Dear colleagues, a bit late, but still: happy 2024! I hope it will be A successful year for CES, but more importantly, I hope that for each of you individually this will be a good and fun year.
I was planning on writing about Blue Monday today; the third Monday in January when people realise that their New Year’s resolutions have failed, that spring is still a long time away, that it is dark, cold, wet and grey, and in general people feel a bit ‘ blue’ after all the fun of December. But when I looked outside this morning, it turned out to be a White Monday! Although the snow makes commuting a bit more challenging (I was in a traffic jam on the N18 for the first time in two years!) I do enjoy the brightness, the way light reflects on the snow, the crispness in the air. So if you are feeling a bit blue today, go outside for some fresh air! I was lucky enough to be invited by the colleagues from SAL for their new year’s brunch. Thanks so much for the invitation, I am impressed by what you managed to organize together, I had some lovely food, and it was nice to see you. That definitely helps to beat the January blues!
Personally, I do not put much faith in New Year’s resolutions as you can make changes all year long, your birthday is just as well a ‘ new start’, and then we also have our academic year! So if you have given up on your good intentions, don’t despair, there is always another day. For sure 2024 will not be a boring year. Both the internationalization discussion at a national level and the financial situation of the UT, as well as the impact of one on the other, will without doubt have a great influence on our work. We will continue with our efforts to make CES and its professional knowledge visible within the UT, we will take the Why, What and How of CES as a starting point for our Strategic Staff Planning ensuring that CES is future proof, that we can continue to offer the support the University needs and that our colleagues are happy with their jobs.
I am looking forward to another year of working with you!
Lieke
