Robert-Jan Smits

Robert-Jan Smits is the President of the Eindhoven University of Technology (since May2019). Prior to this, he was the Director-General of Research and Innovation at the EuropeanCommission (2010-2018). In this capacity he was the architect of Horizon 2020, the 80 billion EU Research and Innovation program. Smits has also been instrumental in shaping thesuccessor program Horizon Europe (budget: 95 billion). In his last year in Brussels, Robert-Jan Smits was the Open Access Envoy of the European Commission and developed concretepolicy proposals aimed to ensure that all academic publications resulting from publiclyfunded research are widely available and accessible through Open Access.

Smits has received several recognitions and awards for his contribution to European science and innovation. He received the Academy Medal of the Royal Dutch Academy, theExcellence in Global Science Award in South Africa, the Medal of Honour of the KU Leuven.He holds an honorary degree from Edinburgh University, is a honorary member of AcademiaEuropaea and is a Fellow of the International Science Council.