Jasper's Day – Between Physiotherapy and Funding Discussions
What does a working day look like while recovering from hip surgery? Today, exercises and physiotherapy alternate with discussions about academic staff, ethics, and the allocation of future sector plan funding.
Jasper Knoester is 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 offers a glimpse into his daily life.
Wednesday, 26 August
‘At seven o'clock I get up. The house feels unusually lively. Last night Xuefei and Kamiel returned from China and, with their jet lag, they are of course already wide awake. Jasmijn has been away since Sunday. She is taking part in Minerva's introductory period and is not allowed to have contact with me. In short, it takes some getting used to having people around me so early in the morning.
After breakfast I do my exercises. They are very necessary following my hip operation. Most of them are aimed at mobilising the muscles, with a few focused on building strength. I finish with ten minutes on the hometrainer while watching the news, and then that part of the day is done.
Today I am working part-time and from home. At nine o'clock I start with a meeting with Monique Leemkuil about appointments, promotions and nominations of academic staff. We have not met for quite some time, and despite the summer recess, there is a substantial list of matters to discuss.
Protecting the roots of old trees
Next comes my bilateral meeting with Barbara Gravendeel, Director of Hortus botanicus Leiden. The Hortus is quite different from our eight institutes, and the subjects we discuss are often different as well. One moment we are talking about scientific grant applications; the next, about how to protect the roots of old trees during repairs to underground water pipes.
More training at the physiotherapist
After that I head to the physiotherapist. It is about a kilometre away. I could probably walk the whole distance by now, but on the way there I take the tram for half of the journey to save some energy. I start with ten minutes on the exercise bike, increasing the resistance a little each week. Then I demonstrate how the exercises are going. I have a good physiotherapist: first she enthusiastically points out how much progress I have made, and then she critically highlights the mistakes I am still making in both the exercises and my walking. That is exactly what I need. It is the only way to get things right. The final twenty minutes are spent working hard on new strength exercises and, when the forty-five minutes are up, I feel quite satisfied that the session is over.
I walk home, have a quick lunch and rest on the bed. In the afternoon there are three more meetings. First, I meet with Olga Gadyatskaya, Chair of our Ethics Committee, and Monique Leemkuil, the committee's secretary. The work of this committee is becoming more complex. This is partly due to the need to clarify the boundaries between its responsibilities and those of experts and committees dealing with knowledge security and GDPR-related privacy regulations. A clearer description of the committee’s mandate is needed. There is also a need for a more effective system for submitting and processing applications. We agreed on follow-up actions to be discussed at the next meeting.
Afterwards, I speak with José Kiss about the next Scientific Council meeting, the plenary consultation with our scientific directors, and the additional online meeting of the Dutch science deans that will take place an hour later. That final meeting of the day requires by far the most energy. Today's discussion focuses on the allocation of sector plan funding that the new government is expected to make available to the various science faculties. We know the total annual amount under discussion for the science domain, and it is now up to the deans to agree on a fair distribution.
Negotiating the future
Ours is a highly collegial group, but discussions about funding always put relationships to the test. There are therefore a number of substantial points of debate and, as chair, I need to stay sharp throughout. Fortunately, we are able to reach convergence on most issues. For the remaining points, everyone leaves with an assignment, while a small subcommittee will spend the coming weeks working through the issues that remain unresolved. By 18 September, we need to have reached agreement on a final allocation.
I close my laptop and take some time to rest. Having dinner with the three of us does me good and gives me enough energy to tidy up the kitchen afterwards. The jet lag starts to catch up with the others and before long it feels as though I am alone at home again. I watch a bit of football and prepare for a few meetings scheduled for tomorrow. I do not go to bed too late. This day, which was not especially busy on paper, has taken quite a bit of energy. And I already know that at five o'clock tomorrow morning the house will once again be full of life.’