Passion and Performance - 1 - 2 - 3 Liber Amicorum Sibrand Poppema Passion and Performance Groningen, 2018 - 4 - 5 Contents 8 Introduction 120 Share your talent, move the world Max van den Berg, Lou de Leij and Henk Pijlman Elmer Sterken 128 Allowing ideas to germinate 16 A man who always wants to win Jan Kuks Jolly Kerkstra 134 A true architect SCIENCE Peter den Oudsten 28 Groningen – Edmonton SOCIETY Lydia Visser and Wim Timens 150 From peat to sustainable energy 38 Sibrand’s return to Groningen Gertjan Lankhorst Arjan Diepstra, Anke van den Berg and Lydia Visser 160 Towards a human-made Blue Zone in the Northern Netherlands 48 How Sibrand Poppema Folkert Kuipers transformed Dutch pathology Han van Krieken 170 Creating pathways towards societal impact 56 Lifelines Sharon Smit Cisca Wijmenga 182 Sibrand Poppema and Industry 70 ERIBA Relations Peter Lansdorp and Gerald de Haan Iris Vis 80 The importance of fundamental 192 Is money the root of all appeals? research Paul Polman Ben Feringa 198 Groningen and the creation of the This book was published by friends and colleagues of Sibrand Poppema, on the ADMINISTRATION Guild occasion of his retirement as President of the Board of the University of Groningen, Jan Palmowski 27 September 2018. 92 Mazda MX6 Jan Hamel 202 The Public Private Partnership CCC Lubbert Dijkhuizen 100 The U4 Network Ulrike Beisiegel 210 Raiders of the Lost Scrolls Mladen Popović 104 A great educator and administrator EXTRA This publication was supported by Freia. Fu Zetian 222 Mussengang 114 A clever negotiator Eduard Klasen Colophon Van weten naar wijsheid - 6 - 7 Introduction Max van den Berg, Lou de Leij and Elmer Sterken ‘Ambition’ not only concerns a desire to achieve a set of great goals, but also the perseverance to strive for their realization. This book – dedicated to Sibrand Poppema – deals with these two faces of the medal of ambition. Colleagues and friends of Sibrand Poppema have contributed their views on his ambition, and from their stories it is most apparent that Sibrand is quite an ambitious person. He is extremely clear in setting goals and in indicating the exact way to achieve the target. For this reason, the book is very interesting, providing a wide variety of angles of observation on the Sibrand Poppema ambition space. Moreover, it is a pleasure to read. Sibrand Poppema is multitalented. He is an inspiring academic, having worked at the frontier of knowledge in pathology for decades. He is also a passionate and dynamic administrator, having served as Head of Department, Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences and Vice-Chair of the University Medical Center Groningen for about a decade and, finally, he became President of the Board of the University of Groningen for another ten years. This volume mainly focuses on his career as the ‘leader’ of the University from 2008 to 2018. To provide the reader with some background into his university presidency, the editors of this volume have channelled Sibrand’s ambitions into three separate sections: science, administration and society. In our view, these are equally important for a better understanding of Sibrand’s motivation and activities. - 8 - 9 First, as President of the Board of the University, Sibrand Poppema Science into the University Medical Center Groningen (UMCG). He has always acted from the perspective of a researcher. And, to be initiated large national and international collaborations and two clear, this is what ‘his’ University has valued so much. To manage a important infrastructural assets, the large biomedical database comprehensive research-oriented institution such as the University called the ‘Lifelines’ project, and the fundamental research institute, of Groningen, deep academic understanding is an absolute European Institute for the Biology of Ageing (ERIBA). In medical requirement for success. Therefore, it is important to know about education, he started a completely English taught medical bachelor Sibrand Poppema’s academic background. How does he think? curriculum and a collaboration with the University of Oldenburg, Which fields does he consider valuable and what indicators are there known as the ‘European Medical School’. Although administration of his scientific success? We will present contributions by former took an increasing amount of his time, he always managed to keep his colleagues on his work in pathology and medical sciences in general. scientific work going, resulting in many publications, mainly in the field of Hodgkin disease and transplantation. With numerous PhD These chapters deal with his fascination for science and why, in students graduating under Sibrand Poppema and a really impressive his opinion, pathology (‘the science of disease’) is so important H-index, he is a great and truly inspiring scientist. to knowledge in the medical sciences. His scientific work abroad, first in Kiel (Germany), then Boston (US) and later Edmonton The second part of this volume focuses on Sibrand Poppema’s (Canada), led him to the strong conviction that, fundamentally, administrative activities – basically his core job over the