Frans Cruijssen
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Frans Cruijssen
Researcher at the Department of Econometrics and Operations Research‘I love to connect academic insights with practical and societal challenges.’
What is the main goal of your research?
Last year I returned to Tilburg University after having spent fifteen years in the commercial world, for the largest part as an entrepreneur. I love to connect academic insights with practical and societal challenges. There is so much untapped potential for application in recent (and to be honest also in not so recent) academic developments. For example, during my PhD thesis project I worked on the topic of horizontal collaboration in transport and logistics, and looked at this topic from various perspectives, such as operations research, game theory, psychology and even law studies. Combining even fairly basic insights from these fields and applying them to a single practical situation made that practitioners and policy makers, who also have varying backgrounds and beliefs, more easily adopted the idea of collaboration.
How does your research contribute to societal problems?
I work as a researcher at the Zero Hunger Lab, so the link with societal problems is obvious. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDG2 is Zero Hunger) provide an inspiring blueprint of a world that all nations would like to see. In Western-Europe, and especially in the Netherlands, we sometimes forget how privileged we are to be born on this particular spot on the globe. At Zero Hunger Lab, we apply data science to help NGOs, governments and companies to make better decisions in helping people who were less fortunate and cannot be sure to have enough healthy food on any given day. Next to my work at Zero Hunger Lab I will continue to work on horizontal collaboration in logistics. This topic also has societal relevance because of the large CO2 footprint that we get from moving stuff from A to B (SDG13: Climate Action)
What is your main motive?
My main motive is to make maximum use of my talents. That is easily said, but not so easy to live up to. I am 42 years of age now, and I am still learning about focusing and balancing between the various aspects of life. Applied research for me is a perfect setting to apply and further develop my professional skills. If I can contribute to a research that can endure both the critical questions of the practitioner who relies on it for decision making, and of the double-blind peer reviewer who looks at scientific rigor, I am happy! And in addition to that, I am very dedicated to help making the Zero Hunger Lab a successful and lasting part of Tilburg University.
Who is your role model?
Well that would be my father, but I guess this question relates more to professional life. I don’t have one role model in particular, but I try to learn from virtues and habits of many people I meet, read about or see in the media. So in no particular order and sticking to names that could ring a bell, this would be my somewhat eclectic list of roles models: Roger Federer, Jeroen van Merwijk, Bill Bryson, Gijsbert van Lomwel, Wout Dullaert, Alan McKinnon, Hein Fleuren, Dirk ‘t Hooft, Eliud Kipchoge, Hans van Mierlo, Coen Verbraak.