VERSIE 27-1-2015 18:01 Opening Speech by Minister Jet Bussemaker at the Neth-ER meeting on European challenges, Dutch solutions, Monday, 26 January 2015, Palace of the Academies, Brussels [Het gesproken woord geldt! / Check against delivery! / Seul le texte prononcé fait foi! / Es gilt das gesprochene Wort!] Ladies and gentlemen, Let me begin by extending a warm welcome to Tibor Navracsis, the European Commissioner for Education. I would also like to extend my compliments to Frans van Vught, Chairman of Neth-ER, for the excellent organization of this meeting. And finally, congratulations are in order for the members of the Netherlands House for Education and Research, because Dutch institutes of knowledge are celebrating twenty years of representation here in Brussels. The theme of today s meeting is European challenges, Dutch contributions. I would like to discuss the two topics that make up this theme. First of all: what challenges are we facing in Europe? I will mention a few of the most important ones. 1
Climate change and rising sea levels, sustainable energy and food supplies, migration, security, preventing an us against them fragmentation in society, the ageing of the population, and of course unemployment. Regarding this final issue, there are currently twenty-five million unemployed people in Europe. One in five of them is between fifteen and twenty-four years old. That s a huge number, and it also means that a large portion of our young people is growing up in an environment of under- and unemployment. The financial crisis of the past several years is of course one of the causes. But there s more. The job market is changing rapidly. It is becoming more and more international, and in many sectors robots are taking the place of people. To respond appropriately to these challenges, we not only need to ensure economic growth and new jobs. We must also see to it that the education and training our young people receive, will equip them for the jobs of the future. We cannot yet say exactly what that future will look like. One thing is certain, however, and that is that our society will continue to become more and more digitized. This trend will continue, causing the nature of the job market and our society to change more radically than is currently the case. In the future there will be fewer shops and fewer bank branches. Online shopping and online banking will become the norm. At the same time we will see a wide range of new initiatives; internetbased businesses will abound. 2
In short, many traditional jobs will disappear. But this does not mean that people will disappear from the workforce. In many sectors robots will never take over from people. Take healthcare or education, for example. These are sectors where people make the real difference. This does mean, however, that our education and training systems will have to be able to respond to these social and economic shifts. We must take measures now to ensure that the workers of the future have the right skills for gainful employment as their society takes shape. Ladies and gentlemen, Europe is facing major, complex problems that go far beyond our national borders. These are international problems that require nothing short of an international response. I am certain that together we will find the right answers. And I am also convinced that knowledge will play a key role. Knowledge is the engine of economic growth, and it is knowledge that creates new jobs. This is why we must continue to invest in research and innovation. This brings me to the second topic of today s theme: how can the Netherlands contribute? If you survey Dutch history, you ll discover that the Dutch have always been good at forging connections. At cooperating. The Dutch are accustomed to looking beyond the confines of their individual fields. And they look beyond the borders of their country, to Europe and beyond. This is not just because we are a small country, but also because we know from experience that cooperation works. 3
That it produces results. The Netherlands has always been a country of merchants, free thinkers and creative minds. We became great thanks to cooperation between different groups of people from different backgrounds. This creative pragmatism has given rise to many successful innovations. A modern example is a unique bike path that opened last year in the city of Eindhoven. The result of collaboration between a road builder and an artist, Daan Roosegaarde. They worked together to develop a novel way to light the bike path, which is made up of thousands of elements that glow at night. The artist took his inspiration for the lighting pattern from the famous painting Starry Night by Vincent van Gogh. It really looks fantastic! Art, entrepreneurship and technology come together in this project. This is typical for our approach in the Netherlands. To mention a few more examples: doctors are working with artists to develop apps that can be used in healthcare. And in our own University of Twente s Design Lab, researchers, students, entrepreneurs, artists and others come together to devise new, creative ideas. For example, students and researchers in biomedical engineering and IT are working with social scientists and artists. They have developed a complete emergency field hospital the size of a shipping container. This innovative project required not only state-of-theart medical expertise, but also expertise from the field of logistics. And the team put forth every effort to ensure that patients using the hospital-in-acontainer feel at ease. 4
We also see this approach reflected in education in the Netherlands. We impart not only knowledge and skills to our pupils and students, but also creativity, and we encourage them to think outside the box. We need people who are creative and confident, and sometimes even gutsy and bold. The American writer Walter Isaacson a former editor of Time Magazine says the same thing. He wrote a book about innovators. In an interview he said the following about people like Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and Benjamin Franklin: Most innovators have a few things in common. They all question the conventional way of doing things, and they work well in a team. To summarize, ladies and gentlemen, knowledge is an important means to arrive at a better world, to create value and well-being, and to find answers to the societal problems I mentioned at the beginning of my address. This is on the condition, however, that we do not see knowledge as a tool unto itself. Scientists and researchers ought to be a bit brash, and they certainly should look beyond the confines of their own field. They need to work together and forge connections, and they need to do so with an eye to solving the problems society is facing. As I mentioned, we in the Netherlands have long embraced this approach. This is why my colleague Sander Dekker, the State Secretary for Education, and I wrote a document last year entitled Science Vision twenty-twenty-five Choices for the Future. In which we argued that knowledge is more than just patents and publications. This means we want to get society involved in the pursuit of science. 5
We can do so by involving others in setting the national research agenda. In other words, not just scientists, but also citizens, civil society organizations and businesses. The goal is to ensure that scientific research focuses on societal issues more than is currently the case. At the same time, I intend to work with universities and colleges to ensure that researchers devote less time to all kinds of administrative tasks and fundraising. Instead, they should have more time at their disposal for teaching and research activities. I also intend to reduce the incentive for Dutch universities to employ as many PhDs as possible. It is important for PhDs to have different career paths to choose from. Those who have earned a PhD have made clear that they are capable of independently conducting a research project from beginning to end. These individuals are valuable in many sectors, not just in scientific research. I intend to work together with industry to ensure that the experience of PhDs can be applied for the direct benefit of society. Ladies and gentlemen, cooperation in Europe is becoming an increasingly important factor, especially when it comes to expanding our pool of expertise. I am very pleased with European cooperation programmes such as Horizon twenty-twenty and Erasmus-plus. Which are aimed at strengthening the European knowledge economy so that we can compete effectively with other high-tech regions. At the same time, however, these programmes are also designed to provide solutions for societal problems. The programmes also give people the opportunity to acquire new knowledge in an international setting. This is not only good for the overall 6
quality of their knowledge, but it also leads to better cross-cultural understanding, making the world a safer place. As you know, the Netherlands will hold the presidency of the Council of the European Union in twenty-sixteen. During this presidency, I intend to devote myself to the topics I have just spoken on. I intend to emphasize the quality of vocational education and the modernization of higher education, paying particular attention to employability and the skills required. My colleague Sander Dekker and I will eagerly engage our European peers in debate on Open Science during the Dutch EU Presidency. Our aim is to further encourage open access to scientific publications and research. Horizon twenty-twenty will also have my full attention. Mister Dekker will promote European research policy in the Competitiveness Council. I am happy to speak to you today, because our government has decided last Friday on our agenda for twenty-sixteen. But of course, we will remain flexible to incorporate new ideas and developments. It goes without saying that I am very eager to hear ideas from Dutch institutes of knowledge. I hope that today s meeting will be a source of inspiration in this regard. I would also like to continue to keep Neth-ER involved in the Dutch EU presidency. I wish you an enjoyable afternoon. 7