‘As dean, I can make a greater impact for the young generation of scientists'

You can get Mark Bentum (56) going on science, technology and education at any time of day. “I love working with young people. I get an enormous amount of energy from this, whether it’s teaching them or supervising them during their bachelor’s and master’s projects or PhD.”

His choice to apply for the position of dean of the Department of Electrical Engineering, where he has been a part-time professor since 2017, was a logical one for him. “As an administrator, I realize that I am now a step further from day-to-day practice. But it does give me the opportunity to mean something at a higher level for science, engineering and the younger generation of scientists.”

Helping out

Bentum derives energy from helping people, even if only with something small. “This could be a conversation about an important decision, such as whether or not someone is going to pursue a PhD, or successfully nominating someone for an award. I’m proud when things then work out.”

I am speaking to Mark Bentum on his third day in this position. On September 1, he succeeded Bart Smolders as the dean of Electrical Engineering. The conversation takes place in Bentum’s shared room on floor 9 of Flux, where he also had a place as part-time professor of Radio Science. Colleagues walk in and out. Occasionally, Bentum’s replies elicit a quip in his direction from his roommate. Bentum smiles casually and plays along.

In confidence

“Aren’t there too many distractions?" he asks. “I share the deans’ room on the ground floor with Kees Storm of Applied Physics and Science Education, but he has the room at his disposal today. We are renovating; I can move into my own room at the end of the year. I like to be among my colleagues but it’s sometimes convenient to be able to talk to people in confidence.”

Bentum describes himself as positive, transparent, open and informal. He exudes the latter, smiling broadly and dressed casually in jeans and a shirt. He is and always will be just Mark. “My supervisor’s name was Otto Hermann but no one around him dared to call him by his first name. I’m not going to behave differently now that I’m the dean. Of course, I will wear a suit when necessary, but this is who I am.”

And this is a person who speaks freely and works with an open mind. “I’m very open and my people can always come to me. I see myself as a coaching leader. I’m good at listening and hearing all of the arguments. But I’m not afraid of making decisions.”

This is who I am. I’m not going to behave differently because I’m now the dean.

Mark Bentum

Bentum is eager to move forward. “I’m someone who wants to get things done. I like to build; I’ve always done that. Whether it’s a new group or curriculum, I find it very interesting.”

Healthy

He thinks that his predecessor, Bart Smolders, did a fantastic job. “I have deep respect for the way that he’s led the department along with the rest of the board. EE is a healthy department; our people have won a large number of projects from the National Growth Fund in recent years. We work in a wonderful ecosystem with Brainport and the demand for electrical engineers has never been higher. So, things are lined up well for me, although there are always things that require attention, of course.”

Listening groups

The new dean already has plenty of plans. After all, he has been roaming the department for a number of years. But he also wants to actively keep his ear to the ground in Flux. “In the coming months, I’m going to organize listening groups in which I will be the one listening to the stories from EE. That’s a lot of work, but I also hope that it will show that my door is open to anyone who needs it.”

I want to hear from our people how they are doing.

Mark Bentum

At the listening table, Bentum invites not only group heads (“I talk to them regularly anyway”) but also PhD students. "I myself have of course also obtained a PhD, but that was quite some time ago. I like to hear from PhD students how they are doing and whether they see enough opportunities for growth.”

Bentum realizes all too well how important it is to bring in good people and keep them. Industry is crying out for ever more electrical engineers and the department will have to grow in the coming years in order to keep up with that demand.

“This brings huge challenges and that’s what I have to work on as dean. My task is to make sure that we continue to work with each other in a healthy way so that everyone can cope.”

Having fun together at work is very important to me.

Mark Bentum

Job satisfaction is a big factor for him in this regard. “It’s about more than just salary. You have to be able to be yourself here. And I think that it’s important to also have fun together, that it’s nice to work here. This is an important task for the Department Board. Things are going well, but there is always room for improvement. I don’t know everything yet but I’m going to work on that.”

Recognition and Rewards

Recognition and Rewards – the new appreciation program for academics in which their research results are not the only important element to their career advancement – has Bentum’s full support.

I love that Recognition and Rewards allows academics to set their own focus.

Mark Bentum

“I love that you get to set your own focus as an academic, that you can also choose education or impact alongside research. I wanted to become a professor at the University of Twente back then, based on my innovations in education. They thought that was great and they were working on a profile to make it possible. However, at the end of the story, nothing was changed in the existing profile; instead, something was added in the field of education.”

“Of course, research and teaching go hand in hand at a university. You can never abandon research; a relationship must remain. But thanks to Recognition and Rewards, you can focus. For me, as dean, there is an important task here: we have to create a climate in which this is possible.”

Challenge-Based Learning

As a man of education, Bentum is excited about teaching within Challenge-Based Learning. “It’s a very different way of learning. You look for problems that have not yet been solved. It’s not: ‘here’s the material, learn it and take an oral or written exam on it.’ No, you’re going to work with a group to find a solution to a real problem from the grown-up world. In doing so, you learn all kinds of things that are important for when you go to work after your studies.”

Soft skills

These are mostly soft skills, such as collaboration, communication, being able to present a structured story and the ethical side of engineering. “We once asked alumni what was missing in their education. Without exception, they mentioned these soft skills, which they need so much in their work. When you work in a team with CBL and solve challenges, you automatically acquire those.”

Bentum emphasizes the fact that CBL does not replace other forms of education: “In addition to CBL, we must also teach our students a thorough understanding of mathematics, physics and so on. You can’t solve everything with CBL.”

There are great opportunities for our department in the field of semiconductors.

Mark Bentum

The new dean is positive about the future of Electrical Engineering. “For example, there are great opportunities for our department in the field of semiconductors, with major players like ASML and NXP nearby.”

Paradise in Flux

“I won’t say that we’ve created heaven or paradise here, but things are going very well. We can keep it that way if everyone in our department – the students, teachers, professors, researchers and support staff – continue to pull together. We need each other!”