From 1 January 2026, IPN has a new board. This board consists of Marieke Huisman (UT, chair), Balder ten Cate (UvA), Geert-Jan Houben (TUD), Dimka Karastoyanova (RUG), Judith Masthoff (UU), and Nava Tintarev (UM).
After having served the maximum of two terms, Gerard Barkema, Andy Pimentel and Han La Poutré stepped down from the board by the end of 2025. They are succeeded by Balder ten Cate, Judith Masthoff, and Nava Tintarev. To ensure a smooth transition between the former and new board, Marieke Huisman stays on for a second term, chairing the group. In addition, two other new board members, Dimka Karastoyanova and Geert-Jan Houben, have joined the board somewhat earlier, in April 2025.
Contact and connection
Marieke Huisman looks back on a productive collaboration with the three outgoing board members during her first term. ‘Overall, it has been a pleasure to work with all three of them,’ she emphasizes. She recollects how Andy Pimentel and Gerard Barkema organized the educational meetings, which for example helped to synchronize the organisation of the current educational review. In addition, Andy campaigned improving contacts between computer science, industry and other external stakeholders. ‘As a result, we have started to map out who is of interest to our sector. A new working group was launched to develop a systematic approach to connecting academic computer science to our external relations. Fortunately, both Andy and Gerard will remain members of this working group, ensuring continuity.’
Broader view
Han La Poutré has actively been pushing diversity in the computer science field, Huisman says. ‘It is thanks to his efforts to broaden our view on diversity that we have now added an extra member to the board who will specifically focus on the next generation of ICT researchers. Also, together with Gerard, Han has visited the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science to raise awareness about the issues our community is facing, for example when it comes to student/staff ratio’s.’
Motor behind sector plans
Gerard Barkema has been instrumental in uniting and advancing the Dutch computer science field as a whole, being the motor behind the Sector Portrait Computer Science 2022 and the Sector Analysis Update 2025, Huisman stresses. ‘Through his extensive network outside of the computer science community, he has helped increase our visibility tremendously. And also as a result of being one of the initiators of the leadership courses we started last year, Gerard’s impact on the maturation of our field as a whole will be a long-lasting one.’
An overview of the current board and their portfolios can be found here.
Photo l.t.r. Balder ten Cate, Nava Tintarev, Marieke Huisman, Geert-Jan Houben, Judith Masthoff, Dimka Karastoyanova
Photographer Thijs ter Hart