Lorenzo Squintani and Ming Cao Academic Directors of Schools

The Board of the University has appointed two academic directors for the newly established Schools. Lorenzo Squintani has been appointed as Director of the Wubbo Ockels School, which focuses on the energy transition and climate change. Ming Cao has been appointed as Director of the Jantina Tammes School, the interdisciplinary platform that focuses on digital innovation, artificial intelligence, and technological progress.

The Schools have evolved from the ‘Making Connections’ Strategic Plan. They represent an important new instrument for interacting with, and contributing to, society. They will provide a place where the various academic disciplines can meet and join forces to conduct research projects, teach, and generally smooth the way for dialogue with and about society. The Schools will build on existing UG focus areas (energy, healthy ageing, sustainable society) and on recent inter-faculty partnerships.

Interdisciplinary collaboration

‘My main aim is to create an environment in which colleagues and students from various disciplines can meet up and develop new collaborations in the field of the energy transition and climate change’, says Squintani, Professor of Energy Law, talking about the new Wubbo Ockels School.

Cao, Professor of Networks and Robotics, is also looking forward to stimulating interdisciplinary collaboration. ‘The Jantina Tammes School brings together all of the interested parties in the up-and-coming digital society, allowing them to get the maximum benefits from and make the maximum contribution to digitization, digital technology, and artificial intelligence. We are preparing our students, staff, and partners for a promising, but challenging, future.’

A total of four Schools

In addition to the Wubbo Ockels School and the Jantina Tammes School, the UG also has the Aletta Jacobs School, which focuses on healthy ageing and public health, and working towards a healthier society, and the Rudolf Agricola School, which concentrates on governance, politics, and sustainable processes. Jochen Mierau is the Academic Director of the Aletta Jacobs School (until September). Kees van Veen is the Academic Director of the Rudolf Agricola School.