Last Thursday was a milestone for us at the Erasmus Data Summit! We celebrated 5 incredible years at Erasmus Centre for Data Analytics of empowering AI, immersive tech and data at the Erasmus University Rotterdam and within our greater community, involving organizations from many different industries and domains. This was also the perfect occasion to officially say goodbye and thank you to our executive director, and one of the founders of ECDA – Gerrit Schipper.

We want to thank you Gerrit Schipper for your exceptional insights and talent for forging mutually beneficial strategic partnerships. ECDA has developed as the flagship centre for AI, data, and digitalization research and education at Erasmus University Rotterdam and the wider South-Holland region. Your leadership was pivotal in fostering collaboration among academic leaders from diverse faculties and bridging the gap between academia and industry. Under your wing the Leadership Challenges for Data Analytics garnered national acclaim, and the Erasmus Data Collaboratory was successfully launched as one of the Houses of AI, including the recently opened Immersive Tech Space. Thank you on behalf of the team and our community!

As Gerrit finishes his role as the executive director of ECDA, he will continue his central role within the Convergence of universities, and lead the advisory board of ECDA.

As a token of appreciation Gerrit was awarded the “Erasmus with a Traveler’s Hat” bust by the executive board of the Erasmus University Rotterdam, meant for individuals who have served Erasmus University Rotterdam and/or society with distinction.

A big thank you to Marcel Van Oosterhout for his heartfelt farewell to Gerrit Schipper and congratulations on stepping into his new role as ECDA’s new executive director! 🎉

We are looking forward to the future projects, collaborations and initiatives at Erasmus Centre for Data Analytics with Marcel Van Oosterhout as our new executive director. Follow our social media to keep in touch with our latest developments and don’t hesitate to contact us!