The Executive Board of Erasmus University Rotterdam has decided to endorse and support our proposal for an Erasmus of Rotterdam Research Centre. The ERRC aims to contribute to the strategic goals of EUR (“the Erasmian way”) and will be funded by the EUR strategic budget. Prof. Dr. Han van Ruler is Academic lead of the project. Expected launch of ERRC: Fall 2020.
The Erasmus of Rotterdam Research Centre is an initiative combining outreach and educational activities with innovative research surrounding the figure of Desiderius Erasmus and the notion of Erasmian Values. As such, it will serve as a home-based platform for studying the link between present-day societal challenges and the kind of values relevant to all fields of science, education and professional activities at our university.
To strengthen its institutional profile, Erasmus University Rotterdam has made it part of its new strategy (Strategy 24) to encourage all students, academics and university personel to link up with the example set by Erasmus himself – in other words, to do things ‘the Erasmian Way’ and to operate ‘in the spirit of our namesake Erasmus’.
The establishment of the Erasmus of Rotterdam Research Centre will enable our EUR community to do so in a fruitful, truthful and scientifically justified manner by:
- supporting research initiatves with respect to the figure of Erasmus of Rotterdam and his relevance today; as well as
- continuously reassessing how the notion of Erasmian Values may be developed in the light of policies and professional activities within the EUR community of academics, professionals and students.
The project includes the appointment of an academic lead (parttime professorship) and a PhD position on ‘Erasmian Values’, and will launch academic meetings and onboarding sessions combining historical research with research into questions of academic integrity and corporate values. Working in close cooperation with the Openbare Bibliotheek and other parties within the City of Rotterdam, the Erasmus of Rotterdam Research Centre will also provide an academic base for activities elsewhere.