joint educational community and the implementation of a range of new research initiatives; €40 million to bring the research infrastructure up to standard; €10 million to intensify partnerships with industry and promote new commercial ventures on the basis of technological knowledge. As yet, the government has not given a clear answer to the request for extra funding.