Vision

Society is constantly changing. Technological innovations, which find their source in basic scientific research, put pressure on existing ways of doing things and offer new opportunities. On the other hand, we see major challenges as they have been formulated, for example, as the well-known Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Much may be expected from technological innovations, but we now know that they also pose new dilemmas, often of a quite fundamental nature. This makes them as important as they are interesting for Tilburg University. Successful and responsible applications require a thorough knowledge of behavior, of social and cultural contexts, of aspects of regulation, and new ways of organizing and doing business. Reflections from the fields of ethics, law, and theology, for example, are just as essential as they are indispensable.

Successful progress in both knowledge development and practical applications will increasingly require the ability to contribute to this from distinct disciplines. It requires us to be in touch with other disciplines in addition to specific expert knowledge and to act in an interdisciplinarily, often in collaboration with parties outside the university. It also calls for basic competencies for all of us. How do we provide not only the solution, but also that it can be successfully applied in society? How can we use innovations in AI and digitalization in our search and ideas? And perhaps most importantly, how do we remain truly open to each other and develop a good moral compass appropriate to our responsible leadership? Character development. This requires broad competence development in the areas of ethics, entrepreneurship, digitalization, and social skills. In all our education as well as research, these skills therefore recur all the time.