Jasper's Day
Jasper Knoester is the dean of the Faculty of Science. How is he doing, what exactly does he do and what does his day look like? In each newsletter, Jasper gives an insight into his life.
Wednesday 30 May
'I wake up cheerfully. Last night, I enjoyed the Pub Quiz of the We Are Science Week. A fantastic event with 63 teams from the entire faculty, fun and very varied questions, and above all, a great atmosphere. Hats off to the organisers! As the Faculty Board, we held our own and were quite satisfied with a shared eighth place. Today, there’s another festive event on the agenda. But first, I have to visit the physiotherapist for a somewhat uncooperative hip. I get some exercises to do at home and bike to the station for the ride to Leiden.
Arriving on campus, it is still a pleasure to enter the new building. Not only because of the beautiful spaces but also because of the daily greeting from the colleagues at the reception. The route to the old wing of the Faculty Office went through the side entrance of the LMUY, a rather dreary and anonymous entryway, where I often didn’t speak to anyone until reaching our own office. Now I regularly chat with the people at the front desk, which is nice and good to know that they are looking after our beautiful building.
Today, the agenda mainly consists of meetings with colleagues from the Faculty Office, with some time in between to check emails and catch up here and there. It’s very valuable to have a day where you’re not jumping from one meeting to the next. In the afternoon, I have an online meeting with staff from Una Europa, the alliance of 11 European top universities that we are part of. In June, the alliance will meet in Zurich. I have been asked to give a pitch there about boosting funding for joint research. We discuss the purpose of the meeting together so that I fully understand what is expected of me. I find it important to increase the volume of joint research within Una Europa, so I accept the invitation to speak.
After this, I bike to the city for an agenda coordination meeting for the Executive Board, the meeting of the Executive Board and deans. A lot is happening these months, making prioritising topics and planning feasible agendas a challenging task.
I end the workday in Leiden by attending the festive opening of the Mediterranean garden in the Hortus botanicus, a new part of the Hortus behind the Old Observatory. We are welcomed in the Orangery of the Hortus, where Jan Willem Erisman (professor at CML) and Rogier van Vugt (head of horticulture at the Hortus) give interesting short lectures. After this, Paul Kessler (prefect of the Hortus) and Ignas Snellen (WD Observatory) sign a cooperation agreement in the field of public education and exhibitions in the Hortus and the Old Observatory. Wonderful! When I started in Leiden, one of my goals was to strengthen collaborations within the Faculty, but I did not expect these two ends of the spectrum to come together. Eventually, we walk to the beautifully laid out and wonderfully scented Mediterranean garden, where astronaut André Kuipers performs the opening act by planting a fig tree. The reception afterwards is lively, and with some effort, I tear myself away from it. Compliments to the staff of the Hortus, a beautiful event!
I come home later than intended, quickly eat something with the children, and hear how Jasmijn's Drawing exam went. It would be great if she passed; then she will have one less subject to worry about next year. I read documents for tomorrow—a day packed with meetings—and devote some time to the first exercises from the physiotherapist. A bit boring, but after such a varied day, I can handle it.'