Jouke de Vries: ‘Involvement in national plan to boost microchip talent is great recognition for UG’

The outgoing Cabinet recently announced ambitious plans to boost the Dutch chip sector. These plans foresee an important role for the University of Groningen, President of the Board Jouke de Vries proudly notes.

‘After high-tech company ASML raised concerns about the business climate in the Netherlands, all eyes first turned to the Eindhoven region. But the government plans also include substantial amounts for the Groningen, Delft, and Twente regions. That is a nice success and at the same time a wonderful recognition for the UG. The Faculty of Science and Engineering’s efforts to enhance our technical profile are paying off. It is good to note that we are being regarded nationally as an institute that can help realize the desired leap in the chip sector. We are keen to strengthen and build on that position.’

The alliance grows

The aim of the national reinforcement plan is to firmly increase the number, quality, and diversity of students in the semiconductor sector, while giving an impetus to public-private partnerships. The four regions are tasked with coming up with a plan to that end. The UG and its University of the North partners are ready to contribute to training more engineers, says De Vries. ‘We are ready to jointly boost the whole education and research spectrum, from vocational education (MBO) to higher professional education (HBO) and university education (WO). Minister Dijkgraaf paid a working visit to Groningen and was impressed by the regional collaboration. This way, the alliance will continue to grow.’

Project group

Led by Joost Frenken, the Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, a project group has started identifying the needs of companies like ASML and evaluating how UG research and educational programmes can contribute to strengthening the chip sector. In addition to Frenken and De Vries, the project group comprises Peter Timmerman ( FSE policy director), Rob Timmermans (FSE Vice Dean), and professors Moniek Tromp and Bayu Jayawardhana. The joint regional plans should culminate in a national reinforcement plan to be delivered by 1 July.

International position

According to President of the Board De Vries, the search for microchip talent underlines the importance of internationalization. ‘We shouldn’t close our eyes to the problems elsewhere in the country, and it is a good thing that more attention is being paid to the Dutch language at universities. But I have always said: we are an international University and will remain so. It is incredibly important for this region and for our labour market that we continue to teach students from home and abroad.’

_{©UG, photo: Peter van der Sijde}