The Executive Board of the University of Twente has appointed dr. Cheryl de Boer as strategic director of the University of Twente’s Climate Centre. De Boer was already in the lead of the coordinating team that worked to establish the Climate Centre in the past year, and was instrumental in its founding. Prof. dr. Gerard van der Steenhoven, honorary professor at ITC and chairman of the Dutch Climate Research Initiative (KIN) was appointed strategic advisor.
Critical role
Rector Magnificus Tom Veldkamp is happy with De Boer’s appointment. “Climate change is perhaps the most urgent challenge of our time, so finding solutions to climate issues cannot wait. As a university, we have a critical role to play. The Climate Centre is a true bottom-up initiative that has already shown its added value to embed sustainability in our research and education. Cheryl de Boer has done great work already, and I am proud that she is the new strategic director of the Climate Centre.”
De Boer: “In the past years, we’ve seen that many in the UT community recognise the essential role we have as a university to find solutions for the challenges that climate change poses for our planet. There are so many great initiatives already happening at UT which I am really optimistic about. Through the Climate Centre, we want to support them and further strengthen climate-related research and education at UT. I look forward to further building our team and working with partners inside and outside of our university on transdisciplinary solutions to climate change.”
About the Climate Centre
The UT Climate Centre was founded in 2023 to strengthen climate-related research, education, and valorisation at the University of Twente. The goal is to foster and connect the University of Twente's climate-related research and educational strengths, collaborate with stakeholders to enhance impact, facilitate a sense of community, and represent and provide a clear ear, face, and voice to the world.
