Who are our directors? What drives them, and what do they do? In Boardwalk, we go out with a director every quarter and visit a special place on campus. In this episode, we meet Rector Silvia Lenaerts, who takes us to the PULS/e Lab of Professor Richard Lopata, an expert in photoacoustics and ultrasound. There, she talks about TU/e's ambition to become a 4th-generation university.
The term '4th-generation university' is regularly used in policy documents and discussions. It is also explicitly mentioned in the new strategic plan (currently being worked on), but what does it mean? Lenaerts explains it clearly: "It means that as a university we create value - not only for society, but also with society. We are part of the region and actively participate in it." According to her, we must be an open place." We need to be an environment where everyone feels welcome, whether you come for education, research, or to make a social impact in some other way."
From the outside in
Professor of Open & Collaborative Innovation Marcel Bogers is a partisan of the 4th-generation university and is also researching it. He adds: "Valorisation is an important third element. By this, we mean creating value with your research, which can be social or economic. Through initiatives such as The Gate , we bring knowledge to the outside world. But as a 4th-generation university , we also bring in knowledge from outside. Together with our regional partners, we can tackle complex social issues. And thus bring society in, as it were."
FOUR GENERATIONS EXPLAINED
The role of universities has become increasingly broader over the centuries.
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The 1st generation university was all about knowledge transfer - education, in other words. The first university was founded in 1088 in Bologna, Italy, to address societal questions, particularly those related to law.
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The 2nd generation joined when scientific research was added. In the Netherlands, William of Orange founded Leiden University in 1575. Around 1700, Professor Boerhaave did his experiments there and built his own instruments - an early form of academic innovation.
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The 3rd generation added valorisation: converting knowledge into social or economic value. At TU/e, this is done, among other things, through The Gate, which supports startups in their growth and development.
