Strategy Tilburg University
'Weaving Minds & Characters' describes Tilburg University’s strategy and what we think is needed to prepare our university for the next centennial. The strategic plan is built up according to the values curious, caring, connected and courageous. They form threads that are intertwined and in context are strong threads.
'Weaving Minds & Characters' Strategy Towards 2027
We will soon celebrate our 100th anniversary. Founded in 1927 as the Roomsch Katholieke Handelshoogeschool, we have now, almost 100 years later, grown into a flourishing medium-sized university in the humanities and social sciences. By 2027, we will be even more internationally recognized as a leading university in social sciences and Humanities than we are now.
Interviews
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Program boosts research infrastructure: “We are going to build bridges between disciplines”
09th October 2023Research infrastructure is as essential to scientists as highways are to truck drivers. Today’s data explosion, however, has caused the existing scientific road network to rapidly become outdated. That is why Tilburg University is heavily investing in research infrastructure through a program by and for scientists that is as fundamental as it is practical.
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Wim van de Donk on connecting and collaborating: “Using other muscles than the ones we normally use”
04th October 2023This era of transitions requires ways of connecting and collaborating that go beyond the boundaries of disciplines and organizations. By pursuing such avenues, Tilburg University seeks to increase its contribution to society.
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Suuz van Bommel and Joost Lamers on Connected, Curious, Caring, and Courageous: "The core values have the potential to speak to people"
04th September 2023The 2027 Strategy lists four core values the university aspires to make good on. Is it succeeding? At the end of their one-year term in participation, the outgoing chairs of student parties SAM and Fractie Front share their appraisal. “The core values can be used to shape ideas and input for the organization.”
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Jantine Schuit on talent and the labor market: ‘The old model is circling the drain’
03rd August 2023Tilburg University wants to offer more opportunities for personal development than traditional careers in academia. Making optimal use of diverse talents will become central, both in leadership and in rewards. Jantine Schuit: ‘This will need a cultural change.’
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Geert Vervaeke talks about a green and vibrant campus: ‘If you don’t set the bar high, you never take off.’
28th June 2023As the driving force behind a green and lively campus, Geert Vervaeke is promoting an ambition that others may well find inspirational. Tilburg University is aiming to become one of the top 10 sustainable universities worldwide.
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Paulina Snijders talks about Untangling and Unburdening: ‘We want to see a shift from control to trust’
19th June 2023With its Untangling and Unburdening program, Tilburg University is waging war against unnecessary rules and procedures. Changing the behavior that is causing the bureaucracy will still prove difficult and take time, believes Paulina Snijders, but it must be possible. “If we’re successful in making significant progress this year, things can begin to accelerate. It will initiate a flywheel effect.”
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Henk Witte on being Connected, Curious, Caring, and Courageous: “Values take time to mature”
11th May 2023Tilburg University is anchored in four values: Connected, Curious, Caring, and Courageous. These values mesh with the zeitgeist, Henk Witte believes, and it is being Courageous that truly captures the imagination. “I heard things like ‘Hey, that’s new. We’re so used to being careful.’”
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Antoinette de Bont about lifelong learning: ‘We are working towards making this our fourth core mission’
17th April 2023Tilburg University is ambitious in its approach to lifelong learning. According to Antoinette de Bont, the driving force behind this initiative, this approach should be both focused and practical. “We start at the basis: a sound customer support process. The rest will follow.”
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Sander Bax on blended learning: “Leave educational innovation to lecturers”
12th April 2023The COVID-19 pandemic gave blended learning – a mix of face-to-face, on-campus classes and digital resources – wings, and Tilburg University’s strategy is giving this educational innovation yet another boost. For that innovation to be really successful though, lecturers should be in control, Sander Bax says. He was the driving force behind this strategic theme.
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“This clearly shows what we’re good at.”
12th January 2023Academic Collaborative Centers are a union between the university and social practice, an innovation the university is fully committed to and in which the Academic Collaborative Center Broad Prosperity plays a key role as a meeting place, just like the open space at the heart of the Warande forest park.
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Digital Sciences for Society kicks off with Call for proposals
20th December 2022Boudewijn Haverkort, academic lead of Digital Sciences for Society, shares how this strategic program is progressing, with a Call for Proposals as the first milestone.
