On the evening of April 15, 2025, some 80 participants gathered in the Stage Entertainment Lounge of the Beatrix Theater in Utrecht for IPN’s annual strategic dinner.
The overarching theme of the IPN strategic dinner 2025 was Stronger Together. Now that that the IPN community is strong and well organized, how can we deal with external developments together? For example, how do we emerge stronger from a time when tough budget cuts are on the table? During the evening, important developments and possible opportunities such as the European Sector Plan in IT & Computer Science, the KIA digitalization, and (inter)national political developments were discussed.
Celebrating
Catholijn Jonker opened the evening as acting chair of the IPN board. Together with moderator Marloes ten Kate, she looked back on the previous year. After a brief discussion of the drastic budget cuts orchestrated by the current government, there also was a lot to celebrate. Together with NWO representative Christiane Klöditz, Jonker thanked Inald Lagendijk, who stepped down as the Captain of Science of the Top Sector ICT. Jonker then addressed the Special Interest Groups, which are taking on more responsibilities in representing their fields. Also the newly started IPN leadership courses, the intensified relations with PRIO, and the strengthening of the cooperation with industry were briefly discussed. At the end of her talk, Jonker officially handed over the chairpersonship to Marieke Huisman, who thanked Jonker for everything she has done for the Dutch computer science community.
Going European
After a short break, during which the first courses of the dinner were served, Gerard Barkema took the stage for a short quiz, lecture and assignment working toward a European sector plan. Questions he addressed were How strong is the field of computer science and IT when we look at it globally? How does Europe compare to major players like China or the US? And how do we ensure that we are independent and strong compared to China and the US?
After two new rounds of courses had been served, Erik Fledderus and Andy Pimentel set the stage for an ethical discussion about the role computer scientists play in preventing dual use of technologies they are developing.
Festivities
Dessert and coffee were served to warm up the audience for the festive closing of the evening. During this final session, Maarten van Steen was presented with the first ever IPN Distinguished Service Award, and Catholijn Jonker announced some of the activities IPN has in store to celebrate its 25th anniversary, such as a series of colloquia with top speakers.
Photo l.t.r. Catholijn Jonker, Inald Lagendijk, Christiane Klöditz
Photographer Thijs ter Hart