Research assessments

Eindhoven University of Technology places great value on quality assurance in research. We therefore periodically invite external experts to assess all research carried out at TU/e. 

Quality Assurance Research

For these assessments, the Standard Evaluation Protocol (SEP 2015-2021) is used. This protocol was drawn up by the KNAW (Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences), NWO (Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research) and VSNU ( Association of Universities in the Netherlands), and is used in all research assessments carried out under their responsibility.

Assessments by peers

An international assessment committee of renowned peers judges the performance of a research unit on three criteria: research quality, relevance to society and viability. The committee assigns the research unit to a particular category on the scale of one to four, one being the highest. The committee also provides a qualitative assessment of the policy on scientific integrity and PhD programmes. Evaluation is based on a site visit by the committee and on a written self-assessment of the research unit. 

TU/e strives for collaboration with other universities to ensure simultaneous assessment of research in the same fields. Where joint assessments are not possible, research groups are assessed individually.

The schedule for research assessment at TU/e is as follows:

 
Discipline Period Date of the site visit Board position document
Biomedical Engineering 2017-2022 2023 Board position
Built Environment 2016-2021 2023 Board position
Chemical Engineering and Chemistry 2015-2021 2022 Board position
Electrical Engineering 2011-2016 2017 Board position 2017
Industrial Design 2009-2016 2017 Board position 2017
Industrial Engineering & Innovation Sciences 2010-2016 2017 Board position 2017
Computer Science 2015-2020 2022 Board position 2022
Mathematics 2015-2020 2022 Board position 2022
Applied Physics 2010-2017 2018 Board position 2018
Mechanical Engineering 2013-2018 2019 Board position 2020
Eindhoven School of Education (ESoE) 2013-2018 2020 Board position 2020

The committee reports to the executive board of the university. The executive board provides a board position document after receiving the report. Both documents are made public via links in the schedule above. The research unit uses the recommendations by the committee to make a plan for improvements.