Consideration on the Status of “Professor Emeritus University of Technology Delft in Netherlands”

Marcel Van de Voorde

Abstract

At the University of Technology Delft in Netherlands the commitment is for a period of five years, but the position can be terminated earlier. They can teach and make research. Given considerable flexibility in performing his duties Emeriti can lecture to bachelor’s and master’s students, either full-time or part-time. The Emeritus Professorship should be strongly encouraged in Europe as a lot of excellences and experiences are lost these days.

Key Words: University of Delft. Role of Professors Emeriti. Flexibility in work.

I was Professor at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium for about ten years, but later an Extraordinary Professor for over 25 years at the University of Technology DELFT (NL), with direction function at the CERN and the European Commission Research and Max Planck institute Stuttgart. I was also Visiting Professor for years at various universities in Europe, the US, and the prestigious University of Tsinghua in Beijing.

The selection criteria and acceptances for positions for Professor Emeritus status vary considerably between universities and countries.

In my position, I always held a professorship, but combined it with important positions in European and International research organizations such as CERN in Geneva, the Max Planck Institutes in Germany, the European Commission on Research in Brussels, and ISPRA in Italy.

The retirement age was usually 65 but with great flexibility, and the criteria for Professor Emeritus at Universities were very demanding and based on past successes and the promotion of the University.

Many no longer had the courage to continue teaching due to health reasons, interests, fatigue, etc., and very few were actually selected. The new commitment was for a period of five years, but the position could be terminated earlier,

The Emeritus University professor was given considerable flexibility in performing his duties. He could lecture to bachelor’s and master’s students, either full-time or parttime. In the case of doctoral students, he also had the duty to properly and correctly supervise students so that their thesis work could lead to publication or even a license. The professor could supervise several doctoral students but was required to ensure the high quality of the work. In my specific case, with management positions in scientific institutes or research laboratories in industry, I was able to offer the university and its student researchers’ extensive resources. Many students also earned recognized awards upon graduation and throughout their careers. Graduated doctoral students were offered numerous opportunities for top- notch careers. Many students have gone on to achieve excellent careers.

The Professor Emeritus at the various Universities I was involved in Europe also had considerable autonomy and many opportunities, including budget and staff. He had his own office and secretary and permission to perform all research functions. He was also an extra-ordinary member of the academic staff with voting rights. At the university, he was only entitled to his pension money but could enjoy all the benefits, such as participation in conferences, travel, and all other facilities offered to full professors.

Projects carried out for European or international institutes or organizations provided opportunities for additional funding and personal money.

Once the age of 70 is reached, a new application must be submitted, and admission is then granted on a one- or two- year basis. The application is thoroughly examined, and ambitions and other criteria are adjusted to suit wishes, health, and interests. The requirements remained quite high, based on authority, motivation, and successes.

At 75, applications can still be submitted, but with a loss of resources and authority.

In conclusion, I had a wonderful and successful career thanks to the combination of professorship and management roles in scientific organizations and industry, and the university and students have benefited greatly from this. I was also fortunate enough to mentor the best students. I was also voted by students as the best professor at the faculty, receiving significant awards from industry and European organizations. I was in contact with many universities and Professor Emeritus worldwide and found the criteria and conditions and merits very different. In Europe is the Emeritus Professor rather badly treated and far from motivated because of the restrictions of rights and merits.

Recommendations

The Emeritus Professorship should be strongly encouraged in Europe as a lot of excellencies and experiences are lost these days. In future, the knowledge and experiences of emeriti professor are of vital importance in Europe with respect to the hard competition with US and China.

In Europe each university has its own vision and it is time to make order as it has been done in 1996 with the Bologna declaration with respect to European bachelor – master and PhD studies [1, 2]. Emeriti Professors should have a status recognized all over Europa.

I encourage the European Association of Professors Emeriti to take initiatives and approach the European Rectors Association and Prestigious Academies and Ministries to support this initiative. A good proposal has to be worked out via the set-up of a thinking tank and this should be discussed with the European Parliament and finally approved by the European Commission Research.

References

Magna Charta Universitatum. Bologna, 18 September 1988.
Déclaration de la Sorbonne, 25 May 1998. Harmoniser l’architecture du système européen d’enseignement.

IJGG

International Journal of Geriatrics and Gerontology