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Foreword October 2011
Dear Alumnus,
Pauline van der Meer Mohr, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Erasmus University Rotterdam
The Erasmus University is a purveyor of top men (and more and more women) to the international business community. You as an alumnus might be one of those high-flyers who laid the foundations of a successful career at Woudestein or Hoboken. However, a degree from our university does not necessarily lead to a successful career in business or the public sector. Many of our alumni opt for entrepreneurship: to be your own boss and rely on your own intuition and expertise. Menno ’t Hoen is such a person. After graduating, he set up his own bakery selling exceptional (and exceptionally delicious) bread. He didn’t just want to sit in an office but wanted to get his hands dirty, literally. In doing so, he became a prime example of a Rotterdam alumnus: not just thinking but doing. There are more examples of enterprising alumni in this the third edition of the Erasmus Alumni Magazine. Some who are still very young and haven’t even graduated but already have their own small business, some who are looking for that one gap in the market that they will fill with daring and entrepreneurship. In this edition’s Erasmus Opinion, Eric Claassen, Professor of Knowledge Valorisation at the Erasmus MC, illustrates that entrepreneurship is not just for those specializing in economics of business administration, because it is actually our medical faculty that is becoming better and better at translating fundamental research into usable products that are relevant to society. This is also typical of the Erasmus University: top-quality research with an eye on society. I hope you enjoy reading the magazine.
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Pauline van der Meer Mohr blog.eur.nl/voorzittercvb
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PS In the near future, you may be asked to participate in a readers’ survey regarding the first three editions of the E.A. I hope I can count on your response.
Colophon The Erasmus Alumni Magazine/ EA is published by the Marketing & Communication department of Erasmus University Rotterdam Edition Volume 2, EA 03 October 2011 The next edition of EA will be published in May 2012
Editorial Address EUR, SM&C dept PO Box 1738 3000 DR Rotterdam alumni@smc.eur.nl www.eur.nl/alumni Managing Editor Carien van der Wal, Alumni & Corporate Relations Officer
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Editors Wieneke Gunneweg, Editor-in-Chief Mieke Fiers, Desk Editor Contributors Lobke van Aar, Cora Boele, Eric Claassen, Mellyana Frederika, Ronald van den Heerik, Eveline van de Lagemaat, René van Leeuwen, José Luijpen, Menso de Maar, Pauline van der Meer Mohr,
Dennis Mijnheer, Ineke Oostveen, Sander Ruijsbroek, Daan Rutten, Bas van der Schot, Hans van den Tillaart, Kees Vermeer, Levien Willemse, Martine Zeijlstra and EUR faculties including Erasmus MC, IHS and ISS Advertising Carien van der Wal, Fouad el Kanfaoui, Dan Dinu
Printing Habodacosta, Vianen Editorial Advisory Board (RAC) The RAC consists of representatives of the EUR’s faculties and alumni associations and has an advisory role in the production of EA. Cover Ronald van den Heerik
Design Unit20: Yoe San Liem and Maud van Velthoven © Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publishers.