Internationalization was the leitmotif this year at the opening of the academic year and for the first time English was the language of communication within that framework. Rector Magnificus prof. dr. ir. Hans van Duijn emphasized how important it is for TU/e that talented students and staff members from abroad should come here, while also stressing that TU/e should build up and maintain a broad international network. In addition, he underlined the essential need for Dutch students to gain experience abroad.

SER chairman Rinnooy Kan, who in 2007 and 2008 was pronounced the most influential man in the Netherlands, in his speech contrasted Dutch ambitions in the fields of education, knowledge and innovation with those of other countries forming part of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). In his view the Netherlands is failing badly indeed. “As regards the outflow of beta students the Dutch level of ambition will in five years fall below the present OECD average, thus ranking it below today’s levels of countries like Italy and Portugal.”

The SER chairman admits that some progress has been made in the past few years to catch up on the other countries, but the efforts are insufficient to regain a position at the top of the OECD within five years. He judges the Cabinet’s meager ambition of attaining the average OECD level again in education and knowledge to be at odds with the general Dutch ambition to excel in the international playing field.

He does, for that matter, consider Brainport Eindhoven to have the greatest prospects of improving itself as an innovative region within Europe. This region he now ranks in an ‘honorable’ twentieth place, but he thinks that creative interaction between knowledge institutes and innovative industries provides ample opportunities to move up further in the European ranking in the future. (HK)/.