RSA CE&C 2015-2021

46 Engineer of the future In times when there is an urgent need for scientists and engineers (bachelor’s, master’s and PhD levels), we have the responsibility as a university to educate these people. As a department, we are strongly committed to this responsibility. In the department, research and education are strongly intertwined and, in its educational program, the department combines a strong theoretical fundament with hands-on practical training. Teaching is done by researchers who are leaders in their field of expertise. The strong experimental component of our educational program naturally places constraints in terms of the number of students; however, we envision reasonable growth when resources are available. The recently allocated governmental investments can enhance this. To empower enthusiasm for science and technology, we actively reach out to younger generations and future students and organize educational activities to attract future students. Infrastructure Excellent research facilities and infrastructure are crucial for excellent research and to attract top talent. The department is hosted in the Helix building, which was constructed in 1998. To comply with safety and infrastructural requirements, renovation was planned for 2025 but this has been postponed to after 2030, stretching the limits in terms of its infrastructure. Sustainability is an integral part of our research. We will expand this to our operations and building and want to be climate-neutral by 2050. The department currently hosts an impressive range of state-of-the-art equipment. For large equipment, the department heavily relies on strong competition for large research grants. Smaller project grants offer budget for dedicated smaller equipment. The availability and replacement of basic equipment is under pressure as this requires direct investments at the university level. To guarantee focused investments, a plan for infrastructure is being drafted at the department level and together with the research institutes. Recently, our microscopy facilities have been strongly upgraded. Despite increasing costs and delivery times combined