"We cannot yet say what the impact of the interventions at Philips Research will be on research collaboration, but we are looking at it with great concern," said college president Robert-Jan Smits. Philips announced this week that 1,100 jobs are to be cut in the Netherlands, out of 6,000 in total, and that the research department is to be firmly cut. Smits wants to investigate how to prevent talent from leaving abroad as a result.
by Han Konings
photo Vincent van den Hoogen
Source TU/e Cursor news
Philips and TU/e have a special bond. The university was set up 66 years ago on the initiative of Philips and others. All those years there has been intensive cooperation in research projects in many fields, such as medical technology and artificial intelligence.
College president Robert-Jan Smits is concerned about the interventions announced by Philips this week. And he says this involves more than just the partnerships between Philips and TU/e, but also "the innovation power of the Netherlands".
Smits says the Eindhoven university wants to help prevent, that talent that needs to leave Philips, will soon leave for abroad.
