Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) in Amsterdam has been evaluated ‘excellent’ by an international evaluation committee. The Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) announced this on 17 July 2012. The evaluation committee, consisting of Kees van Hee (Eindhoven University of Technology), Carlo Ghezzi (Politecnico di Milano), Gil Kalai (Hebrew University of Jerusalem), Olivier Pironneau (Université Pierre et Marie Curie), Keith van Rijsbergen (University of Cambridge) en Marie-France Sagot (INRIA), gave CWI the highest possible score based on a visit in May 2011. NWO evaluates its institutes every six years. This evaluation covered the period 2005 to 2010.
According to the committee’s review, CWI is world-leading and it is ‘remarkable for a relatively small country to have such a high quality research institute.’ The institute has ‘very interesting research topics, very strong researchers and excellent publications and other forms of scientific output like [web] standards and software products.’ Further, CWI is well organized and has a wonderful atmosphere, where PhDs and postdocs in particular seemed very happy and enthusiastic. The committee also gave several recommendations, such as expanding CWI’s national role and to explore new possibilities for funding.
CWI director Jos Baeten is content with the positive evaluation. “We can be proud; we’ve worked hard to reach this. Our evaluation and those of other institutes shows that the Netherlands is a force to be reckoned with in the scientific community. In view of this, it is a pity that fundamental science doesn’t always get the appreciation it deserves in our country. Mathematics and computer science are invisible driving forces behind economic growth and welfare, so especially in these times they are essential. I have full confidence that we are able to maintain our position at the top for another six years. We are strong and flexible enough to handle changes in the landscape for research and funding.”
Founded in 1946, Centrum Wiskunde & Informatica (CWI) is the national research institute for mathematics and computer science in the Netherlands. It is located at Science Park Amsterdam and is part of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO). The institute is internationally focused and renowned. Over 150 researchers conduct pioneering research and share their acquired knowledge with society. Over 30 researchers are also employed as professors at universities. The institute has generated twenty-one spin-off companies.
