The visitation was performed by QANU (Quality Assurance Netherlands University) and covers the period of 1996 to 2001. The commission especially praises the fundamental research. The best mathematics come from the University of Utrecht. On a scale from 1 to 10, research groups from the University of Utrecht on average score a 4.9 for quality.
The committee was generally unimpressed by the number of dissertations and articles produced by the research groups. Several groups that rise above the rest belong to the universities of Groningen and Wageningen.
In the report, the committee expresses its concern on the low inflow of math students in the Netherlands. They have come up with some recommendations. They suggest bachelors in mathematics should receive teaching credentials, perhaps after attending a number of additional didactical classes. Teachers should be able to get a Master's degree or even a PhD while working part-time. That should stimulate teachers and high school students.
The UT math research got an average of 3 for quality, which is sufficient. The research scores high on relevance. Arun Bagchi, professor and departmental chairman of Applied Mathematics, details: `In the period 1998-2001, Applied Mathematics has gone through many changes, such as a reorganization and the introduction of new research chairs. These changes caused delays that have affected academic output. We have currently started introducing improvements that have led to the increase of production. But unfortunately those statistics were not considered by the committee.' In principle, Bagchi agrees with the committee's judgment on the period of 1996-2001. `The evaluation can be justified if you consider the situation. The only real disappointment was the verdict on the Systems, Signals and Control research group.' In the report, the group scored a `sufficient' to `good', but Bagchi claims that the group is highly acclaimed internationally. `The committee did not have any expertise in this specific area. We would have preferred them calling in the help of an expert.'
In its report, the committee indicated that it considers the Applied Mathematics a bit too traditional at times and thinks it misses certain applications. `The scope is still limited', the committee writes. Bagchi thinks the committee should have paid closer attention to the faculty's mission statement. `That explains that we focus our research on the technical departments in the UT. That forces us to either do or omit certain things.'
Finally, the chairman shares the committee's concern on the inflow. `However, I should add that this year we had more applications than last year, but that says nothing. You don't know what will happen next year. The image of math remains a problem. Fortunately, the masters do get more and more students from another career background. The Master's program Financial Engineering is doing especially well.'
HOP/UT-Nieuws
