Society Tilburg University

Autumn 2009 saw the launch of the Tilburg University Society, an initiative of the joint faculties and the Executive Board to connect the worlds of public administration, politics, business and science. The Tilburg University Society is led by Professor Sylvester Eijffinger, and it often convenes in Sociëteit De Witte in The Hague, in very close proximity to the hub of politics, or at Tilburg University or other locations in North-Brabant.

Meetings are private so their 40-50 invitees are at liberty to exchange ideas on current social issues. Some thirty of such meetings have meanwhile taken place, on topics such as energy transition, public leadership, digitization and privacy, healthcare and corporate responsibility. Speakers have included Klaas Knot, president of the Dutch central bank (DNB), author Désanne van Brederode, Jan Peter Balkenende, former Prime Minister, and Ralph Hamers, ING leading man. Academic scholars give lectures or act as referees. This is a way for Tilburg research to gain a platform. In 2016, the Tilburg University Society merged with the University’s Development & Alumni Relations department, opening up the platform not only to external relations but also to alumni. It also collaborates with the Friends of Cobbenhagen to provide a series of lectures, the first of which was given in 2017 by the Turkish economist Dani Rodrik, from the John F. Kennedy School at Harvard University.

Professor Sylvester Eijffinger, President of the Tilburg University Society