In this column, Daniel Wigboldus looks back on a special anniversary of Radboud University and looks ahead to cooperation in our region.
Photo Bert Neelen
It was a big and special happening on 17 October 1923. The Roman Catholic University in Nijmegen officially opened its doors. Keizer Karelplein was completely full.
Shortly afterwards, all kinds of congregations, Catholic (monastic) communities, settled around the university. They wanted to be in the neighbourhood. With that, you saw how great the attraction of a university is. A university does something to its environment and the environment does something to a university.
That this is still topical was palpable during our centenary celebrations, which the university celebrated on the same square in October. Looking back on a century of history and looking ahead to tomorrow made it clear how important a university is for the region.
Thus, Nijmegen Mayor Bruls congratulated not only Radboud University, but also the city itself during the centenary celebrations. Because, he said, "Nijmegen would not be the city of today without the university and student life. Anno 2023, we are an innovative knowledge city. That was not self-evident a hundred years ago".
With that, he summed up a piece of our story and underlined our function. Radboud University and Radboudumc have become networks closely linked to the region.
Interaction with the municipality of Nijmegen and the entire Lifeport region is an important part of our policy. This cooperation is not so much about economic interests, but mainly about feeling joint responsibility for what is going on.
For instance, are there enough teachers at primary and secondary schools? Is healthcare well organised? Are we working sustainably in our region? If not, how can we solve this together? What can we learn from each other?
The interaction within The Economic Board with companies, governments and other knowledge institutions is of great importance here. The region benefits from this. An environment can flourish because it has a good university full of young (and some older) talent and a university can flourish when it is embedded in a lively environment. We need each other. That certainly also applies to our relationship with hbo and mbo institutions, which I value highly.
Together, we face major challenges, including in healthcare, in education, in technology, in dealing with each other and with the world. These are turbulent times in several areas. Cooperation is more necessary than ever. Let us lead by example in our region.
Daniël Wigboldus
Chairman Executive Board Radboud University and member of The Economic Board
This article also appeared in The Business Interest.
