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Update of
Strategic
Plan 2020
The results of this midterm review will be used to update
the Strategic Plan 2020. Out of the 16 aspects of that plan,
six will have a new or revised approach.
n
Growth
Moving from a strong investment in growth to a controlled
approach to growth. Accommodating the growing student
population while staying true to our educational vision:
small scale, space for electives, and hands-on education.
n
Excellence
Our growing educational needs and the increasing ‘war for
talent’ require more investment in attracting talented
scientists to further increase our scientific quality and
meet the growing demand for education.
n
International impact
Increasing the international impact of education, research
and knowledge valorization, to strengthen our position
in a range of scientific fields and increase the relevance of
our university and graduates for industry and society.
n
Partnerships
Strengthening and creating partnerships with universities,
research organizations, governments and industry.
The goal is long-term collaboration with partners to create
educational programs, attract scientific talent and work on
knowledge valorization.
n
People
Attracting more talented scientists and enabling them to
excel. Modernized service processes will enable a close
connection between researchers and supporting staff.
n
Finances
We need to focus on funding the increased demand
for education while maintaining our balance between
education and research, becoming more effective
at obtaining external research funding and further
diversifying our income.
I. Managing growth
The TU/e student population is growing rapidly. In 2011,
we set the goal to grow to around 11,000 students. This
goal was reached in 2016. If we continue with our current
approach, the student body will grow to around 14,000
students.
The university considers this growth a success: TU/e,
societal parties such as the Platform Bèta en Techniek and
the Dutch government have long worked toward increasing
the number of graduates with a STEM degree. The
companies in high-tech region Brainport and elsewhere in
the Netherlands badly need these graduates. Recent
studies also show that the demand for university-educated
engineers is twice as big as the number of graduates.
TU/e is not the only university growing rapidly. Other
universities of technology such as TU Delft and Wageningen
University are also seeing an increase in STEM students.
This growth in all STEM areas is very beneficial to Dutch
society and industry.
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Student-staff ratio
2016 1:18
2020 < 1:18
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However, this fast, consistent growth since 2012 also poses
a challenge: accommodating a doubled student population
requires doubled resources. Because government funding is
not growing apace with the number of students, the ratio of
staff to students will change from 1:14 in 2010 to 1:25 in
2020. In addition, the need for study facilities, lecture halls
and laboratories will increase.
Basic principles for growth
TU/e aims to grow as much as possible, but in a managed
way: growing in those areas where quality of education
can be maintained, given the limited numbers of lecturers,
labs and building space. TU/e formulated a number of
leading principles for accommodating our growth:
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Institutional Plan 2017-2020