DPR News
Leadership Changes and new Centres: UNIC Management Board meets in Rotterdam
Deputy President and Registrar Prof. Stephen Byrne represented University College Cork at a special in-person meeting of the UNIC Management Board at Erasmus University Rotterdam (EUR) on August 28, 2024.
The gathering marked some key changes in the UNIC leadership at EUR. Prof. Semiha Denktaş officially began her role as UNIC's new alliance coordinator, taking over from founding coordinator Prof. Peter Scholten. Prof. Annelien Bredenoord took up the role of President at Erasmus University Rotterdam and Chair of the UNIC board, succeeding Prof. Ed Brinksma in both roles. Tributes were paid both to Prof. Scholten and Prof. Brinksma for their transformative and inspirational leadership of UNIC thus far. The Management Board also expressed their welcome to Prof. Denktaş and Prof. Bredenoord
Prof. Ed Brinksma of EUR commented on the changes, saying, "As much as it is clear that UNIC leadership is undergoing a transition, I have full confidence that the quality of this transition is exceptionally good and the programme is maturing, with the best people from the organisation are being put in place. Therefore, UNIC's structure is rock solid."
The UNIC Management Board includes representatives from all ten UNIC university partners and is tasked with both implementing strategic decisions and making operational decisions for the consortium. This Management Board included approval of key deliverables of UNIC and UNIC4ER, including the new UNIC Engaged Research Strategy and the structures for two important collaborative centres of the shared UNIC campus: the Centre for City Futures and the Centre for Teaching and Learning.