Just before the summer holiday period of 2002, the Royal Netherlands Society of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) has informed us officially that they have accepted the application of SENSE for renewal of the accreditation for another five years.
Obviously the SENSE board and directors are very happy with this result. The letter from the KNAW comes with various positive remarks, for example about the quality of our groups: "The subcommission notes that the quality of the groups participating in SENSE generally is good. The quality of the research is thorough and of a high level. The school keeps thorough quality requirements to participation in SENSE."
This re-accreditation implies that we will continue at full speed to realize our ambitions. As was announced at the symposium on 19 June, a reconsideration and possibly re-organization of our education programme will have the highest priority. We want to serve our PhD students better while at the same time fulfilling the goals of multidisciplinary training. We are reinforced in achieving this aim by having appointed a new director of education,
Dr. Piet Lens, who was presented at the symposium. Piet Lens is a lecturer at the department of Environmental Technology of WIMEK and has ample experience in organizing international courses.