Continuing the European tour

by Alexandra den Heijer

Yesterday I continued my European tour by presenting my research in a Masterclass “Campus of the Future” for French and Dutch delegates, related to French/Dutch universities. The venue was Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR). The other speakers were Mr. Jean-François Clerc representing the Ministry of Higher Education & Research (Ministère de l’enseignement supérieur et de la recherche, grands projets immobiliers) and Mr. Kees Lansbergen, campusmanager EUR (see: http://www.eur.nl/english/campus_facilities).

My next research step – exploring the European campus – gets more support every week. Given the limited time I could spend on an actual research strategy in the past half year, I am extra proud of invitations to speak at international conferences and share knowledge with academic and professional colleagues. The agenda for the next half year:

– November 2011 – Barcelona, for delegates of Spanish universities
– November 2011 – Brussels, for HUMANE (Heads of Univ. Mgmt in Europe)
– January 2012 – Glasgow, for Strathclyde University (related to SAUDE)
– January 2012 – Helsinki, for research program Finnish universities
– March 2012 – Warwick, for EUA (European University Association)
– April 2012 – Loughborough, for AUDE (directors of estates UK)

Besides these dates there are many opportunities to share knowledge with Dutch and international visitors closer to home. In one of the next posts I will elaborate on the research strategy for (managing) the European campus and ‘univer-cities’ (research programme Real Estate Management, Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology).

European union with 27 countries and about 500 million inhabitants – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Union, 2011

The book has reached 15 European countries…

by Alexandra den Heijer

In the past month – after the visits to Scotland and Germany – I have exchanged knowledge and ideas about campus management with delegates from many European countries. On June 15 a Swiss delegation visited TU Delft, from ETH Zurich and – a week later – on June 22 I presented a paper at an academic conference (MISBE), which I will upload as soon as possible – see photo below.

giving a lecture at Amsterdam's Beurs van Berlage for the academic conference MISBE 2011

Last week I paid a fruitful visit to the European University Association in Brussels to talk about the relation between the campus and the financial sustainability of European universities. Again, it was confirmed that both the opportunities and threats of the campus are internationally recognized. In the meantime I also got enthusiastic messages (about the book) from Austria, Italy, Ireland and England. The most recent lecture (yesterday) was for a group of French delegates, representing universities that are about to become owners of their campuses – like in the Netherlands. Their visit was organized by Utrecht University in collaboration with the French Ministry of Education and Ecole des Ponts / ParisTech. Very interesting meetings… again… I feel blessed with my work.

PS The book has reached campus managers, policy makers and/or academics in 15 European countries (concluded from the messages I received and from data that the publisher sent me): Belgium, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Ireland, England, Scotland, France, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Spain and Germany. And I know there are copies in Dubai, Colombia, Australia and the USA. I am very proud…