Story

For seven years now, Raoul Winkens has been guarding Maastricht University's data. As a data protection officer, he thinks the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is about more than privacy. “A good DPO should also be a good salesperson.”

How do you embed open science in hbo? Sarah Coombs does so with a mix of expertise, networking, games and tenacity. "I would like to see the DCC-PO fully recognised as a centre of expertise for research support. That we don't have to keep begging for money, but are collectively seen as experts."

As the new CIO and ICT director, Nolda Tipping-Griffioen has ambitious plans for the University of Groningen's digital strategy. Read the interview.

As the Digital Transformation Manager at Graafschap College, Monique Mulders has a deeply rooted belief in collaboration. “Seeking each other out, strengthening one another, and moving forward together—that is my guiding principle,” she says. The sense of community that Eastern Netherlands is known for, the concept of naoberschap, seamlessly aligns with her vision: ‘Alone you go faster, but together you go further’.

Heritage. You cannot avoid it if you walk along the old Amsterdam canals to the historic building of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW). There, we speak to Menno Rasch, director of Digital Infrastructure at the KNAW's Humanities Cluster. The main topic of conversation? That is, not surprisingly, the digitisation of our heritage.

At the presentation of the Dutch Data Prize 2024, xeno-canto, a website with recordings of nature sounds, was one of the three winners. Initiator Bob Planqué tells how he and his comrade Willem-Pier Vellinga made the website a figurehead of FAIRness.

Dr Melanie Rieback (46), co-founder and CEO of Radically Open Security, is known for her unique approach in cybersecurity. At the Open Source Leadership Summit on 13 December, she will share her views on non-profit entrepreneurship, transparency and the power of open source. Her life path proves that bold choices can lead to a whole new movement.

Read the SURF Story with Bob van Luijt, CEO of Weaviate, a rapidly growing and successful database company where - through an open source cloud platform - the focus is on developing AI-native applications.