Peter Spijker

Background

About Peter Spijker

I am curious. About the world, technology, science, and so on. It defines my attitude to life: always something to discover. This is why I became a scientist. I started off in biomedical research during my masters, but gradually drifted into physics during my PhD, where I felt more at home. However, my broad background always helped me to shed a different light on problems I faced. The first seven years after obtaining my PhD I did postdoctoral research, mainly using computational physics simulation methods. Somewhere in early 2016 I came at a crossroads and had to make a choice: continue pursuing an academic career or switching to the administrative part of science. I choose the latter. I have not regretted it since. I now argue I work for science, no longer in science. But with all my experience I can make a difference. I understand the motivation driving scientists and aim to support this in every way possible. From January till July 2022 I had the opportunity to be the acting managing director of SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research (long-term illness replacement) and have as such been responsible for operations and finances for the 200+ people at the institute. This has set me on a track to develop management and leadership skills further and challenge myself to find new opportunities. Since November 2022 I am head of Strategic Support for the Institutes Organisation of NWO. This is wonderful position where I can support our ten national institutes and the board of NWO, together with a team of professionals. As part of this role, I also chair the management-team of the executive office and I am member of several boards and councils. Born and raised in the Netherlands I have always felt more a citizen of the world rather than one specific country. This became clear later in life when I moved abroad. First for one year to the United States as a Fulbright Fellow to finish my master’s degree. Later, after finishing my PhD, I spent almost eight years living abroad in Europe pursuing my academic career. My wife did more or less the same thing, which meant we lived in quite a few countries, including Switzerland, France, Germany and Finland. These experiences abroad have really shaped my personality and view on how to tackle problems. It has been an experience I would have never wanted to miss.