last decade. science can only be done as an international endeavour. For an Managing a complex organization such as a university is not an institution such as the University of Groningen, which is not even easy job, but having the experience on the Board of the University located at the centre of the Netherlands, Sibrand’s later emphasis on Medical Center Groningen surely helps. Running a university is not internationalization, both in research and education, stems from a job done in a vacuum. Interactions with other knowledge-intensive this notion, and is key to his activities and success. In the early days institutions and organizations are also crucial, whether it is the of his career, Sibrand also became aware of the fact that science and Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU), the national society need, and can reinforce, each other a lot. Starting a small medical centre organization of the NFU or the local connection to biotech company in collaboration with colleagues also helped him to the Hanze University of Applied Sciences. Sibrand’s main ambition see the ‘business’ side of science. was to improve the performance of the University in both education and research. Under his leadership, the University of Groningen Thinking big started with Sibrand’s administrative career in has increasingly become a global university. Within Europe, its Medical Sciences. Returning from Edmonton, he became head of collaboration with the Guild of European Research-Intensive a newly formed and very large department called ‘Pathology and Universities and with the universities of Ghent, Göttingen, Uppsala Laboratory Medicine’. Interdisciplinary research was fostered in known as the U4, is noteworthy. Outside Europe, collaboration with this setting, and a lot of state-of-the-art equipment was installed. many partners has become structural and a natural thing to do. But This created new momentum, not only for pathology, but for many given its impact and the particular role Sibrand Poppema played, the other medical disciplines at the Academic Hospital Groningen. book will pay special attention to the collaboration with China and, more specifically, the China Agricultural University. After his appointment as Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences, he gave an incredible boost to research in the medical sciences Going global goes hand-in-hand with regional and societal in Groningen. He was the instigator of the convergence of the responsibility. The third section of the book addresses the University’s Academic Hospital Groningen (AZG) and the Faculty of Medical interaction with society. How can a university contribute to society, - 10 - 11 for example in solving issues in health, energy and sustainability? student affairs, while the Vice-President is responsible for finance, How can universities generate societal impact, collaborate with operations, IT and infrastructure. This implicitly means that the local institutions, think about joint investment and inspire people? President not only chairs the Board, but is also in control of all Sibrand Poppema initiated this line of thinking in the medical other matters, such as relationships with government ministries, field by defining Healthy Ageing as a key societal field for the governmental bodies and other financial sources and all internal University Medical Center Groningen and subsequently also for matters related to human resources, just to name a few tasks. Board the University of Groningen. Along with healthy ageing, he created decisions are always unanimous, which means intensive interaction two other strategic societal spearheads: energy transition and and trust both within the Board and with important stakeholders, sustainable society. Importantly, in relation to all three fields, he such as the Supervisory Board. The President is –last but not least - firmly anchored the University responsible for the administrative organization of the university and in the northern region of the takes the lead with respect to interaction between the Board of the Netherlands as a living lab. University and the University Council. Sibrand Poppema played an essential and active role in Between 2008 to 2018, the University of Groningen was extremely developing this approach by successful. In 2017, the University was ranked 59 in the Academic teaming up with northern Ranking of World Universities. In 2018 this ranking remains authorities, his colleagues from very high (66) and for both years the University of Groningen was northern universities of applied second best in the Netherlands. According to a Dutch survey in the sciences, and with institutions Keuzegids Hoger Onderwijs 2018, the University of Groningen is the in both the profit and non-profit best classical university in the Netherlands both for Bachelor’s and sector. He was also involved in Master’s education. In 2016, Professor Ben Feringa received the Nobel stimulating active cooperation Prize for Chemistry. In other words, the University of Groningen with the five northern German experienced a ‘golden decade’ under the rule of Sibrand Poppema.