SCIENTIFIC DIRECTOR Digital Society Institute DSI

Key takeaways

• Hours 24 hr.
• Salary indication n/a
• Deadline 30 Sep 2026

The Scientific Director embraces an inspiring and supportive leadership style and heads the Management Team that collectively leads the DSI institute. You will represent the UT in setting the research agenda, promoting the institute and the university, creating and maintaining regional, national and international partnerships, and seeking positions of influence relevant to the areas of expertise represented by DSI. These activities complement and support the efforts of principal investigators.

Your main task is to lead the institute (together with your MT) into the next phase, to develop its position and to expand scientific and societal impact of DSI and the UT.

In your role as Scientific Director, you:

• are responsible for strategic research, innovation and impact programming
• build and strengthen strategic partnerships
• initiate and coordinate new public-private partnership
• represent DSI and UT in relevant regional, national and international networks and ecosystems in an inspiring and persuasive way
• foster technology transfer and innovation in line with the goals and mission of the UT and DSI
• encourage, mobilize and inspire scientists to explore and realize new collaborations and partnerships
• are a sparring partner and advisor to the Executive board and Faculty boards, especially concerning the strategy of the UT concerning societal impact in relation to research and valorisation policy
• are a member of the team of Scientific and Managing Directors of the Institutes.

You are currently an associate professor or professor in a UT faculty. In your position as Scientific Director, you directly report to Rector Magnificus. In addition to being responsible for DSI, you contribute to defining the strategy and policy of UT. As such, you are a member of the Strategic Board (SB) and the University Committee for Research and Innovation (UC-R&I).

Your profile

• Community builder

You act as a connector who brings people together and strengthens relationships across organizational boundaries. Invests in building trusted networks both internally and externally, fostering collaboration and creating opportunities for collective growth.

• Visionary and an Inspiring leader

Your attitude is inspiring and your ambition level is high. You have experienced the difference between leadership and management. You are spot-on in identifying talents, opportunities, developments and trends. You have a solid track-record in translating societal challenges to scientific projects and applications and vice versa. You have demonstrated effective stakeholder-management in a wide range of settings. As an inspiring leader you easily empower others in broadening their scope and starting up new initiatives and partnerships.

• International scientific reputation

You are a leading associate professor or professor in one of the scientific areas of the Institute with an established national and international scientific reputation. Your international network is strong and contributes to the international outreach of the DSI Institute.

• Uniting and entrepreneurial

You naturally seek to bridge disciplines and stimulate inter-disciplinary collaboration. After identifying opportunities, you initiate new projects, establish (strategic) co-operations and partnerships, and help transfer technologies to boost the position of the institute and the UT. You have a proven track record in acquiring funds on a national and international scale.

Competences

Community builder, Visionary, Externally oriented, Persuasive, Inspiring and supportive leadership, Entrepreneurial, Executive strength, Cooperative with a multi- and cross-disciplinary focus, Result driven.

Our offer

Leadership of the Digital Society Institute, directly contributing to the strategy and success of the University of Twente. As Scientific Director, you will be the figurehead for the research facilitated and coordinated by DSI and, together with interfaculty teams of researchers and your management team, you will initiate and develop new programmes and partnerships with internal and external funding.

We offer you:

• a stimulating and entrepreneurial environment, great colleagues, and a myriad of opportunities to further solidify your scientific reputation
• a position as Scientific Director for 24 hours a week,
• a 15% supplement to your salary
• a 4 years appointment, with the possibility of a second 4-year term upon mutual consent and positive evaluation.

Information and application

For more information, you can contact prof. dr. ir. T. Veldkamp, Rector Magnificus, a.veldkamp@utwente.nl.

We are seeking a new Scientific Director for the Digital Society Institute, with a preferred start date in December 2026.

This is an internal search.

Screening is part of the application process.

About the department

The Digital Society Institute (DSI) is one of the four university-wide research institutes of the University of Twente (UT). The four research institutes of UT collectively facilitate and coordinate the four impact domains outlined in the UT institutional plan 2026-2032. These impact domains encompass Health (TechMed institute), Chiptech (MESA+ institute), Climate (Climate Center), and Safety & Security (DSI). The Scientific and Managing Directors of these institutes work collaboratively as a team and interact closely with the Boards of the Faculties, the Executive Board, and several service departments, most notably Strategic Business Development (SBD), Strategy and Policy (S&P), and Marketing and Communication (M&C).

DSI addresses research and innovation in the context of societal challenges at the intersection of the digital, societal, and physical world. A key focus lies in the area of Safety & Security, which is one of the four so-called impact domains prioritized by the University of Twente. Within this impact domain, DSI focuses on cybersecurity, the resilience of critical infrastructures, crisis & disaster management, and European security and resilience. DSI also addresses multidisciplinary collaboration across several key enabling areas that generically strengthen multiple impact domains, including data & AI, robotics, digital twins, advanced manufacturing, and societal transformations. In these fields, DSI fosters a team-science culture between faculties and within an ecosystem of strategic societal partners to create scientific and societal impact. As part of its strategy, DSI initiates and coordinates research and funding initiatives, as well as public-private partnerships.

About the organisation

The faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science (EEMCS) uses mathematics, electronics and computer technology to contribute to the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT). With ICT present in almost every device and product we use nowadays, we embrace our role as contributors to a broad range of societal activities and as pioneers of tomorrow's digital society. As part of a tech university that aims to shape society, individuals and connections, our faculty works together intensively with industrial partners and researchers in the Netherlands and abroad, and conducts extensive research for external commissioning parties and funders. Our research has a high profile both in the Netherlands and internationally. It has been accommodated in three multidisciplinary UT research institutes: Mesa+ Institute, TechMed Centre and Digital Society Institute.