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faculty of technology, policy and management Special issue Research iX/1 28 03 2011 TPM research leads the way internationally Theo Toonen, Hans de Bruijn the tBm faculty achieved extremely high scores in the external research assessment for the period 2003-2009. it scored an average of 4.5 on a fivepoint scale. tpm’s largest programme, next generation infrastructures, even achieved four scores of 5 out of 5. philosophy of technology design and Values came a close second. this means that tpm enjoys a leading position at the pinnacle of internationalscience. the external assessment also involved an assessment of tu eindhoven and the university of twente. two of the three bestscoring research groups were at tu delft. ‘Am I working on the right areas and doing it well?’ In order to safeguard the quality of the research programmes, TU Delft, TU Eindhoven and the University of Twente arrange for an external assessment once every six years (and an internal audit every three years). The assessment is conducted by a committee of external academics, who make up the organisation Quality Assurance Netherlands Universities (QANU). The review committee for 2003 - 2009 included Prof. Arthur Ringeling, Erasmus University Rotterdam (chair); Prof. Gunnar Eliasson, Kungl Tekniska Högskolan, Stockholm; Prof. Kingsley E. Haynes, George Mason University, USA; Prof. Michael Howlett, Simon Fraser University, Canada; Prof. Deborah G. Johnson, University of Virginia, USA; Prof. Stefan Klein, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität, Germany and Prof. Nico Vandaele, Catholic University Leuven-Kortrijk, Belgium. World leaders The five TPM research programmes Innovation Systems, MultiActor Systems, Next Generation Infrastructures, Risk & Design, and Philosophy of Technology, Design and Values were all inspected in terms of quality, performance, social relevance and potential for growth. The results of the research assessment by QANU are featured in the accompanying boxes. The best performing group was Next Generation Infrastructures, led by professors Margot Weijnen and Ernst ten Heuvelhof, with a maximum score of five for all components. This performance places the group among the world leaders: ‘We have never before seen such an impressive research programme in terms of quality, productivity and scope’ said the committee’s report. TPM Dean Theo Toonen and TPM Director of Research Hans de Bruijn are satisfied with the performance achieved. Toonen: “The faculty did outstandingly across the board. As well as productivity and quality, all groups were praised for their wellorganised approach to research, the originality of their ideas and their contacts with wider society. The high level of external funding was also appreciated: more than half of our faculty is funded by external sources. The committee also wrote that, amid all the cutbacks, it had discovered ‘an extremely self-assured faculty’. They found an academic staff who are convinced that ‘the future is shaped here’. And clearly this is also something we project to the outside world. We are very proud of that. We have a good idea of what it is we want.” Building on the factors of success But both De Bruijn and Toonen stress that the excellent results should not be seen as a reason for resting on one’s laurels. “We are on the right track, but we still have some way to go. For example, the Risk and Design and Innovation Systems groups received a positive assessment, but the committee did feel that they are lagging slightly behind in terms of viability and their links with the faculty’s research programme as a whole. We will need to translate the success of NGI into real European research funding, in alliance with the business community, social partners and government bodies. Philosophy and Ethics have been successful in securing indirect funding and because of that alone they must be provided with more structural funding within the university context. We therefore need to continue to focus on the future, on new developments and potential. One way of achieving this is by building on the current factors of our success. In other words, focusing even more on scientifically innovative approaches, on tackling real-life problems and on internal and external cooperation.” One way in which TPM innovates is by continually identifying new areas of application. Examples of these include gaming and simulation and value-sensitive design. De Bruijn: “The strength of TPM lies in the fact that engineers and social scientists work closely together. They understand and challenge each other and achieve things by means of effective cooperation. Issues within society are becoming increasingly more complicated because of their technical, administrative, political and social connotations.” Toonen: “At TPM, engineers and experts in policy have discovered a shared vocabulary. This is a policy we will definitely continue.” The Dean adds: “The same applies to our approach to realistic world problems. We do not conduct research for its own sake, but, as befits a faculty at an engineering university, we actually tackle genuine existing social and administrative issues. This approach is partly responsible for our current success and is something supported by the review committee. We bring the living laboratory into the practical world and make an impact at a high level, right up to the boardrooms of leading companies and policymakers.” De Bruijn: “We seek out challenges in real-life issues, because this helps us to continually innovate. Rapid developments in the world provide us with lots of impulses and our critical mass enables us to take on a wide variety of issues. Over the last eight years, this has made us into a breeding ground for new initiatives, such as gaming and simulation, but also for the continued development of work that transcends and blends different disciplines and the exploration of new areas through the systematic combination of engineering and technology with ethics, governance and institutional issues. This is a role that we are determined to expand even further.” continued on page 2
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