On top of the wave: meet Pauline Satter

When Pauline enters the meeting room on the 4th floor of the Utrecht SURF office, she has already completed a productive train journey. It is one of the changes since she changed jobs: travelling to work by train from now on. "I have already seen many beautiful sunrises on the way," she says.

Pauline lives with her husband and 11-year-old daughter in a gardener's house on an old estate. "It's a small house, but in the woods. For me, it's the perfect place to live; I like to work in the garden and love being outdoors."

She is an administrator with a green thumb as well as dance shoes on her feet. Pauline is also experienced in teaching jazz and modern dance. "When I was eighteen, I started teaching and have always continued to do so. I still dance myself too. I really enjoy working with my head, but then when I'm in the dance hall on Fridays, I can let go of my whole working week. That's such a different way of being busy."

Back to the office, what attracted you to the vacancy for the role you're in now? "I was already exploring a new challenge before this job at SURF came along. My previous position was member of the board of directors at COG (Christelijke Onderwijs Groep Vallei en Gelderland-Midden), which you can serve a maximum of two 4-year terms. In 2026, my 2nd term would expire. That's when you start looking around."

Excessive interest in digitalisation

Pauline says she is keen on working together and already fulfilled many side activities in the cooperative's environment. At MBO Digital, she was chair for three years. Last year, she was in the leading group of the SURF Think Tank Digital Transition and she was a member of the SURF Members' Council. All are expressions of her excessive interest in digitilisation. "And what this means for us as human beings," she adds. "Because all this technology does something to our social context."

And then suddenly there is a vacancy for an administrator at SURF...

"Yes, and I thought hard about that. There is a revolution going on in education and research right now. SURF is at the top of that wave. I want to be part of it."

Where did your interest come from and did you always aspire to a career as an administrator? "I never had a specific career in mind. After secondary school, I didn't even know what I wanted. However, I was always a practical person."

She chose to study facility management. "There's so much in here, I'm sure I'll do well with that, I thought. That broad scope also suits me. Then I studied cultural anthropology for a year, which was about different perspectives on a problem or culture. I really got new insights. I think that's cool, that you do something or experience a way of thinking where you've never been before. There are always multiple sides to an issue, multiple ways of looking at it."

The culture of an organisation

Work experience Pauline gained at many different places. She started as a management trainee at ING and left as a consultant. Made the move to the Police Academy and became head of Facilities, Housing and Resources, took a side step to Police Netherlands, and returned as head of Operations. In 2018, she joined the Executive Board of the education group COG with vo- and mbo education and is now a director at SURF.

"I want to work in places where I can have an impact, but within a broad setting. Making the connection between the primary process and operations: that's part of my path."

Making choices during changes

What stands out for her at SURF? "When I was on the members' council, I saw SURF as one entity. Now that I'm inside, I see many more shades and internal currents. That relates to each other and is very interesting. Often there is a history underneath it. I want to explore that further. Because that is necessary if you want to successfully move with the coming changes." Those changes are coming. The organisation has grown enormously in recent years, which calls for a new organisational structure. Many big projects are under way, such as Npuls and the AI Factory. At the same time, there are budget cuts.

"The money for education and research will not increase in the coming years. SURF has always been able to fulfil an endless growth ambition, but there is simply less money now. I am alert to that budget. Then it's about making choices. Choices that fit the ambitions of the members of the cooperative."

Starting point for the strategic conversation

"My parents are both very curious, my father as a teacher and my mother as a nurse. That curiosity is also in me." The SURF director therefore attaches great value to substantive conversations. According to her, this could be a bit more robust at the Member Council level.

"The Council of Members is a formal event and the documents are tremendously well prepared. What I favour this council more is the substantive conversation. What do we think of all the developments and where do we want to go together? When I was at MBO Digital, I had that conversation. There the exchange took place within the MBO: 'I see that a development has impact in my school, but I can't organise it myself or want to do it in a broader context.' There is no place for that conversation within the Members Council yet, even though I know the need is there."

"The SURF multi-year strategy is a good starting point to determine what substantive conversation we need. What is going to be SURF's direction and what do the members expect from it? Can we flesh out this strategy in such a way that it resonates with everyone "

Connection and diversity

As a true connector, Pauline finds it important that her organisation is a workplace where everyone feels at home. She sees opportunities for stronger connection and positioning of Utrecht as headquarters and Amsterdam as a centre of expertise. This is an example of the experience she brings with her from the Police Academy. "There, Apeldoorn was the headquarters, but you had specialist centres in lots of places, such as the academy for violence control in Ossendrecht, driving courses in Lelystad and leadership training in Warnsveld. Everyone knew where to go with your questions."

"What I particularly like about my new place at SURF is that it is very informal here. There is also something activist here. I think that's a great thing, taking up things that matter with a certain stubbornness. I do have to get used to walking down the corridor and people saying 'Hey Pauline!', including colleagues I don't yet know but who did see me at our internal webinar. That ease with which people within SURF approach each other is super nice. That really belongs to our organisation."

Text: Maureen van Althuis
Photo: Sicco van Grieken